Student Assistance Fund

The Student Assistance Fund is a PBC-funded organization that provides scholarships and student loans. Its members are representatives of the PBC, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance. The committee is chaired by a PBC member. The fund provides grants and loans according to socio-economic criteria. There are three types of grants and one type of loan, as follows: grants of NIS 12,480, NIS 6,240, and NIS 4,000, and loans of NIS 7,000, which are offered according to the fund’s criteria.

In accordance with the government’s resolution, the budget for the Student Assistance Fund was increased by NIS 41 million in 2016, enabling 19,290 students to receive assistance, of which some 4,000 received the maximum sum of NIS 12,480.

The fund distributes its grant/loan application forms in December, which are available for a minimal fee at the bookstores and minimarkets at recognized academic campuses throughout Israel.

Digital applications became available in 2017, a move that is expected to shorten turnaround time for evaluating the forms and responding to applicants.

For more information, contact Taldor Ltd. at:

Phone: 08-6776032, 1700-505-885

Fax: 077-2270127, 08-6776030

Email: milgot@taldor.co.il

PERACH scholarships

The PERACH Tutorial Project was founded in 1973. Students who volunteer for this program mentor school-age children and teens in exchange for a scholarship. The student is usually required to dedicate four hours a week to mentoring, in two two-hour sessions each week.

The PERACH program is available at all institutions of higher education, including colleges that are not funded through the government budget. In 2016, per a decision made by PERACH management, 20,950 PERACH scholarships were awarded. The PBC funded 17,161 scholarships and the remainder was funded by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economy and others. The total cost per mentor in 2016 was approximately NIS 6,430.

Following a government resolution, as of the 2017 academic year, the scholarship granted to mentors who served at least 10 days in military reserve duty during the previous year will be increased by NIS 2,600.

Visit the PERACH website to apply. Click here for more information.

Other sources of information about scholarships

Below is a list of several sources of information about various options for scholarships and assistance:

The Dean of Students Office and the Student Union are excellent sources of information about assistance funds and other options for financial assistance during your studies. In some cases, these organizations can assist as well by granting scholarships for those eligible, via the institution’s internal funds. As noted, contact the Dean of Students and the Student Union for more information.

The National Union of Israeli Students offers scholarships that are based purely on social involvement. These scholarships are not based on socio-economic considerations. For more information, see the National Union of Israeli Students website.

Scholarships, grants and loans for academic studies from the Ministry of Education – for more information, see the Ministry of Education website.

It is advisable to begin to inquire with these organizations about assistance before the school year begins. Also, please note the application schedules of each organization, which may differ from each other.

Hammer Scholarships for students who have completed undergraduate degrees with honors from academic colleges and who are interested in pursuing research master’s degrees at a university.

Objectives:

Encourage and enable outstanding students from academic colleges to pursue research master’s degrees at one of the universities in Israel.

Duration: This is a two-year scholarship that is provided for two academic years.

Amount of scholarship: A total of NIS 40,880 is provided per year to fund the recipient’s living expenses.

Number of scholarships: Up to 12 scholarships are granted each year

The recipients are selected by a committee established by the PBC, based solely on their personal excellence. No quotas are defined per university for this scholarship.

Scholarship terms and regulations

PBC scholarship program for research master’s degrees for the Arab sector

Objective:

This scholarship program is part of the multi-year plan to increase accessibility to higher education for the Arab population. Although the Arab sector comprises 20% of Israel’s population, its representation at institutions of higher education is significantly lower. This difference is even more pronounced in graduate degree programs. The percentage of Arab graduates of master’s programs out of the overall population in 2012 was only 5%. One of the main objectives of the multi-year plan is to increase Arab presence in higher education, and specifically in advanced degree programs, in order to ultimately increase the number of academic faculty members from this sector. The scholarship program was designed to provide the infrastructure necessary to increase the number of Arab academic faculty members in Israel by offering scholarships to bachelor degree graduates of the various universities and colleges who are interested in pursuing research master’s degrees at one of the universities in Israel.

Duration: This is a two-year scholarship that is provided for two academic years.

Amount of scholarship: A total of NIS 40,880 is provided per year to fund the recipient’s living expenses.

Number of scholarships: Up to 30 scholarships are granted each year.

The recipients are selected by a committee established by the PBC, based solely on their personal excellence. No quotas are defined per university for this scholarship.

Scholarship terms and regulations

The PBC Fellowship Program for Outstanding Chinese and Indian Post-Doctoral Fellows

Objectives:

• To enable outstanding post-doctoral from various fields to realize their full academic and research capabilities.
• Enhance academic cooperation and research collaboration with China and India.
• This program is a part of the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) of the Council for Higher Education of Israel’s policy to promote more international students and researchers to study in Israel.

