Inlaks Masters Scholarships – A Guide for Indian Students

The Inlaks Scholarship was created by the Inlaks Shivdansi Foundation, with the aim of enabling talented Indian students to pursue their academic goals, both at home and abroad.

Awards are worth up to USD $100,000 and are available to Indian students studying a full-time postgraduate programme abroad.

This guide will cover everything you need to know about the Inlaks Scholarship scheme, including eligibility, applications and more.

What is the Inlaks Scholarship?

The Inlaks Scholarship is an award available to Indian students pursuing a full-time Masters degree, MPhil or PhD at a university in the USA or Europe.

Scholarships are worth up to USD $100,000 (75 Lakh), and cover tuition fees, living costs, and one-way air travel to your chosen country.

The scholarship is designed to enable research across a wide range of disciplines. However, funding is not available in the following areas:

• Business and Finance
• Computer Science
• Engineering (unless you’ll be studying at Imperial College London)
• Fashion Design
• Film and Film Animation (with the exception of Documentary filmmaking)
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Indian Studies (unless your project has contemporary relevance)
• Business and Management
• Medicine and Dentistry
• Music (with the exception of Western Classical Singing)
• Public Health

If the total cost of your degree (and any associated expenses) will exceed $100,000, you’ll need to demonstrate that you can cover the remaining costs in your application. You can accept funding from other organisations or pursue part-time work during your degree, but you’ll need to inform the Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation of any extra income you’re receiving.

The Foundation has partnerships with the following universities, meaning students at these institutions may qualify for a scholarship of more than $100,000:

• Imperial College
• The Royal College of Art (RCA)
• The University of Cambridge
• Sciences Po, Paris

You should note that you won’t be able to take any field trips to India during your course of study. You’ll need to start you studies within nine months of being offered a scholarship, otherwise your funding will be withdrawn.

Who is eligible to apply for a Inlaks Masters Scholarship?

To apply for an Inlaks Masters Scholarship, you must:

• Be an Indian citizen and hold an Indian passport
• Hold an undergraduate degree from a recognised Indian university. You may still be eligible to apply if you studied your first degree abroad, provided you moved back to India after graduation and having been living there for at least two years
• Already hold an offer to study a full-time postgraduate degree at an eligible university
• Be 30 years old or younger at the time of your application

The exact academic requirements you’ll need to meet will depend on the degree you plan to study:

• For Social Sciences, Humanities, Law, Fine Arts, Architecture and related subjects, you’ll need a grade of at least 65% (CGPA 6.8/ GPA 2.6) in your undergraduate degree
• For Mathematics, Sciences and related subjects, you’ll need a grade of at least 70% (CGPA 7.2/ GPA 2.8) in your undergraduate degree

You can find out more about how the Indian GPA scale compares with other international grading systems in our full guide to GPA for Indian students.

You will not be eligible to apply for an Inlaks Scholarship if you’ve already started studying at an overseas university, or you already have a postgraduate degree that was awarded abroad.

How can I apply for an Inlaks Masters Scholarship?

Applications for Inlaks Masters Scholarships are made through an online portal, which normally opens in January or February each year. Applications for 2025 will open in February 2025. You’ll need to supply the following:

• A scan of your passport
• Proof of acceptance onto an eligible postgraduate programme
• The details of two referees
• Details of your tuition fees and health insurance costs, and proof that you can make up the difference if the total cost of your degree will exceed $100,000
• A PDF of your portfolio (if applying for a Masters in Architecture, Fine Art or a related subject)
• Links to recordings of your performances (if applying for a Masters in Dance, Theatre, Documentary Filmmaking or Western Classical Singing)

Applications will usually close in late March or early April.

How are Inlaks Masters Scholarship winners chosen?

Applications are reviewed by an independent selection committee. You’ll be judged both on your past achievements and your potential to make change in society using your chosen subject area in the future.

If your application is shortlisted by the selection committee, you’ll be invited to a preliminary interview. Those who are successful at this stage will attend a final interview. Winners will be contacted by early May.