Rules of the Visegrad Scholarship Program

Under Articles 1 and 2 of the Statute of the International Visegrad Fund (hereinafter the "Fund") the Conference of Ministers is issuing these conditions to determine the Rules of the Visegrad Scholarship Program (hereinafter "Visegrad Scholarships").

Chapter I- Aims of the Visegrad Scholarship Program
Article 1
Visegrad Scholarships is a specific program of the Fund created to facilitate academic exchanges by providing financial support to students or researchers who are citizens of V4 countries: Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia (hereinafter the "Member States") and for citizens of countries specified in Chapter II Article 6 to study in the Member States. All Higher Education Institutions recognized by the state (i.e., by the government, relevant ministry, etc.) and institutes of Academies of Sciences (hereinafter only "the host") are eligible to be host institutions. The aim of the Visegrad Scholarships is to support the mobility of students and researchers among the specified countries.

Chapter II- Eligibility
Article 2
Visegrad Scholarships are provided for study/research projects specified in the submitted application form. The country of citizenship and permanent residence shall be different from the host country.
The applicant’s previous level of university studies, where applicable, must be completed in a country other than where the applicant applies for the scholarship. The distance between the applicant’s current university/employer and the host as well as between the permanent residence and the host must be above 150 km. Citizenship of the applicant must differ from the country of the host. An applicant for the scholarship support shall submit no more than one application within one deadline. In the event that the applicant submits more than one application, the Fund shall consider the first submitted.

Article 3
Applicants are eligible to apply for Visegrad Scholarships for a maximum term of support of 4 semesters on bachelors/masters levels and 2 semesters on the post- masters level at a time; re- applying is possible but preference will be given to those who have not yet received a Visegrad Scholarship in the past.

Article 4
The minimum length of the supported period of study/research shall be 1 academic semester (5 months).

The levels of supported studies shall be:
- bachelors/masters studies (the scholar must have completed at least two semesters of university studies when starting the scholarship, and during the entire scholarship period shall be enrolled in full- time bachelors/masters program),
- post- masters (doctoral, postdoc programs or independent research)
Article 5
The Fund is responsible for the proper announcement of Visegrad Scholarships in conformity with the decision of the Council of Ambassadors.

Article 6
The following three schemes are supported within the Visegrad Scholarships:
A. Intra- Visegrad Scholarships: For scholars or researchers within the territory of the Member States on all Bachelor’s, Master’s and post- Master’s degree levels;
B. Out- Going Scholarships: For scholars or researchers from Member States for studies at accredited universities in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo,1 Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine on Master’s and post- Master’s degree levels;
C. In- Coming Scholarships:
For scholars or researchers who are citizens of the Western Balkans- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia- and of the Eastern Partnership countries- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine- wishing to study in the Member States on Master’s and post- Master’s degree levels.

Chapter III- Application Process
Article 7
The application is exclusively submitted via the Fund’s online system before the given deadline.

Article 8
The following annexes to the application form are compulsory:
- A scan of a valid identification document (photo ID card for EU citizens, passport for non- EU citizens);
- bachelors/masters studies:
- A scan of a transcript of records for the last two duly terminated semesters (students of bachelors program can document a single semester provided that they are applying in the first year of their studies); and
- A written proof of the scholar’s application for studies/enrollment at the host. A scan of the eventual letter of acceptance, where relevant, shall be submitted prior to the signing of the contract with the Fund;
- post- masters studies:
- A scan of a letter of acceptance issued by the host indicating length and approving working plan of the study/research no older than 4 months when submitting the application.

Chapter IV- Selection and Approval

Article 9
Deadline for the applications is March 15 at 11:59:59 CET (noon) each year, unless stipulated otherwise on the fund’s website. The earliest date for commencement of the study/research project is September of the respective year.

1 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

Article 10
The Fund shall review each application with regard to its content and its compliance with the requirements. Only eligible applications are to be evaluated by the Selection Committee.

Article 11
The Selection Committee shall consist of at least four representatives of the academia (one from each Member State) and at least four representatives of relevant state institutions responsible for higher education (one per Member State).

