10 Law Scholarships For Indian Students To Study Abroad: Ultimate Guide

The field of law is a highly promising field for students who wish to study abroad. Studying law abroad will allow them to gain a broader perspective regarding the field. Law students can work in courts, corporations, or multinationals. While pursuing law from an international university is undoubtedly rewarding in your CV, the cost of studying at foreign universities is considerably higher than expected. Nonetheless, there are many Law Scholarships For Indian Students to help them accomplish their dreams.

A degree in the field of law opens up many career options in legal services, corporate management, and administrative services. A law scholarship helps the candidates pursue undergraduate, postgraduate, or higher studies. Many universities and colleges offer Law Scholarships For Indian Students nationally and internationally.

Pursuing law is one of the popular career choices for students from India who want to study abroad. Scholarships are generally of two different types, which are as follows –

• University-funded Scholarship- It can be defined as awards that the university itself awards can include tuition fees.
• Externally funded Scholarship- Awards that are provided by external resources are known as external scholarships.

This blog will examine the top Law Scholarships available for Indian Students to study abroad, their eligibility criteria, and the available benefits.

Popular Externally Funded law scholarships

1. Chevening Scholarship

The Chevening scholarship offers a total award to an Indian student studying a master’s program in the UK for one year. The award includes paying the entire tuition fees, including flights, accommodation, and course fees of the UK university and a chance to be part of the elite member club of Chevening Scholarship scholars worldwide.

Eligibility Criteria

• The candidate for the scholarship must be a citizen of India
• They must return to their country of citizenship for a minimum period of two years after their award duration ends
• They must have completed undergraduate degree programs that enable the individuals to gain entry into a postgraduate program at a UK university
• They must have at least two years or an equivalent of 2800 hours of work experience

Scholarship Funded by	The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Partner organisations
Award	More than 1500 scholarships are on offer
Country	UK
Deadline	12 September 2023 to 7 November 2023

Documents required

• Education documents
• References
• One UK University offer

Restrictions

• Students who hold refugee status in a non-Chevening eligible country are not eligible for the scholarship.
• Students who have previously studied in the UK with funding from a UK Government-funded scholarship are not eligible for the scholarship.

2. Felix Scholarship

The Felix Scholarship enables outstanding Indian students to pursue their graduate studies in any subject (including law) at the University of Reading and the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of Oxford, and the University of London (SOAS).

The scholarship covers 100% of the course fees and a grant for living costs of around GBP 15,840. It also includes one return flight from India to the UK. The awards are made available for the total duration of the fee liability for the agreed course of the student.

Eligibility Criteria

• The candidate must apply for a full-time master’s or DPhil course at Oxford.
• The candidate must not have previously studied a course at the same level as the course they are applying to.
• The candidate must not take a place at Oxford University without financial assistance.
• You will be expected to return to India after completing your course.

Scholarship Funded by	The Felix trust
Award	20
Country	UK
Deadline	January

Document Required

Documents that will be required are-

1. Statement of Purpose 
2. A valid passport 
3. Contact details of two academic references 

To read more on the scholarship refer to Felix scholarship

3. Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Degree Scholarship

Erasmus Mundus is an international study program launched by the European Union (EU) to increase the cooperation between them and the rest of the world. The scholarship is for students who want to pursue an LLM from a pre-approved European higher education institution (HEI). EU scholarships cover the cost of a student’s participation in the program, and travel, and provide them with a living allowance.

Erasmus Mundus joint master’s programs provide 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. They last from a minimum of 12 months to a maximum of 24 months.

Scholarship Funded by	Group of participating higher education Institution
Award	varies
Country	Europe and beyond
Deadline	Between October and January

Documents Required

1. You must have a bachelor’s degree (first degree), or be in your last year of bachelor studies
2. You must graduate before the master’s programme starts.

Popular Internally funded scholarship

1. Postgraduate at the University of Queensland

The University of Queensland in Australia has 4 scholarships for international students – two scholarships covering 50% of the tuition fees and two scholarships covering 25% of the tuition fees. The courses for which the scholarship is valid are Master of Laws (LLM), Master of International Commercial Law (MICLaw), or Master of International Law (MIL).

Eligibility Criteria

The scholarship includes the tuition fee only as it does not cover the living expenses, overseas health cover, travel expenses, or the Student Services and Amenities Fee.

• They must have applied for postgraduate study or should be enrolled at UQ to commence their postgraduate law studies
• They must have chosen to study one of the following programs:
• A candidate is eligible for the scholarship if they are an international student.

