SEARCA seeks future agri leaders for full scholarships

LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Education and Collective Learning Department (ECLD), held a virtual information session to announce its full Master’s and PhD scholarships for Academic Year 2026–2027. The annual event was designed to guide prospective graduate students from across the Southeast Asian region.

The scholarships are open to nationals of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The session provided a comprehensive overview of the program, aligning with SEARCA’s 12th Five-Year Development Plan.

SEARCA encourages applicants to align their proposed thesis or dissertation topics with the Center’s priority thrusts. These areas of focus are critical to addressing key challenges in the region, including increasing farmers’ income, improving food security and nutrition, enhancing the climate resilience of agricultural systems, and empowering agricultural stakeholders.

During the session, SEARCA provided a detailed walkthrough of the full scholarship package, eligibility criteria, and the application process. A demonstration of ISCHO, SEARCA’s online application portal, was also conducted to help applicants avoid common submission errors, such as missing requirements or unanswered fields.

Maria Cristeta Cuaresma, Senior Program Head of ECLD, led a Q&A segment, offering personalized guidance and emphasizing the importance of a competitive advantage in the evaluation process.

The call for scholarship applications for Academic Year 2026–2027 opens on August 1, 2025, and closes on September 30, 2025. For more information and to apply, interested candidates are encouraged to visit the official SEARCA scholarships page at https://www.searca.org/scholarships.