Graduate Studies Scholarship Program (GSSP)

The intent of this action is to acquaint vulnerable Jordanians and 30 Syrian refugees of bachelor’s degree holders with a full scholarship to pursue graduate studies, a master’s degree. The length of the master’s study programs runs between 2 to 3 years. The GSSP is implemented at four different public institutions, German Jordanian University (GJU), Yarmouk University (YU), Jordan University of Science & Technology (JUST) & Mutah University (MU), which were already local co-partners since previous projects. This action, specifically in EDU-SYRIA III is managed by DAAD Jordan, unlike previous EDU-SYRIA projects, another co-partner, though international.

Getting a master’s degree in Jordan, in general, and for the cluster of underserved Jordanians and Syrian refugees, in particular, is a major launching pad in these people’s career path. It is the first serious career move into high gear with steady hard deliberation. Bear in mind that it would be extremely difficult for those potential candidates to take such action on their own as tuitions of master’s programs across all universities, private and public, are exceedingly high.

Other than a competitive GPA, those Jordanian applicants are recruited with one single condition, being underserved as it is measured by receiving governmental or NGOs monthly financial assistance from one of the four main entities, National Aid Fund (NAF), Tkiyet Um Ali Fund (TUAF), Al-Aman Fund (AF), and Zakah Fund (ZF). To be a beneficiary of such organizations, the family needs to be way below the poverty line, no one in the family is working or being employed and subject to social security, and the house should be rented, among long-listed criteria.

It can be argued that by making a scholarship available for this special group, not only a single person’s life would change, but also many others in his/her social network as the impact will be fanning out to all family members. It should be noted that Jordan is characterized as a collectivist culture with strong family ties. The same can be asserted about Syrian refugees’ culture, which has many commonalities with Jordanians’. Nevertheless, Syrians face more challenges and hardships as displaced persons live outside their country. Getting this opportunity is a lifeline for all these youths, Syrians, and Jordanians.