Scholarship Overview
- Since its establishment by Jamsetji Nusserwanjee Tata, the Promoter of the Tata Group, in 1892, the 131 year – old J N Tata Endowment has awarded loan scholarships to more than 5700 Indian students, drawn from all over India. The Endowment supports only higher studies overseas – Master’s, Ph.D., Post – doctoral fellowships, across all education streams. Based only on Merit, it seeks to recognise and award, “the best and most gifted so as to make them of the greatest service to the country”
Applicable course, university and country
This scholarship is applicable for Masters Degree, PhD
This scholarship is applicable for all universities in USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Singapore +235 more
- The Endowment supports only higher studies overseas – Master’s, Ph.D., Post – doctoral fellowships, across all education streams.
Scholarship amount details
Scholarship amount can be used for
| Type of Expense | Indicates if scholarship can be used for this type of expense |
|---|---|
| Tuition & Fees | ✔Scholarship amount can be used for this |
| Living Expense | ×Not covered in scholarship |
| Accommodation | ×Not covered in scholarship |
| Air Fare/Travel Expenses | ×Not covered in scholarship |
| Spouse/Child Care | ×Not covered in scholarship |
| Health Cover | ×Not covered in scholarship |
| Application | ×Not covered in scholarship |
| Others | ×Not covered in scholarship |
- Amount may vary
- In the recent past, the loan scholarship amounts have ranged between Rs.1 lakh and Rs.10 lakhs, the latter being the maximum.
- However, not all candidates qualify for the maximum amount.
Student Awards
Number of students to be awarded: Varies
Scholarship Eligibility
Special Restrictions
No Special Restriction applicable
Exams Details
| Exam name | Indicates if exam is required and cutoff (if any) |
|---|---|
| Interview | Required |
Eligibility
- Candidates should be Indian citizen, not older than 45 years as on June 30, 2025, and graduates of a recognised Indian university with at least 60% marks on average in their undergraduate or post-graduate studies. Candidates are not eligible to apply if their undergraduate degree is not from a recognised University in India.
- Candidates who are admitted to the course, must be recognised as a Graduate Program (post – graduate in Indian terminology).
- Candidates who did not get selected in the previous year/earlier for the J N Tata Endowment loan scholarship and candidates who could not avail of the loan scholarship when they were selected, are eligible to apply afresh.
- Candidates who are already pursuing postgraduate studies abroad may apply either at the end of their first year of studies or at the commencement of the second year, provided there is a minimum of one full academic year (12 months) remaining to be completed at the time of the loan scholarship award, typically in July of any calendar year.
- Candidates in the final year of their degree courses and those awaiting results are eligible to apply. Candidates may apply, even if they do not have the admission/offer letters from the universities to which they have applied for the academic year 2025-2026, at the time of filling out the application form. However, they must update their application status with the Endowment once they secure admission by sending an appropriate email to jnteapplication@tatatruts.org, quoting the reference number which appears on the top left side of the form.
- J N Tata scholars who have fully repaid their existing loan scholarship amount are eligible to apply.
- Candidates going overseas for seminars, conferences, training, workshops, paper presentation, undergraduate studies, and any post-graduate degree/diploma/certificates through Distance learning or online medium are not eligible to apply.
- Candidates planning to pursue postgraduate and undergraduate studies in India are not eligible to apply.
- Candidates who are planning to study for a diploma of at least 1 year duration, whose entry-level requirement is higher secondary level, are not eligible to apply.
Eligible student nationality
This scholarship is applicable for students from India
Application Process for this scholarship
Application Documents
| Type of documents | Indicates if this type of document is required to be submitted |
|---|---|
| SOP | Required |
| LOR | Required |
| CV | Required |
| Financial/Tax Documents | Required |
| Work Experience | Required |
| Official transcripts | Required |
- The entire selection process has been divided into four phases.
- Phase 1 – ends on 7th March 2025, which is the final date of submission of the applications:-
- Candidates will be required to submit preliminary details such as personal and academic information, work experience (if any), and statement of purpose. Scanned copies of the following documents will need to be uploaded:-
- Candidate’s photo (500 * 500 pixels in jpeg format)
- Aadhar card
- Passport (first & last page)
- Marksheet / Transcript/s for each academic qualification
- The Statement of Purpose (SoP), carries considerable weight in the selection process and while there is no set template for the same, it is expected that the content be written by the applicant and be free of plagiarism and biographical details. The narrative should not exceed 800 words. The SOP should clearly convey the thinking behind your academic choice and the preferred / chosen University and how the same ties in with your academic qualifications, work experience if any and career goals/ plans; both short term as well as long term.
- Working professionals need to upload 3 additional documents (if any):-
- Work Experience certificate from the previous employer
- Appointment letter from the existing employer and
- Latest filed ITR / 3 months’ pay slips
- Phase 1 – ends on 7th March 2025, which is the final date of submission of the applications:-
- Once the application is submitted, candidates cannot make any changes to the information submitted. If they need to make any changes/corrections in the application form, they are required to send an email to jnteapplication@tatatrusts.org quoting the reference number (which appears on the top left side of the application form.)
- All documents should be uploaded in a grayscale pdf suitably named to identify the nature of the document being shared.
- Candidates are required to validate the application form before final submission, after which they will not be able to make any changes therein.
- Phase 2 – Aptitude test
- In this Phase candidates whose applications will be processed further will be informed a week in advanced over email that they have been shortlisted to undergo the aptitude test. The remaining candidates will be notified that there application will not be processed any further.
