The Educational Advising Center on September 15 launched the 15th Merit Scholarships contest to select the best 80 students and applicants for a Master's Degree, Info-Prim Neo reports. The contest is organized under the aegis of the Council of Rectors of Moldova, with financial support from BC Moldova Agroindbank SA and Orange. The merit award of the first degree is 12,000 lei, of the second degree – 8,000 lei, while of the third degree – 5,000 lei. The budget of this year's contest totals about 1 million lei, according to the organizers. The deadline for applications is November 15. The contest is open to last-year students in full time education (graduation year 2011), including last-year students studying for a Master's Degree, from all the Moldovan universities. The applicants must have an average grade for all the years of study of minimum 9 for sociohumanistic sciences, 8.5 for exact, technical and medicobilogical sciences, and 8 in the case of orphans and/or disabled students. The students who won scholarships at national contests, including Merit Scholarships, during 2009-2010 cannot apply. The contest consists of two selection stages – examination of applications and interviews. The results of the contest will be made public on December 6, 2010. The ceremony to award Merit Scholarships is set to take place on December 15, 2010. “We urge all the students that meet the conditions of the contest to take part,” said the head of the Educational Advising Center Angela Muset. Attending the launch of the contest, Minister of Education Leonid Bujor said he is proud that this contest continues despite the financial difficulties. Natalia Vrabie, the president of Moldova Agroindbank, said the Merit Scholarships are excellence scholarships. “ We need well-trained and competent persons as the situation in our country is not stable,” she said. Orange PR manager Victoria Musteata said this contest is one of the most important in eduction. “We decided to support this contest because it is transparent and because education was and is a priority,” she said. For more information, contact the Educational Advising Center or visit the website www.eac.md.