Grants for a transition course to university studies and subsequent completion of master's studies or the last two courses (second cycle) of the degree (2024-2025)

This initiative is co-financed by the University of Barcelona, the Fundació Solidaritat UB, and the Directorate for Human Rights, Global Justice and International Cooperation of the Barcelona City Council.

Eligibility criteria for applicants:

• Be in a refugee or refugee-like situation, as defined by the UNHCR. This implies that the applicants must have been forcibly displaced from their places of residence or be persecuted, or have a well-founded fear of persecution, due to conflict, violence or other circumstances that seriously undermine the public order, and/or due to their political opinions, religious beliefs, ethnic or social affiliation, sexual orientation, gender status, or any other circumstance. In all cases, applicants must prove their situation by means of documentary evidence, such as letters from governmental or non-governmental institutions, documentation issued by the UNHCR or any other agency of the United Nations, or any other material element that can be assessed. 

• Be in a situation of vulnerability in terms of the effective exercise of Human, Economic and Social Rights. In this sense, the applicant must provide documentation or other material elements that sufficiently accredit the existence of this situation of vulnerability in their place of residence at the time of applying for aid. 

• Be aged 26 or younger at the time of the deadline for submitting applications. 

• Be a resident of a non-EU country and not hold Spanish nationality or any other European Union nationality, nor dual nationality, when one of the two is Spanish or from another European Union country. 

• Have no prior knowledge of either Spanish or Catalan, given that one of the specific aims of the course that is the object of this call for applications is the learning of both languages. 

• Explicitly manifest a social commitment and a commitment to Global Justice and, therefore, a willingness to engage with the local associative network in the defence of human rights. 

• Sufficiently proof, as required by the University of Barcelona, having carried out university studies and/or hold a university degree that allows access to an official, non-interuniversity master's degree at the UB or to the last two years (second cycle) of the UB-specific bachelor's degree at UB’s own centers. The supporting documentation must be submitted in the original language and in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish. This documentation will be checked prior to the selection of candidates. 

• Those already holding a degree cannot apply for another degree within the framework of this call for applications. 

• Those already holding a master's degree cannot apply for another master's degree within the framework of this call for applications. 

• The application for studies to be carried out within the framework of this call for applications must be coherent with the person's academic trajectory. 

• Apply for admission to official and non-interuniversity master's degree programs or to the last two years of the second cycle of bachelor's degree courses offered by UB faculties and schools, excluding affiliated centers and the degrees in Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Psychology. The UB's course offerings can be found at the following addresses: o For information about Bachelor’s degrees: https://web.ub.edu/web/estudis/graus o For information about Master’s: https://web.ub.edu/web/estudis/masters[1]postgraus

In order to apply for the grant, the following documentation is required: 

• Fully completed application form. This form is available at the University of Barcelona's Electronic Office and at the following website: https://www.solidaritat.ub.edu/2024_scholarship_application/

• Copy of valid and in force passport. 

• Documentary evidence on accrediting the university education, as established in point 2 of these conditions. The documentation must be submitted in the original language and in any of the following languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese or English. 

• Motivation letter from the student, of a maximum of 600 words, in which the applicant indicates their motivation for applying for the grant, their academic and personal background, the circumstances that have interrupted their academic trajectory, their expectations in relation to their training in the transition course and, subsequently, in their UB studies. 

• Documentation (letter, certificate, legal document, or similar) accrediting the applicant's refugee status or need for refuge as defined by the UNHCR: been forcibly displaced from their places of residence or be persecuted, or have a well-founded fear of persecution, due to conflict, violence or other circumstances that seriously undermine the public order, and/or due to their political opinions, religious beliefs, ethnic or social affiliation, sexual orientation, gender status, or any other circumstance. The documentation must have been provided by sufficiently accredited governmental or non-governmental institutions or agencies of the United Nations, and must be provided in any of the following languages: Spanish, French, English or Portuguese. 

• Documentation (letter, certificate, legal document, or similar) that accredits the socio-economic vulnerability of the applicant. The documentation must have been provided by sufficiently accredited governmental or non-governmental institutions or by United Nations agencies, and must be provided in any of the following languages: Spanish, French, English or Portuguese. 

The application, together with all required documentation, must be attached in PDF format to an e-mail and sent to the following address: [email protected]. The e-mail subject must be: Name_Surname_Application_ScholarshipUB. The closing date for applications is 12 June 2024 at midnight (CEST)

The total number of grants awarded is 10 for the academic year 2024-2025, consisting of: 

• Exemption from tuition fees and taxes: o for the course of transition to university studies o in the event of passing the transition course, the master's degree courses or the last two years (second cycle) of the bachelor's degree, for the academic years 2025-2026 and, in the case of the two-year bachelor's or master's degree, 2026- 2027, in accordance with the agreement of the Economic Committee of the Social Council of the University of Barcelona, dated 27 April 2021, in this regard. This exemption will be conditional on passing the minimum number of enrolled credits, within the terms established by the University of Barcelona's regulations on continuation of studies and the administrative requirements for legal residence in Spain, and on the approval of the scholarship renewal 6 application, which must be submitted for each academic year within the terms established in due course. 

• Participation in language exchanges with people from the UB community. 

• Full board accommodation in the facilities provided by the University of Barcelona, preferably in dormitories or university residences, in shared rooms for 2 or 3 people. 

• 200 euros per month for pocket expenses. 

• Psychological support through the resources available to the University of Barcelona and the FSUB. 

• Legal advice on migration and asylum laws using the resources available to the University of Barcelona and the FSUB. 

• Private medical insurance, with the limitation of the coverage corresponding to the contracted terms.

 • Psycho-emotional support and academic guidance. 

• Participation in programmes and projects for integration in the social and associative life of the University of Barcelona, the city of Barcelona and its metropolitan area.

Additionally, in view of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially after 7 October 2023, priority will also be given to applications from Palestinian candidates who, at the time of applying for the grant, are in one of the following circumstances: 

• Residents currently in the occupied Palestinian territories, or before October 7th, 2023. 

• Refugees under UNRWA protection or are recipients of UNRWA support. 

• Residents in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and, at the time of applying for this grant, outside these Territories as beneficiaries of a scholarship awarded during the 2022-2023 academic year, and are unable to return there

This Call  (https://www.solidaritat.ub.edu/terms-for-grants-2024-ub-transitional-course/) consists on a total of 10 grants for the completion of a transition course to university studies and subsequent completion of master's studies or the last two years (second cycle) of a degree , which will cover tuition and accommodation, a monthly aid of 200 euros, private health insurance,psychosocial, psychological and legal support and assistance, funded by the corresponding contributions from the University of Barcelona and the Fundació Solidaritat UB, and the Barcelona City Council, in accordance with the terms established in the annexes to this resolution. 

The grants have three main objectives: 

• Promote access to higher education for university students who are refugees or in refugee-like situations in the terms defined by UNHCR, the educational and life projects of those who have been affected by armed conflicts or by different situations of violation of Human Rights due to the expression of political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, ethnic or social minorities status, or any other reason. 

• Promote complementary and safe pathways for refuge, following the recommendations and in the sense stated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

 • To strengthen the professional skills and future employability of university students, whether in the host countries or in their countries of origin, when return is possible and desired

This initiative is aimed at non-EU students who are threatened and/or displaced in their countries of origin or refugees in first asylum or transit countries, and it is part of what UNHCR defines as complementary and safe pathways to the resettlement of refugees in third countries.