- The test is designed to primarily assess the critical thinking and problem solving skills of a candidate, more details of which will be shared when the candidate is intimated of the shortlisting. The candidate will be guided with detailed instructions and a mock test will also be arranged for familiarization.
- The results of the test will be announced within a week from the date of the test by email.
Phase 3 –Interview with Subject Expert
- Of those who take the Aptitude test, some will be shortlisted for the technical interview and the remaining will be informed that their applications will not be processed any further.
- Candidates who are shortlisted for the interview will be required to complete the application form by providing the details of the University where admission has been secured and the respective course of study. Additional details of the family and funding source for the studies will also be sought.
- Scanned copies of the following documents will be required to be uploaded:-
- Letter of admission to the University
- Final year mark sheets and degree certificate
- Scorecards (GRE/GMAT/TOEFL/IELTS/ PTE)
- Certificate of scholarships/ranking/prizes (if any)
- Certificates relating to extra-curricular activities
- Research work/Project work
- Resume
- Cost of education
- Source of funds
- A Letter of Recommendation (LOR) is required (only one), specifically addressed to “The Trustees of the J N Tata Endowment” either from a Professor of the college or University or the employer, in case the applicant is/was working. Candidates should only furnish the details of the recommender such as name, designation, department, name of the college/university/organization, city, contact number, and their official email ID. The Endowment will directly communicate with the recommender for the purpose of the LoR.
- Interview are generally conducted online (Microsoft Teams / Zoom) during the months of April to June, though they may extend to the first week of July if required, by a Representative of the Endowment and a subject expert
- Candidates will be required to share the admission letter with the Endowment a week prior to the Interview.
- Candidates preparing for their 2nd year studies will be assessed also on their first year/semester transcripts.
- Scanned copies of the following documents will be required to be uploaded:-
Phase 4 – Final Selection- At this stage the shortlist of awardees will be arrived at and announced by mid-July. The candidates who had gone through the interview stage will be intimated of their selection or otherwise over email.
Scanned copies of the following documents on the portal :- Candidate’s PAN card, Candidate’s cancelled cheque / latest bank statement, Guarantor’s PAN card and Aadhar card, Guarantor’s passport size photograph (500*500 pixels in jpeg format),Guarantor’s income proof / latest filed ITR
- Phase 2 – Aptitude test
Scholarship Application
This scholarship needs a separate external application.
Important Dates
| Date | Additional Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Application start date | January 07, 2025 |
|
| Application final end date | March 07, 2025 |
|
| Aptitude Test | March 30, 2025 |
|
| Interviews | Not Available |
|
| Award declaration | July 15, 2025 |
|
Please note that these dates could be in local country times and may not be IST (Indian standard time).
| FAQ Link | https://jntataendowment.org/faqs/ |
| Contact email | jnte@tatatrusts.org |
| Phone number | +91-22-6665 7681 |
Additional Information
Other points of relevance :
- Each candidate must have a guarantor whose liability is on par with the candidate.
- The guarantor should normally be a parent(s)/guardian of the candidate. In the case of a married person, the guarantor can be a spouse or the parents-in-law.
- In case parent/s/spouse are unable to be a guarantor owing to genuine reasons, a guardian or any relative (i.e. any member of the family such as brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, uncle, and aunt (both maternal and paternal) or any other relative may be the guarantor.)
- A non-relative may act as a guarantor subject to the Endowment’s prior approval and after submitting the relevant documents.
- The documents required to be submitted by the guarantor are: – (i) PAN card, (ii) Aadhar card, (iii) Passport-size photographs (500*500 pixels in jpeg format), (iv) Income proof / latest filed ITR.
- For detailed information click here
- Post selection process:
At this stage the shortlist of awardees will be arrived at and announced by mid-July. The candidates who had gone through the interview stage will be intimated of their selection or otherwise over email. The decision of the Endowment on the award of loan scholarships will be final and we would request it to be noted that no correspondence in this regard will be entertained.- The awardees will be required to indicate their formal acceptance of the loan scholarship after which the following documentation formalities will need to be completed.
- For those accepting the loan scholarship the next step will be as under :
- Scanned copies of the following documents should be uploaded on the portal
- Candidate’s PAN card
- Candidate’s cancelled cheque / latest bank statement
- Guarantor’s PAN card and Aadhar card
- Guarantor’s passport size photograph (500*500 pixels in jpeg format)
- Guarantor’s income proof / latest filed ITR
- After obtaining the visa and flight ticket the candidate and the guarantor (preferably a parent or a relative) will have to visit the Administrative Office of the Endowment, by prior appointment, to complete the necessary formalities. They will be required to enter into a legal agreement with the Endowment. The loan scholarship agreement is for a period of 7 years and requires the scholar to repay the amount in full in five equal installments between the third and seventh year. Early repayments are however accepted.
Other points of relevance :
- Each candidate must have a guarantor whose liability is on par with the candidate.
- The guarantor should normally be a parent(s)/guardian of the candidate. In the case of a married person, the guarantor can be a spouse or the parents-in-law.
- In case parent/s/spouse are unable to be a guarantor owing to genuine reasons, a guardian or any relative (i.e. any member of the family such as brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, uncle, and aunt (both maternal and paternal) or any other relative may be the guarantor.)
- A non-relative may act as a guarantor subject to the Endowment’s prior approval and after submitting the relevant documents.
- The documents required to be submitted by the guarantor are: – (i) PAN card, (ii) Aadhar card, (iii) Passport-size photographs (500*500 pixels in jpg format), (iv) Income proof / latest filed ITR.