A Brazilian Student, Recipient of the Chevening Scholarship, Gets accepted by Multiple Prestigious Universities in the UK to Pursue Her Master of Laws in International Human Rights

My name is Lucimar Prata, I was born in north Brazil (Amazon region) and I come from an indigenous background. Professionally I have been working with activism on indigenous peoples and other minority groups living in Brazil, along with my career as a lawyer. I always had the will to pursue an international master and in 2021 I started by applying to Chevening Scholarship when on my first try I didn’t get it. Then, in 2022 I tried again Chevening and some other scholarships (Internal scholarships from University College Dublin (Full Tuition), University of York (£5,000), and Tilburg University (€5,000), and happily, I was chosen by all of them, but I decided on Chevening.

Chevening Scholarship Details

Chevening is the most important scholarship in the UK and one of the most relevant in Europe. The program is financed by the UK Government, and they search for local leaders across the globe who are impacting or have the will to make a difference. The process for Chevening is divided in 2 parts: a section of essays about leadership, networking, why the candidate wants to study in the UK, and future plans; and after this first selection, if you are selected, there is the interview – in total, the process takes around 9 months.

During my process, I applied to 5 universities in the UK: Edinburgh, York, Sussex, Cambridge, and Queen Mary University and I got acceptance letters from all of them. But in the end, I chose the University of Sussex, because of their program on human rights clinics and their specific program in Indigenous people (also my personal preference to be closer to the sea).

Chevening covered all my expenses: flights, visa, university fees, and a monthly stipend. The university fees were around 22 thousand pounds, and the stipend was 1400 pounds monthly (enough for basic needs and rent).

Educational Background

I have a degree in law in Brazil through the State University of Amazonas, with a GPA of 3,5 out of 4. My graduation in law was very relevant to make me eligible for approval at the universities in the UK because it gave me ample knowledge of the international law field, but it was my extracurricular activities that contributed the most. I had at the time, 6 years of activism and research experience and 7 years of experience with law firms in Brazil. I was part of the largest group of research on human rights in the Amazon region, and I worked directly with indigenous peoples and refugees during this time.

Because Chevening ask you to have a plan for your return home after the program, having my own law firm in Brazil was a differential, and having a stable networking circle back in Brazil.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Chevening Scholarships, the University of Sussex, and Other Institutions?

Certainly, searching for scholarships can be very overwhelming because of the number and the multiple and different sources you can find on the internet, but I would say the first step is to have in mind which career you want to follow. Having this in mind, you can direct your research to the universities you want to study and why you want to study there (in my opinion, you need to pursue the ones that relate to your goals and ideologies in terms of life and career. Example: I was accepted to Cambridge and Edinburgh University, but they didn’t have a good approach and course on Indigenous people, so although they are incredible, they didn’t match my goals).

For English tests, I did IELTS and for the most part of the universities, the average score was 6,5. I did the test twice, in the first one I had 6,0, and in the second, I had 7.0 – but to achieve it, it took me long days of study and research, mainly in writing, which was my weakest point.

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

The first time I tried Chevening and was accepted taught me two lessons: the first, always apply for more than one scholarship, putting all your expectations in one can be emotionally and mentally demanding. When you apply for more than one also gives you more possibilities and in case you are not accepted by one, you will still have another chance.

The second lesson refers to the Chevening process, make sure to have a concise plan for the ‘future’, something that tells the scholarship you have a purpose. Giving general answers like ‘I want to work for the UN, or I want to save kids in Africa’ is not going to help you. Be strategical. If your goal is to work in the UN (for example), specify in which position, what you going to do to achieve it, and how the program will help you to do it. This was my main mistake in my first process during the interview, giving broad and general answers.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

As I said before, you have more than one option for scholarships, and from there, read about it, search for former scholars, and read about the universities you want to apply to. When you don’t have those things in mind, you probably will deliver a bad application. So do the work and get to know the scholarship.

Also, it is very difficult to describe ourselves and point out our best personal and professional points (at least for me), so write it down. Put on a paper all the achievements and experiences you had, and choose the ones that are relevant to the program, do it chronologically (so you don’t lose track) and remember while applying connect previous experiences with your goal for the future, it is nice to have a trajectory in the field (not mandatory, but relevant).