Higher Education Scholarships for Palestinians (HESPAL)

Academic year 2025

London, England

Support for junior academics employed by Palestinian universities to study for a Master's programme or PhD at King's College London

Award details

HESPAL aims to create the next generation of senior academics who can maintain international quality standards at Palestinian universities and develop renewed and sustainable links between Palestinian and UK universities.

The scheme will upgrade academic staff in Palestinian universities through a Masters or PhD Scholarship programme.

The British Council Palestine and King's College London hold an agreement to jointly support up to 2 Master's Scholarships and 1 PhD Scholarship at King's College London each year.

Award value

The scholarship covers the following:

Tuition fees
Pre-departure briefing from the British Council
Arrival allowances
Thesis allowances
Monthly allowance to cover living expenses
Annual bench fees which may be required for certain PhD programmes in health and sciences

NB: Scholarships do not cover the costs for any accompanying family.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must meet HESPAL eligibility requirements:

be a resident citizen of Palestinian Territories.
be currently employed by the Palestinian University which nominates him/her, which must be one of the participating Palestinian universities.
sign a written undertaking to return to Palestine within a time frame agreed, normally one year.

Applicants must meet King's eligibility requirements for the Master's Scholarship:

Have a bachelor's degree from a Palestinian university with a minimum grade of very good (and equivalent to at least a 2.1 Bachelor's Degree from the UK)
have IELTS certification appropriate for the course and university (normally at least 6.5, sometimes higher depending on the subject).

Applicants must meet King's eligibility requirements for the PhD Scholarships, which are typically:

A minimum of bachelor's degree with 2:1 honours in an appropriate subject for a PhD candidate.
have IELTS certification appropriate for the course and university (normally at least 6.5, sometimes higher depending on the subject).

Application enquiry

STUDENT TESTIMONIALS

What our students have to say about SI-UK

I utilized the services of SI-UK in Chennai which proved invaluable for me. They provided great assistance throughout my application process, guiding me from evaluating my choices to selecting the university that best matched my profile.

Ishwar

Masters in Business Analytics, Lancaster University

"SI-UK has been a crucial part of my UK journey. They assisted me in obtaining my bachelor's degree in August 2019 and now, they've aided me in securing admission to a top design university in London for my master's. The counselors at SI-UK offer personalised support to each applicant, helping us in each and every step including the final stage of obtaining our CAS letter once we receive the offer."

Nidhi Agarwal

MSc Design Innovation, Loughborough University

"The entire team at SI-UK was incredibly supportive. They provided me with a list of universities to consider, and I ultimately chose Aston University. With their assistance, I applied and received an offer along with a £5000 scholarship. I am grateful to my counselor and the entire team for guiding me through the visa application process and every other aspect. Thank you, SI-UK, for helping me pursue my dream."

Sudarshan

Engineering, Aston University

"Last year, I reached out to SI-UK, Jaipur for my Master’s journey, and it has been an incredibly fulfilling and successful experience. From guiding me through the application process to assisting with letters of recommendation and statement of purpose, and even following up with universities, SI-UK provided comprehensive support at every step of the journey. They went the extra mile, assisting with admissions, fee processing, accommodation arrangements, visa guidance, and coordination on medical checkups. I firmly believe that my admission to the University of Birmingham wouldn't have been possible without SI-UK. I highly recommend SI-UK to anyone seeking admission to a UK or Ireland university."

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MBA , University of Birmingham

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Jehabuz Khan

MSc in Mechanical Engineering, University of Strathclyde

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