Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in collaboration with The Joseph S. & Caroline Gruss Life Monument Fund have announced a new program "First for a Degree" to make higher education accessible to first generation students whose parents do not have university degrees. The program (registration is open now) is intended for 40 students annually. Students neither of whose parents have university degrees, who either served in the IDF (within 5 years of discharge) or did national service, who are residents of the geographic/societal periphery (with preference for Negev residents) and who are interested in registering for undergraduate degrees in any humanities and social sciences, management and nursing fields may apply. The socioeconomic status of the applicants will be considered.
Admitted applicants will be given a full three-year scholarship and will be supported personally, socially, and academically by the Office of the Dean of Students.
Admittance standards will be adjusted to enable those eligible to apply: lower psychometric exam results (sometimes even 100 points lower), up to 17 additional points on the quantitative portion or 10 points lower on the average matriculation exam scores when admittance is based solely on matriculation exams. These benefits are over and above existing University programs which replace the psychometric exam with matriculation exam scores.
"Higher education is the best way to create social mobility. It is our responsibility, as an Israeli institute of higher education and those responsible for implementing David Ben-Gurion's vision, to make higher education accessible to the entire population, while maintaining standards that promote academic excellence," explains Ben-Gurion University President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz.
"Opening the gates of academia to a variety of communities as much as possible, including the first generation in higher education, is part of the agenda of Ben-Gurion University," adds Prof. Orna Almog, Dean of Students.
Registration is open now until August 31, 2023
