Applications

This page outlines the application process for University of St Andrews students who are interested in applying for a Laidlaw Scholarship. Students from other Universities within the International Laidlaw Network, and who are interested in doing all (or part) of their project at the University of St Andrews, should visit the International Applications section of this website. 

Applications for the 2024 Scholarship are now closed. Applications for the 2025 cohort will open November 2024.

Scholarship information session

An online briefing session for potential applicants was held on Thursday, November 2 2023. A recording of the session is attached below.

The Application Process

The application process can be divided into three steps: eligibility and agreeing to honour the Scholar Commitment; identifying and designing the project (including gaining support from an academic to supervise you on this project) and outlining your leadership aims; and completing the online application. Please make sure you read the application instructions carefully and allow yourself enough time to complete each of the steps. If you have any questions that are not answered on the website and accompanying application documentation, or need further clarification, please contact us at [email protected].

Application Step One

Please read the Laidlaw Scholars Commitment, and eligibility criteria, below and only continue with your application if you agree to the conditions set out.

• Laidlaw Scholar Commitment. Each scholar agrees to:

  1. Attend and participate in all of the leadership development events throughout their time as a scholar
  2. Undertake the work necessary to complete the research and leadership in action projects
  3. Respond, in a timely manner, to communication from the scheme coordinators over the summer and during term-time
  4. Attend research project meetings with the project supervisor/mentor and report on progress as agreed
  5. Provide a project report, research poster, leadership essay and leadership video by specified dates after each project period. These will need to be coordinated with the project supervisor, submitted to the Laidlaw Team, and shared on the publicly available section on the Scholars Network.
  6. Join the Laidlaw Scholars Network – allowing individuals to network with other scholars from their own and other universities, to share their experiences, answer questions and act as mentors to new cohorts
  7. Be open to participate in the production of content to be used on the Laidlaw Scholars website, and potentially be used for marketing the programme
  8. Keep the Laidlaw Scholars Administrator updated with their progress and career information following graduation
  9. Give back to scholars of the future by acting as a mentor
  10. Agree to the Laidlaw Foundation terms of the Scholarship and request for details (including a personal e-mail address)

• Eligibility criteria

  Eligible

  • Students on a St Andrews Honours programme (including UG Integrated Masters programmes) who, at the time of application, have at least two summers of study left before the summer they graduate (i.e. the antepenultimate year of study), and whose final year of study will be based in St Andrews.
  • Students on the BA International programme (regardless of whether their final year of study is in St Andrews or William & Mary).
  • Part-time day-time students on an Honours pathway.
  • St Andrews students who, at the time of application, are on a semester/year study abroad but will be back in St Andrews to do the summer projects and then will be entering their final year of study at St Andrews (these students must attend the leadership weekends or make alternative arrangements with CEED). (NB Scholars must have a year of study remaining after their second research project is completed)

   

  Ineligible

  • Students whose final year of study is not in St Andrews (with the exception of students on the BA International programme).
  • General degree (part time evening) students.
  • MA Combined Studies (part time evening).
  • Incoming study abroad students.

Application Step Two

Arguably the most important, and time-consuming, step two revolves around identifying and defining your research project, and gaining support from an academic who is willing to supervise you.

• Identify a research project and approach potential supervisors: You can either identify a pre-defined project or come up with a project of your choice (you can always discuss any ideas you have with a potential supervisor and use their support to turn it into a project). NB, if choosing your own research project it must be separate from any work you have submitted for credit. A current list of available pre-defined projects can be found here. Even if your preferred project or supervisor is at an overseas institution, you must still submit your application via the St Andrews selection process. Further information can also be found in the Laidlaw Scholars Network, where you will find listed 2-year joint research and leadership in action projects that are available.
• Approach a potential supervisor for your project to discuss your idea and explore if they would be willing to supervise your research project. This is a member of academic staff (not a postgraduate student). If you have elected to choose one from the pre-defined list, there will already be a supervisor in place who you should approach to discuss your interest.
• Confirm the support of your supervisor. Ask your supervisor to provide a statement of support. They will need to complete this form and send it to you (copying [email protected] in cc ). You will need to attach a copy of the supporting statement during the application submission stage. Academics can be very busy so please allow plenty of time for this step!

To give you some further ideas, you might also want to have a look at the Sway our current Scholars have put together. This provides an insight into their application and Scholarship experience (though please note that the Scholarship is continually updated and while the experience will be similar, some details will have changed since their application). Once you have worked out a project idea and spoken with an academic who is happy to support you, please follow the steps further down on this page to complete and submit your application. Please be aware that the whole process of identifying and narrowing down a project, and receiving a supervisor supporting statement, is likely to take several weeks so make sure you start now!

To find out more about Step Two of the application process please select one of the two options below:

Self-defined projects

Details and requirements for self-defined projects.

Pre-defined projects

Details, requirements, and a list of pre-defined projects.

 

 

Application Step Three

Once you have everything together and have the agreed support of a potential supervisor it is time to submit your application. Please follow the steps carefully and make use of the ‘Notes of Guidance’ to support you through the process. Remember to leave yourself enough time to complete this step as the submission deadline is final.

Submitting an application

1. Log into MySaint on the University website.
2. Click on the ‘My Applications’ tab.
3. On the ‘Scholarships and Funding’ section, click on ‘View Scholarships and Funding Catalogue’.
4. Select Academic year “2023/24” and Award type “Projects and Initiatives” and click on the ‘refresh list’ button which will bring up a filter box at the bottom of the page.
5. Enter ‘Laidlaw’ in the filter box and details of the Laidlaw Programme will come up in your search results.
6. Click ‘apply’ in the actions column.
7. Click ‘Start Application’.
8. Refer to the Laidlaw Application Notes of Guidance ‌to assist you to complete your application form.
9. You shall be required to provide:
   1. Answers on how you wish to develop as a leader.
   2. Answers on how you intend to develop academically and personally through research.
   3. Your agreed project title (You may wish to select one from the pre-defined list, or generate one of your own).
   4. A statement of support from your project supervisor. (Laidlaw Supervisor reference template )

Note: you do not need to complete the application in order or all at once, you can save your application and return at any time.