Conacyt Scholarships

Studying a postgraduate degree in recognized and prestigious universities globally is a dream that might seem a bit far when thinking about financial issues, since most of these are in private schools, where the tuition fees are high. To give you perspective on this, the following table is presented containing information on these costs.

University – Country	Average cost per year
Princeton University – USA	$ 41,300
Yale University – USA	$ 50,000
Columbia University – USA	$ 50,000
Harvard University – USA	$ 25,000
University of Chicago – USA	$ 50,000

On the other hand, in European countries, the costs amount to the following amounts:

Country	Tuition range per year
England	10,725 euros
Denmark	6,000 – 16,000 euros
Finland	8,000 – 18,000 euros
France	1,500 – 35,000 euros
Germany	1,000 – 40,000 euros
Italy	3,000 – 35,000 euros
Holland	5,000 – 30,000 euros
Spain	5,000 – 30,000 euros

Likewise, the costs may also vary according to the postgraduate subject

Matter	Cost range per year
Business	$ 40,000 – $ 120,000
Engineering	$ 20,000 – $ 47,060
Right	$ 20,000
Medicine	$ 17,000 – $ 50,000
Education	$ 10,000
Social Sciences	$ 8,000 – $ 60,000

All these costs are solely for the payment of university tuition , to which must be added essential living expenses (food, housing, domestic services, transportation, to name a few). However, these figures should be understood as an investment , since we are currently operating in a world of work where competition is increasingly greater and stricter, so that completing competitive postgraduate courses in recognized schools leads to better job opportunities , either in positions or projects, which lead to better salary returns.

Noticing these figures should not be a reason to discourage you from studying that postgraduate degree you dream of, since there are the means to finance these studies . One of the most famous, but perhaps little known in depth, is the CONACYT (National Council of Science and Technology) Scholarship Program for Postgraduate Studies, which allows Mexicans to “carry out high-level studies in academic institutions of excellence, both at home and abroad ”. This program has different modalities, which will be presented extensively below.

Graduate Scholarships Abroad

These types of scholarships are aimed at Mexican professionals, with the purpose of providing financial support for their training at the master’s or doctoral level in full-time face-to-face programs at foreign universities. To apply and be a candidate for this type of scholarship, it is necessary to meet the following requirements:

1. Have an e. Signature , processable in any office of the SAT.
2. Definitive official acceptance letter containing the following information:

• Institution letterhead.
• Degree to which you are accepted (underlined by the applicant).
• Official duration, indicating the start and end date of the program.
• Signature of the empowered person issuing the letter.
  1. Certificate of professional examination or title of the academic degree immediately preceding the one requested.
  2. Official qualification certificate that accredits a minimum average of 8.00 (on the scale used in Mexico from 1 to 10).
  3. Official document that proves Mexican nationality, which consists of official identification with photograph and signature (Passport, Voter’s Credential and / or professional identity card).
  4. Certificate of knowledge of English no more than 5 years. (TOEFL)
• Three letters of recommendation updated in the Letter of Recommendation Format ( Spanish version) or ( English version ) designed by Conacyt, preferably issued by recognized professors or academics.

These scholarships serve to partially or fully cover the following:

• Monthly maintenance of the grant holder based on the following tab.

MAINTENANCE
REGION / COUNTRY	BADGE	Single	MARRIED
European Union	EURO	1,090.00 €	1,362.00 €
Britain	POUND	£ 770	£ 963
London	POUND	£ 880	£ 1,073
Rest of the world	DOLLAR	$ 1,100.00	$ 1,375.00

• Tuition payment: For master’s degrees only in priority areas, up to an annual maximum of $ 300,000.00 (three hundred thousand pesos MN) or its equivalent in US dollars, pounds or euros.
• For selected master’s or specialty applicants whose study program is not contemplated in the priority areas of CONACYT, it will grant tuition support of up to $ 76,800.00or its equivalent in US dollars, pounds or euros.
• Medical insurance, and where appropriate, for direct economic dependents who accompany the scholarship recipient to the country where they will study, based on the official CONACYT tabulator.

The maximum time that financial support is provided for the study of a master’s degree is 24 months , so you have to take it into account when selecting your program. In addition, being an applicant for a scholarship does not guarantee receiving it, since CONACYT takes the following criteria for assigning them:

• Academic support and coherence in your academic and / or work trajectory that can ensure the successful completion of your postgraduate studies.
• Applicant’s social commitment, that is, interest in contributing positively to an improvement in our society using these studies as a means to achieve it.
• Strength of the reinsertion plan to the national social or productive sectors-at the conclusion of their studies- supported by a letter of interest, and where appropriate, a work commitment issued by the instance interested in their academic project.
• Applications whose study program is within the areas of the PECITI (Special Program for Science, Technology and Innovation) have priority .
• They have applications that include preference studies at a university with which the CONACYT has signed a collaboration agreement.
• The position of the proposed University will be considered when it is among the top 200 worldwide according to recognized international rankings, or when the corresponding program is one of the best 100 worldwide.

As you can already see, applying for financial support of this nature to carry out your master’s studies becomes a meticulous process that requires discipline . However, the financial support obtained can be quite beneficial to cover expenses that are out of your budget . For this reason, it is important to be continuously informed through official portals and calls about the requirements to be a creditor of this type of scholarships and to consult calls . Likewise, as well as CONACYT, there are other organizations, governmental or not, that offer scholarships for postgraduate studies abroad .