Khorana Scholarship Guide for Applicants: Know Benefits and Eligibility

Opting for a summer research program abroad may do wonders for your professional future. It will not only give you exposure to advanced research infrastructure and methodologies, but also unlock opportunities to interact with leading faculty and researchers at reputed institutions. If you are interested in pursuing a similar program, consider applying for the Khorana scholarship. Here are some more details about the program that may help. 

What is Khorana Scholarship 

It is officially known as the Khorana Program for Scholars. The scholarship is named after Dr. Har Gobind Khorana, who was a Nobel Prize winner in 1968. He was also a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The program is supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, and the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF). Eligible Indian students can get research exposure at top universities in the US in the form of summer internships for 10-12 weeks under this program. 

The Khorana summer research program aims to incubate the new generation of technology and scientific experts for long-term and fruitful R&D initiatives while helping them gain exposure to top-notch research infrastructure. Post-graduate students are also enabled to opt for research and higher education-based careers. 

Khorana Scholarship Eligibility Criteria

Here are the Khorana scholarship eligibility criteria for your perusal. 

• Eligible applicants are pre-final year students who are already enrolled in MTech, BTech, BSc, MSc, BE, ME, MS, MVSc, BVSc, Integrated BS-MS, MPharm, BPharm, MMST, or MBBS programs at recognized higher education institutions in India in biotechnology and related areas. These include food, health, agricultural, biomedical sciences, and interdisciplinary fields like computational sciences, machine learning, big data, and others. 
• PhD, first year, and final year students cannot apply for the scholarship. Applicants in other fields will not be considered as well. 
• The Khorana program for scholars internship applicants should have CGPAs of 8.0 or more or 80% marks or higher. The minimum marks have to be 65% and higher if the applicant is studying MBBS. 

Khorana Scholarship Documents Required 

Applicants will need to provide identity proof documents as well as academic proof while applying. 

Khorana Scholarship Benefits

The Khorana scholarship covers a stipend along with health insurance and round-trip airfare costs for applicants. The stipend is US$3,000 for the whole internship duration of 10-12 weeks. A temporary bank account has to be opened by the scholar in proximity to the host institution in the US. Scholars will also receive health insurance coverage up to US$600 or actual, whichever is lower. The coverage should be obtained as per the guidelines of the host institution. Scholars may be reimbursed US$500 or actuals, whichever is lower. If the host institution bears these costs, then it will be reimbursed by the same. 

Khorana Scholarship - How to Apply

Here is how to apply for the Khorana Program for Scholars: 

• Applications have to be submitted via the online application portal for visitation programs - https://iusstf.org/khorana-program-for-scholars.
• Applicants should sign in and then verify their accounts using links dispatched to their registered email addresses. 
• After logging into the portal, they have to click on Apply for-Start Application before filling up all necessary details. 
• The information can be saved for future reference. It can be obtained using logging credentials and applicants can then submit the form once they complete it. 
• Once submitted, the PDF of the full application can be downloaded. Automatic emails are sent as verification receipts of applications. 
• The application ID should be kept for future reference. 

The Khorana scholarship is a wonderful option for those looking to pursue a summer internship in the US, gaining exposure to cutting-edge research facilities and global insights. This will help scholars build a foundation for fulfilling research and higher education careers in the future.