Rafael del Pino Foundation - Programme of Postgraduate Scholarships

Rafael del Pino Excellence Scholarship

You will receive up to 50,000 EUR per year for your studies abroad. This covers tuition fees, living costs and travel expenses. The amount depends on your degree programme. For a Master’s programme (e.g. an MBA, LLM or a Master’s in the natural sciences), the upper limit is 50,000 EUR per year. If the tuition fees alone exceed this amount, the scholarship will be topped up to cover the full cost of the fees. For a PhD, the maximum amount is 24,600 EUR per year. The grant is valid for one academic year. You may extend it to a second year (up to a maximum of two years) if you can demonstrate that you are among the top 25% students in your year group. The Fundación Rafael del Pino in Madrid awards this grant to enable Spanish graduates to study at leading universities worldwide, such as Oxford, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge and ETH Zurich.

Who can apply

• Nationality: You are a Spanish citizen.
• Degree: You already hold a degree from a Spanish or foreign university.
• What you study: A master’s or doctoral programme abroad, undertaken on-site and on a full-time basis. Compulsory master’s programmes leading to professional qualification (‘másteres habilitantes’) are excluded from this.
• Where you go: Any leading university or research centre abroad, in any subject area.
• English: You must be able to demonstrate an excellent command of spoken and written English, for example through IELTS 6.5–7.5, Cambridge C1 or TOEFL iBT 100 (105 for an MBA in the USA). If you have already studied in English, you do not need a separate certificate.
• Work experience: As far as the MBA is concerned, you have the professional experience required by your chosen university.
• No double funding: You may not combine this grant with other grants or income for the same purpose. An exception is made for grants from your host university; in this case, the amount will be adjusted accordingly.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via the online portal at frdelpino.es between 9 January and 23 February. Applications must be submitted anonymously and in Spanish; you must ensure that two referees submit their letters of recommendation directly. If you pass the shortlisting stage, you will attend an interview in Madrid. During this interview, your commitment, leadership skills and sense of social responsibility will be assessed rather than your specialist knowledge.

How realistic are your chances?

This scholarship is highly selective: applicants must hold Spanish nationality and have excellent academic results, meaning that the pool of applicants is limited to top Spanish graduates who wish to study at a world-class university. Only around 20 scholarships are awarded each year. During the selection process, your study plans and motivation are given just as much weight as your academic results; therefore, applicants stand out from the crowd by presenting a clear, original plan and demonstrating leadership qualities. If you have an outstanding academic record and are aiming for a place at a leading university, your prospects are realistic, but the bar is set high.