The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to offer up to 87,750 euros in scholarships for Spanish students with limited financial resources who have been admitted to study the Inter-University Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations at the Diplomatic School in the 2023-2024 academic year.
According to the Ministerial Order, adopted last July 12 by the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Manuel Cuesta, and published this past Saturday in the Official State Gazette, thirteen scholarships will be awarded to Spanish students who have applied for and been admitted to the Inter-University Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations 2023-2024. The amount allocated to the scholarships is 87,750 euros, the individual amount will be 750 euros per month and the scholarship program will last for nine months, from October 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
Students must be Spanish nationals and hold a university degree or equivalent. Likewise, those who suffer from any illness or physical or mental limitation that makes it impossible for them to perform their duties as scholarship holders or those who have been dismissed, by means of disciplinary proceedings, from the service of the State or public entities will not be eligible for the scholarships.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Diplomatic School, carries out several training programs in international relations. Among these programs, the Inter-University Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations, which was created in 2006 to replace the former International Studies Course, stands out. This postgraduate course facilitates the acquisition of knowledge on international reality, with special attention to the legal, political, sociological and economic dimensions of politics and international relations, thus enabling Spanish students to complete their training in these fields, regardless of the undergraduate studies they may have taken.
In this same context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs created, as of the 2006-2007 academic year, a scholarship program to support the study of Spanish students of the Inter-University Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations of the Diplomatic School. The paid internship program, which was operational between 2006 and 2012, was cancelled between 2013 and 2018 for budgetary reasons, but was recovered by the Ministry in August 2019.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has repeatedly defended the need for these scholarships to “democratize and facilitate access to the Diplomatic Career.” There is a widespread belief that relatives of diplomats have an advantage when it comes to passing the competitive examinations. This idea does not fully correspond to reality, but it is true that it is very common for known surnames to be repeated and that these people have the advantage of having lived in other countries with their relatives and of having a good command of some of the languages required in the competitive examinations. In addition, the preparation for the competitive examinations for the Diplomatic Career can be expensive, especially for those who do not live in Madrid. In any case, the Interuniversity Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations allows students to study, precisely, the syllabus required in the competitive examinations for the Diplomatic Career.
