WSAVA Michael J. Day Scholarship

About the Scholarship

The aim of the Michael J. Day Scholarship is to promote interest and research in companion animal infectious diseases. Each Scholarship will support a veterinary student to carry out a high-quality research project on small companion animal infectious disease, clinical vaccinology, or immunology. Each project will usually run for one year or less, occasionally up to 2 years with approval. During this period, the successful student will typically spend about 2 – 3 months directly engaged in research activity in a host university or academic institution of their own selection.

Benefits of the Scholarship Award:

• To enable them to carry out their research, the selected candidate will be awarded a grant of up to US$15,000. In addition to covering direct research costs (reagents, consumables, etc), the grant can be used to cover the costs of visa requirements, flights, health insurance and accommodation.
• A student may apply to carry out their research project at home, in their own veterinary school.

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Application and Selection Criteria

• Applications are invited from veterinary students, studying towards a registrable veterinary degree (e.g. DVM or BVSc) in an accredited veterinary establishment in a country in which the WSAVA has a member association.

• Applications will be judged on the quality and clarity of their research project proposal, realistic aspirations of the proposed project, the project’s potential value in terms of clinical relevance and its societal or welfare impact and originality. We would discourage projects that are simply intended to assess the efficacy or safety of licensed medicines.

• The successful candidate will be selected based on merit after a competitive review process. This will be performed by members of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, a member of the WSAVA Scientific Committee, and representatives of MSD Animal Health.

Eligibility Criteria

• Prospective student applicants for these scholarships will need to identify a principal supervisor before they can submit an application. Likewise, prospective principal supervisors will need to find a suitable student before they can apply. Applications need to be completed and signed by the student applicant, the principal supervisor, and any other members of the supervisory team.

• Each application should include the aims, objectives and hypotheses of the proposed research project, as well as offering details of the methods of research, expected outcomes and budgetary requirements.

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The following are also required:

• Curricula vitae of student applicant and prospective principal supervisor
• A summary of the project with the significance of the expected results in the context of current knowledge (maximum 500 words)
• A grant proposal of the project detailing the background, aims, methodology, budget, and expected results (See details in the application form below)
• A timeline for the research project
• A reference of good standing from the Dean or Head of the candidate’s veterinary school
• The ability to travel internationally (valid passport and any necessary visas) and be available to commit to a minimum of 8-12 weeks of research activity in the host institution.
• Applications must be submitted in English

Supporting Documents:

Summary of Expenditure

Grant Application Check list and Signatures

Scholarship Terms and Conditions – please note, this form is only required to be submitted by the successful applicant

Project Completion

Within three months of the project’s completion, the Scholarship recipient will provide a 1,500-word report on their findings. The recipient will be invited (but not obligated) to present or publish their findings in English, as a poster or abstract, at a WSAVA World Congress. The recipient will be expected to participate in PR activities, for instance, around the award of the Scholarship and the presentation of their findings.

Application Deadline:

The deadline for applications for the 2025 Michael J. Day Scholarship is June 20th at 23:59 UTC

Application Process:

Interested and eligible candidates should apply for the scholarship by accessing the scholarship application portal through the scholarship application link below:

We at Icanstudent wish you the very best in your scholarship application process. Don’t forget to follow the Icanstudent website for more information and guidelines on how to be a top applicant in your scholarship application process. Good luck!!!