Applications should be submitted by 2 June 2024 to the Grants Secretary of the Society via email to info.scholarship@britishspanishsociety.org.

1. A scanned copy of the letter of acceptance from your academic institution
2. Reference letter from an academic sponsor
3. Form A – Personal information
4. Form B – Introduction
5. Form C – Candidate’s profile
6. Form D – Project
7. Form E – Centre
8. Form F – Ethical code

The materials should be written in English. Each document can be one or more pages long, if needed.

Document 2 (the reference letter from an academic sponsor) can be submitted separately providing it is sent directly from the academic sponsor to the Grants Secretary of the Society within the deadline.

Applications for BritishSpanish Society Scholarships are subject to the following terms:

1. Applicants must be British or Spanish nationals who are or will be engaged in university studies at postgraduate level (masters and doctoral programmes) in either the UK or Spain.

2. The research should have some connection to links between the United Kingdom and Spain in any field of academic interest.

3.  At the time of application, candidates should be undergraduates in their final year or graduates with bachelors or advanced degrees preparing to conduct further degree-level work in their fields of study. We regret that we cannot accept applications for postdoctoral research or fellowship positions (postdocs).

4. Candidates should already have been unconditionally accepted for their postgraduate degrees at the University of their choice and be able to provide written confirmation of this (a scanned copy of the acceptance letter or confirmation of enrolment will suffice). Candidates currently enrolled at a university yet planning a visiting research stay at a different institution must provide acceptance documents from both institutions.

5. References must be presented on official letter-headed paper, dated, and signed by the sponsor. We will accept recent letters, dated less than one year prior to the application deadline (a scanned copy of your reference letter will suffice). Email references will be equally accepted, provided they have been sent from the official email account of the academic sponsor. Candidates failing to provide references in the right format may be disqualified from the selection process.

6. Shortlisted candidates will be required to send in a scanned copy of their British or Spanish passport/identity card. All candidates must provide their British or Spanish passport/identity card number in Form A. This is required solely to verify that you meet our eligibility criteria.

7. Candidates are expected to send one application email with all the required documents. References may be sent separately, in the event that the academic sponsor wishes to send references directly, in line with the Scholarships policy – see point 5. The application email must be sent to info.scholarship@britishspanishsociety.org and the email subject must be: ‘BSS Scholarships Application pack’ followed by the candidate’s full name. The following separate documents must be attached to the application email, with the following titles, including the number codes:

1. Letter of acceptance / Confirmation of enrolment

2. Reference/s

3. Form A – Personal information

4. Form B – Introduction

5. Form C – Candidate profile

6. Form D – Project

7. Form E – Centre

8. Form F – Ethical code

Each document may be one or more pages long. Candidates who wish to submit changes before the closing date can do so by sending a new application email including all application documents. The last valid application email will cancel all previous submissions.

8. In line with data protection law and in order to conduct a fair evaluation, documents 5, 6, 7 and 8 with the candidate’s profile, project and centre information must not mention the candidate’s personal data, contact details or include photographs of the candidate.

9. The ‘ethical code of conduct’ section at the end of this application form must be filled in by all applicants.

10. The Society’s aim is to provide support for a course or research project which would not be possible without additional funding. In so far as the BSS is concerned, the BSS Scholarship Awards are compatible with other grants or funding schemes. Applications from working professionals in receipt of a salary to develop their projects cannot be accepted.

11. When considering applications, the Selection Committee will take into account whether they conform to the objectives of the Society, which is a non-political organisation whose aim is to promote friendship and understanding among the peoples of the United Kingdom and Spain through knowledge of each other’s customs, institutions, history and way of life.

12. Successful applicants are expected to join the BritishSpanish Society and become members of the Charity for a minimum period of one year. Membership should be active before the date of the awards ceremony, the discounted student rate for 2024 is £30/annum. 

13. Details of the sponsors and benefactors who generously support our programme can be found on the BritishSpanish Society website. Their representatives will be involved in the selection process.

14. Grants can be used towards research materials, travel, academic fees and, where appropriate, accommodation.  Scholarship grants of up to £9k will be awarded to each winning scholar. 

15. Applicants agree that, if awarded, the project summary and the candidate profile highlights (application document 4.Form B-Introduction) may be published on the Charity’s website and in other institutional and promotional materials. Equally, the award acceptance speech at the Awards Ceremony may be fully or partly reproduced in the Charity’s institutional and promotional materials.

16. Selected candidates will be asked to submit a short article about their research and experiences within nine months of the scholarship award, for publication on the Charity’s website, in La Revista magazine and/or other institutional materials.

17. Publications in connection with the granted research/project should mention that it was made possible thanks to the support of [name of the Principal Supporter] and the BritishSpanish Society Scholarship. Selected candidates should notify the Society at info.scholarship@britishspanishsociety.org of publications related to the funded project.

18. Selected masters degree projects should mention the support of the Principal Supporter and the BritishSpanish Society Grant in their final thesis acknowledgements.

19. If the awardee makes media appearances or contributions in relation to the funded research/project, this should be notified to the BritishSpanish Society at info.scholarship@britishspanishsociety.org

20. Due to the large number of projects received, the Charity is unable to provide feedback. No feedback will be offered.

21. Applications can be submitted until 2 June 2024. Please note that no applications, or further documents, will be accepted after 2 June 2024. It is intended that scholarships will be presented at an awards ceremony held at the Embassy of Spain in London in November 2024.

22. The BritishSpanish Society will contact successful applicants by email with appropriate notice. If the Charity receives no confirmation of acceptance of the award and attendance to the Ceremony within five working days from the first notification email, the Charity will attempt different means to reach the candidate. Failing to establish contact within five working days, the candidate may be disqualified. Details regarding the Awards Ceremony will reach awardees at a later stage and with appropriate notice.

23. Evaluation criteria:

Form B – Introduction will be only evaluated among shortlisted candidates.

Form C – Candidate Profile (max. 20 points)

• Education (max. 10 points)
• Professional experience (max. 10 points)

Form D – Project (max. 70 points)

• Clarity of exposition (max. 10 points)
• Methodology (max. 10 points)
• Impact (max. 30 points)
• British – Spanish link (max. 20 points)

Form E – Centre (max. 10 points)

Please note that only applications that include all the required documents, received in the correct format and in a timely manner will be considered for these scholarship awards.

Note: When assessing the strength of applications for the BritishSpanish Society scholarships, apart from considering whether they conform with the objects of the Society, the relevance of candidates’ applications to the work of our Principal Supporters may be considered. Candidates may want to reflect on how best to present their applications with reference to our Supporters’ websites, and are welcome to indicate if they feel their application is especially suited to the interests of a particular Supporter. Past awarded candidates’ profile highlights and project summaries are available on our website for guidance.