Duration: This is a two-year scholarship that is provided for two academic years.

Amount of scholarship: The selected Post-Doctoral Fellows will receive 115,000 NIS per academic year for two years. In addition, the university will provide 5,000 NIS each year for the purpose of covering international travel expenses.

Number of scholarships: Up to 55 scholarships are granted each year.

The recipients are selected by a committee established by the PBC, based solely on their personal excellence.

The application process for the PBC scholarship for the academic year 2019/20 has commenced. The application to the programs is done directly via the Israeli universities.

See the detailed guidelines below.

For further questions, please contact us: israelasia@che.org.il

Rotenstreich scholarships for outstanding PhD students in the humanities

Objectives:

• To train research and teaching staff to promote and enrich research in the humanities in Israel.
• To enable outstanding doctoral students in the various fields of the humanities to devote all of their time to their studies so that they can successfully complete their doctoral dissertation within three years (or four years, under special circumstances).
• To enable outstanding doctoral students in the humanities to realize their full academic and research capabilities.
• To encourage excellent students to pursue research in the humanities.

Duration: This is a three-year scholarship that is provided for three academic years. In special cases, and with the committee’s approval, the scholarship can be granted for a fourth year.

Amount of scholarship: A total of NIS 80,000 is provided per year. The PBC contributes NIS 40,000 (i.e. 50%) per year for this scholarship and requires the university attended by the recipient to match that sum in order to fully fund the scholarship.

Number of scholarships: The PBC grants up to 20 scholarships each year.

The recipients are selected by a committee established by the PBC, based solely on their personal excellence. No quotas are defined per university for this scholarship.

Call to candidates to apply for a scholarship

PBC Lev-Zion scholarship program for outstanding PhD students from the periphery

Objectives:

• To encourage outstanding students from peripheral regions in Israel to pursue PhDs at Israel’s universities, while promoting academic excellence, contributing to the academic community, and bridging the social gaps between peripheral and central Israel.
• To enable excellent students from the periphery to devote all of their time to their studies in order to shorten the path towards receiving a PhD.
• To encourage incorporation of PhD graduates from the periphery into the academic faculty of Israel’s institutions of higher education (long-term goal).
• The scholarships are offered to outstanding students from disadvantages socio-economic backgrounds, who grew up in peripheral areas in Israel.

Duration: This is a three-year scholarship that is provided for three academic years.

Amount of scholarship: A total of NIS 62,200 is provided per year for three academic years. The PBC funds NIS 52,200 of this scholarship, and the remaining NIS 10,000 is covered by the university. In addition, the university will provide an annual sum of NIS 10,000 to cover the recipient’s research expenses.

Number of scholarships: The PBC grants 10 scholarships each year.

The recipients are selected by a committee established by the PBC, based solely on their personal excellence. No quotas are defined per university for this scholarship.

Call to candidates to apply for a scholarship

PBC scholarship program for outstanding doctoral students in fields related to the Israeli economy

Objectives:

• To encourage and expand academic research on the Israeli economy from both the macro and micro perspectives.
• To encourage decision-support economic research on core issues addressed by the various departments of the Ministry of Finance.
• To provide excellent doctoral students performing research on the Israeli economy with the opportunity to devote all of their time to their studies in order to successfully complete their PhD.

Duration: This is a two-year scholarship that is provided for two academic years.

Amount of scholarship: A total of NIS 50,000 is provided per year for two years.

Number of scholarships: Four scholarships are granted each year.

The recipients are selected by a committee established by the PBC, based solely on their personal excellence. No quotas are defined per university for this scholarship.

Scholarship terms and regulations

PBC scholarship program for outstanding Arab doctoral students

Objectives:

• To encourage students from the Arab and minority populations to pursue PhDs at universities in Israel.
• To enable outstanding PhD students from the Arab and minority populations to devote all of their time to their studies and to reduce the time needed to complete their degrees.
• To increase the number of faculty members from the Arab and minority populations in the long term.

Duration: This is a three-year scholarship that is provided for three academic years.

Amount of scholarship: A total of NIS 62,200 is provided annually for three academic years. The PBC funds NIS 52,200 of this scholarship, and the remaining NIS 10,000 are funded by the university. In addition, the university will provide an annual sum of NIS 10,000 to cover the recipient’s research expenses.

Number of scholarships: Up to 14 scholarships are granted each year.

The recipients are selected by a committee established by the PBC, based solely on their personal excellence. No quotas are defined per university for this scholarship.

Call to candidates to apply for a scholarship