The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (“Nebraska” or “the university”) in the USA seeks to recruit up to 50 qualified Rwandan students to enroll in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) for the Fall 2018 term. Students selected to participate in the CASNR Undergraduate Scholarship Program (CUSP) will pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrated Science that is focused on conservation agriculture, entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovative thinking and is aligned with the areas of need as identified by the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources. Students will also have the opportunity to explore other areas of agriculture including: food production – animal, plant and food systems; soils, water quantity and availability, energy and environmental stewardship; nutrition, food safety, food engineering and processing; business, communication, public service and extension education; ecology, conservation biology and climate; and engineering, irrigation, mechanization and technology. Upon completion of the program, participants will return to Rwanda and commit a minimum of 5 years of their career to advancing the Rwanda agricultural sector.
Students selected to participate in the program will receive full scholarships, to include tuition, fees, living expenses, and travel costs.
Criteria for Consideration
Applicants will be considered based on a combination of meeting Nebraska undergraduate admission requirements, academic performance, a commitment to the goals of the scholarship program as well as a qualitative in-country interview conducted by members of CASNR and the university’s Office of Admissions.
Scholarship Requirements & Selection Criteria
The CUSP Scholarship is a full scholarship that covers all tuition, books, living expenses, and fees for a 4-year (120 credit hour) bachelor’s degree in Integrated Sciences.
At the time of completing the scholarship application, an applicant must:
- Hold Rwandan citizenship.
- Have graduated from high school by the start of the academic year the applicant is applying for or be a transfer student from university. If you have completed a Bachelor degree program, you are not eligible to apply for the scholarship. If you have not completed a Bachelor degree program, you may apply. Cambridge International curriculum and exam results are accepted.
- Have an interest in the agricultural field of study (food production – animal, plant and food systems; conservation agriculture, soils, water quantity and availability; energy and environmental stewardship; business, entrepreneurship and leadership; nutrition, food safety, food engineering and processing; communication, public service and extension education; ecology, conservation biology and climate; and engineering, irrigation, mechanization and technology)
- Write a 500-word essay answering “Describe your future role as a leader to develop the agriculture sector in Rwanda.”
By April 2019, finalists must be able to :
- Apply for and meet all University of Nebraska-Lincoln admission requirements.
- Provide a stamped copy of S4, S5 and S6 academic transcripts with class ranking.
- Provide a copy of national exam results after interview selection (March 2019).
- Meet University of Nebraska-Lincoln English proficiency requirements for full admission
- TOEFL score of 70 with a written subscore of 20
- IELTS score of 6.0 with a written subscore of 5.5
- An English Proficiency Exam will be offered to students selected for an interview who have not taken the TOEFL or IELTS
Scholarship & Career 