Article 12
The members of the Selection Committee shall evaluate all eligible applications based on their merits. The Fund shall summarize the records from all selection sessions and present to the Council of Ambassadors a final list of recommended applicants taking into consideration the principles of distribution of financial resources approved in the given year Fund’s budget.

Article 13
At its session (by May 31 each year), the Council of Ambassadors shall approve the final lists of successful applicants together with a reserve list of substitutes used in case of cancellations. The decision made by the Council of Ambassadors is final and shall present no grounds for legal proceedings and require no detailed reasoning.

Article 14
In case the distance between the current university/employer and the host of the scholar is more than 1,500 km, the Fund can provide a travel grant to selected scholars. The travel grant is a one- time contribution of the Fund to cover travel expenses of the scholar related to the approved study/research project. The travel grant will be provided at the beginning of the scholarship period together with the 1st installment of the scholarship after fulfilling the conditions of its disbursement.

Article 15
The Fund shall have the obligation to inform the applicants of the approval or rejection of their applications by the Council of Ambassadors by May 31 of the respective year.

Article 16
The Fund shall cover expert fees to the Selection Committee members for evaluation of applications.

Chapter V- Contracting and Conditions of Scholarship Disbursement
Article 17
Prior to signing the contract, scholars shall have at their disposal written proof of acceptance by the host indicating that she/he was accepted for the respective number of semesters (corresponding with the amount of granted scholarship) within the full- time bachelors/masters/postmasters program. Non- compliance with this requirement shall result in termination of the scholarship. The scholar shall be held responsible for the accuracy of the information inserted to the Fund’s online system based on which the contract between the Fund and the scholar shall be drawn up.

The scholar shall have the obligation to study or to conduct research in compliance with the time limit and financial conditions agreed upon in the contract. The payments from the Fund will be transferred in the beginning of each semester (a 5- month period in case of post- masters researchers) after the Fund receives a written confirmation stating the date of the start of the studies of the scholar and signed contract; further installments (if relevant) will be transferred to the account of the scholar after the Fund receives following documents:
· bachelors/masters scholars:
- Transcript of records with at least 30 credits (ECTS) obtained for the previous semester
- Confirmation of continuation of studies from the host
· post- masters scholars:
- Confirmation of continuation from the host in the form of a brief assessment of the scholar’s achievements and the dates of the planned completion

Scans of the relevant documents are to be uploaded into the Fund’s online system directly by each scholar.

Article 18
The Fund shall support the host by a lump sum for each semester of the studies supported by the Visegrad Scholarship. The lump sum in case of bachelors/masters studies is to support the host in order not to charge additional tuition fees to the scholar. The lump sum in case of post- masters studies is to provide material and personal assistance to the scholar in her/his research.

The host is obliged to conclude the contract with the Fund in order to receive the lump sum together with the 1st disbursement of the scholarship but no later than by the end of the scholarship period of the respective scholar. The lump sum is disbursed upon reception of the written contract between the Fund and the host and between the Fund and the scholar, and a written confirmation stating the date of the start of the study/research of the scholar.

Article 19
The scholar shall inform the Fund of any other governmental scholarship he/she will receive from any of the Member State or the European Union simultaneously with the scholarship of the International Visegrad Fund. The Fund may, based on an individual basis, determine whether to uphold or withdraw its offer to the scholar in that case.

Article 20
The scholar is obliged to submit to the Fund the following documents 30 calendar days after the termination of the studies covered by the Visegrad Scholarship at the latest.
· bachelors/masters studies:
- Copy of the bachelors/masters diploma, if obtained;
- Transcript of records with at least 30 credits (ECTS) obtained for the last semester covered by the Visegrad Scholarship;
· post- masters studies:
- A final report summarizing the results of the research confirmed by the relevant representative of the host (e.g. supervisor)

In case the scholar fails to fulfill her/his duties toward the host, through her/his own fault, or voluntarily terminates the studies or research, she/he shall be obliged to return to the Fund all the funding already paid within the scholarship in accordance with the relevant provisions of the contract concluded between the scholar and the Fund.

Article 21
These Rules shall enter into force on the day of their approval by the Conference of Ministers.
https://www.visegradfund.org/apply/mobilities/visegrad- scholarship/

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