Monsanto Scholarship (M.Sc. Agriculture Science and Agriculture Biotechnology)

What is the Monsanto Scholarship?

The Monsanto Scholarship is a donor-funded scholarship administered by G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar, in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand. It provides financial assistance to meritorious students pursuing an M.Sc. in Agricultural Science or in Agricultural Biotechnology at the university.

GBPUAT, established in 1960 as India's first agricultural university, is a Uttarakhand state government institution and one of the country's principal centres for agricultural teaching and research. Its postgraduate programmes in the agricultural sciences and in biotechnology draw students from across India, and those programmes are the target of this scholarship.

The scholarship carries the name of its donor. Corporate and institutional donors have long endowed named scholarships at GBPUAT, and the university's Dean, Student Welfare office administers them alongside the state and national schemes, stating that about 40 types of scholarships are available to students through various sources.

Who funds this scholarship, and what does that mean for applicants?

The Monsanto Scholarship is not a state budget scheme. It is funded from a corporate donation, and that has three practical consequences a student should understand before counting on it:

1. The amount is set by the donor arrangement, not by a government order, and the university does not publish it as a standing figure.
2. The number of awards each year is small: donor scholarships typically fund one or a handful of students per session.
3. Continuity depends on the donor agreement. A corporate-funded scholarship runs for as long as the endowment or the agreement lasts. Monsanto as a company was acquired by Bayer in 2018, and corporate identities change; the university, not any outside source, is the only place to confirm whether the award is being given in the current session and under what name.

For that reason this guide states no rupee figure and no number of awards. Ask the Dean, Student Welfare office directly.

Who is eligible for the Monsanto Scholarship?

You can be considered if:

• You are admitted to and registered in the M.Sc. programme in Agricultural Science or Agricultural Biotechnology at GBPUAT, Pantnagar.
• You have a strong academic record, both in your bachelor's degree and in the postgraduate semesters completed. The scholarship is described as being for meritorious students.
• You are within the normal 2-year duration of the M.Sc. programme.
• You hold a bank account in your own name for the credit.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You are an undergraduate (B.Sc., B.Tech.) or a Ph.D. scholar. The award is tied to the two named M.Sc. programmes.
• You are enrolled in a different M.Sc. discipline that the donor conditions do not cover.
• You are a student of another university or college. Only GBPUAT students qualify.
• You have exceeded the normal duration of the programme or your registration has lapsed.
• Your academic merit is lower than that of the competing applicants; with very few awards, selection is comparative.

How to apply for the Monsanto Scholarship

GBPUAT handles donor scholarships offline, through the Dean, Student Welfare. There is no separate online portal for this award.

1. Watch for the university notice. The Dean, Student Welfare office and the concerned college issue notices each academic year inviting applications for scholarships and endowment awards. These appear on the student corner of gbpuat.ac.in and on college notice boards.
2. Confirm the current status of the award with the Dean, Student Welfare office on +91-5944-233536 or dsw.gbpuat@gmail.com — a donor scholarship may or may not be open in a given session.
3. Prepare the application in the format the notice specifies, naming the Monsanto Scholarship and your M.Sc. programme.
4. Attach the documents; proof of admission and registration, bachelor's degree marksheets, postgraduate semester results or OGPA statement, and a bank passbook copy.
5. Submit by the last date at the office named in the notice, and take an acknowledgement.
6. Await selection. The university compares academic records among applicants and recommends the most meritorious student, after which the amount is released to the selected student's account.

What documents are required?

How is the scholarship paid, and for how long?

The Monsanto Scholarship is paid to the selected student's own bank account, either as a lump sum or in instalments across the semesters, as the university's student-accounts system provides. The tenure is tied to the 2-year M.Sc. programme, and continuation into the second year, where the award runs that long, normally depends on the student maintaining satisfactory academic performance and remaining registered.

Because the value is set by the donor arrangement and is not published, students should not plan their finances around an assumed figure. For scale, GBPUAT's own merit scholarships administered by the Dean, Student Welfare typically fall in the range of Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000 a year; donor scholarships are separate from these and each carries its own value, which may be higher or lower.

Why applications get rejected, and how to avoid it

• Wrong programme. Applications from B.Sc., B.Tech. or Ph.D. students are set aside because the donor conditions fix the M.Sc. disciplines.
• Applying when the award is not open in that session. Confirm first with the Dean, Student Welfare.
• Marksheets not attached, leaving merit unassessable.
• Application after the last date in the notice.
• Bank details in a name other than the student's, which stalls payment even after selection.
• Lower comparative merit, which is the ordinary outcome when very few awards are given.

How to check the status of your application

1. Keep the acknowledgement from the Dean, Student Welfare or the college office when you submit.
2. Follow up with that office after the closing date to learn when the selection will be made.
3. Watch the student corner on gbpuat.ac.in and college notice boards for the list of scholarship recipients for the session.
4. Call +91-5944-233536 or write to dsw.gbpuat@gmail.com if no result is announced.

Key facts and where to get help

• Institution: G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand.
• Programmes covered: M.Sc. Agricultural Science and M.Sc. Agricultural Biotechnology, 2-year postgraduate degrees.
• Office: Dean, Student Welfare, GBPUAT.
• Phone: +91-5944-233536. Email: dsw.gbpuat@gmail.com.
• Mode: offline application when invited; no fixed annual last date announced.

A student who does not qualify for this scholarship should ask the same office which of the roughly 40 available scholarships fits their programme, the list includes state scholarships, national fellowships such as ICAR and CSIR support, merit scholarships, sports scholarships and tuition-fee freeships. If an application is not considered or a sanctioned amount is not released, the route is a written representation to the Dean, Student Welfare, and failing that an RTI application to the university's public information officer. Being a donor-funded university award, it has no separate state helpline.

Note on verification: the scholarship's link to GBPUAT and its eligibility for M.Sc. Agricultural Science and Agricultural Biotechnology students come from the scheme reference; the Dean, Student Welfare contact details, the roughly 40 scholarship types and the university's status and history are confirmed on gbpuat.ac.in. The scholarship amount, the number of awards, the current operating status of the donor arrangement and the exact application window are not published on an official source and must be confirmed with GBPUAT.