BJP Scholarship Program

If you wish to apply for support with your university fees in the 2023/2024 academic year through the BJP Scholarship Program, please review the Information and Guidelines for Applicants below.

1. WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM THE BJP SCHOLARSHIP AND EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM?

Through the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program, we offer:

• partial financial scholarships to help cover the tuition fees of study at an accredited higher education institution in Poland;
• non-financial support that aims to strengthen general academic learning skills, create opportunities to develop skills and expertise in subject-specific areas, as well as facilitate networking and mutual support within a community of Black, African and Afro-descendant scholars and professionals who work in Poland.

2. WHO CAN APPLY TO THE BJP SCHOLARSHIP AND EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM?

The program is open to applicants who fulfill the following criteria:

• Citizenship of an African country;
• Legal right to stay in Poland;
  18 years of age or older at the time of applying;
• Have secured acceptance to at least one higher education institution in Poland;
• Demonstrate financial need and are not able to pursue the chosen program of study without financial support from the BJP.

We regret that, at this time, the BJP is not able to offer financial support to students who were previously awarded a BJP scholarship in the 2022-2023 academic year. Although we cannot offer repeat scholarships in the 2023-2024 academic year we look forward to including previous BJP Scholarship awardees into non-financial forms of support.

3. WHAT KIND OF STUDIES DO WE SUPPORT THROUGH THE PROGRAM?

Our aim is to support African students with accessing higher education in Poland. Through the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program, we offer partial funding to cover tuition fees based on documented need of individual applicants. At this time, we cannot cover full tuition fees for any individual applicant.

We welcome applications from students studying in diverse fields.

Applicants to the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program must have documentation that confirms they have been accepted into programs of study and courses that meet the following criteria:

• The program of study or course of study is offered by an accredited higher education institution based in Poland (e.g. universities, schools of higher education, institutes and research centers that offer certificates of higher education);
• The program of study or course of study must culminate in a higher education degree (e.g. BA, MA, MSc, MPhil, MFA, etc.). We can also support students undertaking study at PhD level as well;
• The fees for the program or course of study must be confirmed by an invoice or other official financial document issued by the accredited higher education institution based in Poland.

We accept applications from individuals interested in studying both part time and full time.

4. WHAT CAN I EXPECT DURING THE APPLICATION PROCESS?

The application process involves two stages:

Stage I:

Prepare and submit your application pack. Your application pack must include:

• The completed application form, prepared in English and by computer and submitted by email as an attachment in .doc or .pdf format (please do not submit forms completed in handwriting);
• Contacts to two individuals who agree to recommend you. Your referees must not be friends or relatives. Your referees can be, for example, former teachers or professors, current or former employers, mentors;
• A letter from an accredited higher education institution in Poland that confirms your acceptance into the program of study or course of study that you wish to attend;
• A formal document issued by the higher education institution confirming the tuition fee amount and deadline for payment of tuition fees, including the institution’s bank account details;
• Scan of a document that confirms your legal right to stay in Poland.

The application form should be prepared in English and by computer.

The completed application form and accompanying documents must be submitted by the deadline: midnight (CET) on Monday, 31 July 2023.

Applications should be sent by email as an attachment in .doc or .pdf format to the following address: office@blackjustice.org.pl

Stage II:

The BJP Review Committee will carefully read all submitted applications and short-list candidates who will be invited to the second stage of the application process. Invitations to short-listed candidates will be sent by the end of August 2023.

The second stage of the application process includes:

• An interview with the BJP Review Committee. Interviews will be held online or in-person as agreed with each individual short-listed applicant. The interview will help us to assess your candidacy with regard to the selection criteria, which are outlined below.
• After the interview, the BJP Review Committee will contact the selected applicants’ referees who were listed in their application forms.

Decisions about the final selection of applicants who will receive a partial BJP scholarship toward their tuition fees in the 2023-2024 academic year will be released by Wednesday, 6 September 2023.

5. WHAT ARE THE SELECTION CRITERIA, HOW WILL MY APPLICATION BE EVALUATED?

Applications are assessed according to the following criteria:

Formal criteria:

• Does the applicant meet the criteria outlined in the above point 2 of the Information and Guidelines for Applicants (i.e. “Who can apply to the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program”)?
• Does the application meet the criteria outlined in the above point 3 of the Information and Guidelines for Applicants (i.e. “What kind of studies do we support through the program?”)?
• Was the application received within the deadline?
• Is the application form completed in the English language, by computer and are the necessary supporting documents attached?

Substantive criteria:

• Are the applicant’s answers to the questions on the application form thoughtfully prepared, clearly presented and compellingly argued?
• Are the applicant’s education and career goals and plans thoughtfully prepared, clearly presented and compellingly argued?
• Were the applicant’s answers and overall presentation during the interview thoughtfully considered and well-prepared?
• Does the applicant demonstrate a need for financial support that justifies a partial scholarship toward their tuition fees?
• Is the application in line with the objectives of the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program?

Please note, we can offer partial funding for tuition fees based on documented need of individual applicants. At this time, we cannot offer to cover the full tuition fees for any individual applicant.

We regret that, at this time, the BJP is not able to offer financial support to students who were previously awarded a BJP scholarship in the 2022-2023 academic year. Although we cannot offer repeat scholarships, in the 2023-2024 academic year, we look forward to including previous BJP Scholarship awardees into non-financial forms of support.

6. WHEN WILL I KNOW THE DECISION ABOUT MY APPLICATION AND WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BJP SCHOLARSHIP AND EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM?

Applicants will be informed about the decision on their application by email no later than by Wednesday, 6 September 2023.

For more information about the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program, please write to us at: scholarships@blackjustice.org.pl