– Master of Laws

– Master of International Commercial Law (including dual programs)

– Master of International Law (including dual programs)

2. Australia Award Scholarship 

Australia Awards scholarships provide opportunities for students from developing countries to promote education and build strong links between Australia including Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East through the scholarship program. In order to promote change and contribute to development in their countries, Sydney University plays a role in creating tomorrow’s global leaders.

Scholarship Funded by	Australia Government
Award	varies
Country	Australia
Deadline	Depends

Eligibility Criteria

• You should be a minimum of 18 years of age on 1 February of the year of commencing the
• scholarship;
• You should be a citizen of a participating country (as listed on the Australia Awards website)
• and be residing in and applying for the scholarship from their country of
• citizenship;
• You should not be a citizen of Australia, hold permanent residency in Australia or be applying for a visa to live in Australia permanently.
• You should not be married to, engaged to, or a de facto of a person who holds or is eligible to hold Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency at any time during the application, selection and mobilisation phases.
• You should not be currently serving military personnel;
• You should also not have previously received a long-term Australia Award in the previous four.
• You should not hold convictions of criminal activities (including in their home country), including those relating to Child Protection and PSEAH;

Additional Information

• The Australian Government covers full course tuition
• Return airfares to Australia
• Living expenses contributions and establishment allowance

3. Tata Trust Scholarship

The J.N. Tata Endowment for The Higher Education Of Indians program is eligible for Indian citizens who want to study for Masters or PhDs abroad. The scholarship is in the form of a loan of a maximum amount of INR 10 lakhs. The loan is repayable within seven years of the application and is collected in five equal instalments from the end of the third year of education.

Eligibility Criteria

• The candidates for the scholarship should be Indians, not older than 45 years
• They must be graduates of a recognised Indian University with at least 60% marks
• Candidates who are going abroad for seminars, training, conferences, workshops, undergraduate studies and any postgraduate degree or diploma or certificates through Distance learning medium are not eligible to apply
• The course to which candidates seek to gain admission must be recognized as a Graduate Program (postgraduate in Indian terminology)

4. Commonwealth Master’s Scholarship 

This Commonwealth Scholarship is for individuals from the commonwealth countries (including India) who wish to pursue a Master’s course in the UK. Indian nationals should apply for the course from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The scholarship comprises approved airfare from India to the UK and the return at the end of the scholarship. The scholarship also covers –

• Approved tuition fees
• Stipend or a living allowance of GBP 1,116 per month, or GBP 1,369 per month for the universities in the London metropolitan area
• Study travel grant to cover the cost of study-related travel within the UK or overseas

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must be a citizen of a Commonwealth Country
• They must hold a relevant qualification such as a first degree or a relevant postgraduate qualification by the month of September
• The candidate must be unable to afford to study in the UK without the scholarship

5. Great Wall Program (LLM in China)

The aspirants must apply to the National Commission for UNESCO in their home countries to be eligible for this scholarship. The scholarship program includes a fee waiver of tuition, internship, registration, and the cost of basic textbooks. The scholarship also provides:

• Free dormitory accommodation on the campus of the university or college
• A monthly living allowance
• An inter-city travel reimbursement

Eligibility Criteria

• The candidate must not be older than 45
• They must have completed at least 2 years of undergraduate study
• They must be proficient in the English language
• The candidate should be physically and mentally fit

Types of Scholarships Offered

The scholarships or funding opportunities can further be divided into 3 types –

Need-based Scholarships

The final decision regarding these scholarships is purely based on the financial requirements of the candidate, which are assessed after considering the income of the parents and their financial history)

Merit-based

final selection for these scholarships happens entirely on the basis of the calibre of a candidate, and their academic and extra-curricular achievements. The income of the parents and their financial history plays no role in the decision whatsoever.

Merit cum Need-based

The final selection criteria involve consideration of combined achievements of the candidate’s potential coupled with their financial position.

Conclusion

Depending on the scholarship one opts for, either their tuition fees or living expenses will be covered under the scheme. The most common procedure to apply for such scholarships is after receiving an unconditional offer letter from a foreign university. The scholarship committee at the institute or organisation will then analyse the past record of a student, their eligibility, and their plans before selecting them for the scholarship opportunity. For admission to a law school, an applicant must submit the official transcripts and their English language proficiency scores such as IELTS, TOEFL, etc.

There is a range of sectors, including banking, teaching, defence, college, universities and academic institutions, that provide jobs to students in the field of law. The popular programs for law aspirants are LLB, LLM, and Juris Doctorate (J.D.). LLM is the most sought-after degree for legal aspirants abroad. After completing their legal degree, students can find jobs in top legal firms like Kirkland & Ellis LLP, DLA Piper, Baker McKenzie, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, and Clifford Chance. LeapScholar can help you identify the top law school abroad and the best scholarship opportunities to guide you through admissions.

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