CFA Institute scholarships are part of an ongoing commitment to promoting the highest standards of ethics, education and professional excellence, thereby helping to make the CFA Charter more attainable and provide more candidates an opportunity to advance their career in investment research. CFA Society Sri Lanka launched its scholarship program as early as 2002, as an extension of the scholarship program run by CFA Institute.
CFA Institute offers a variety of scholarships, allowing more people to participate in the CFA Program. These are offered under five categories which include the Access Scholarship, Student Scholarship, Professor Scholarship, Women’s Scholarship, and Regulator Scholarship, with a total of around 150 scholarships being awarded over the past three years alone for candidates from Sri Lanka. In particular, the financial benefit of the Scholarship program corresponds to candidates receiving a substantial 70-80% waive off of applicable fees.
Of the scholarships offered, a key focus continues to be Access Scholarships which is offered to selected candidates who face financial constraints, yet are identified as having high potential to complete the CFA qualification and earn the Charter. In addition, the Student Scholarships are available to students who are enrolled at an affiliated university and have not yet registered for their next exam.
Academic institutions that embed at least 70% of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) – including the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct – into the curriculum, are eligible to participate in the University Affiliation Program, which commenced in 2006. Through cooperation with its university partners, CFA Society Sri Lanka seeks to promote ethics-based investment education in university degree programs aimed at developing investment professional standards in the country.
The University Affiliation Program currently includes four state universities – viz. University of Colombo (Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance), University of Kelaniya (Bachelor of Business Management in Finance; Bachelor of Business Management Honours in Financial Engineering), University of Sri Jayewardenepura (Bachelor of Science in Finance (special)) and University of Wayamba (Bachelor of Science (Special) Degree in Banking and Finance).
Affiliated Universities are provided with the opportunity to offer scholarships to both final year students and faculty members of the accredited university department. Over the past three years, CFA Society Sri Lanka has offered around 22 Student Scholarships across the four accredited universities. Furthermore, final year university students who apply for Level 1 of the CFA Program may also go on to apply for the Access Scholarship for Levels 2 and 3 respectively.
CFA Society Sri Lanka continues to work tirelessly to on-board further local universities and non-state higher education institutes onto the University Affiliation Program in the coming years, and to thereby offer more scholarships to university students and faculty members.
These endeavours firmly highlight the investments made in the program over the years and the contribution to the promotion of CFA in Sri Lanka, while providing much needed opportunities for those who would not have otherwise had access to take the exams, and thereby facilitating more candidates to participate in the CFA Program. The application window for Access Scholarships for exams from August 2022 to May 2023 opened on January 10 and will accept applications until February 14.
For further details on the CFA Institute Scholarships and how you can qualify for the program, please visit https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/programs/cfa/scholarships.
CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. The organization is a champion of ethical behavior in investment markets and a respected source of knowledge in the global financial community. Our aim is to create an environment where investors’ interests come first, markets function at their best, and economies grow. There are more than 175,000 CFA® charterholders worldwide in more than 160 markets. CFA Institute has nine offices worldwide and there are 160 local societies. For more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org or follow us on Twitter at @CFAInstitute and on Facebook.com/CFAInstitute.
Founded in 2000, the CFA Society of Sri Lanka is a not-for-profit organisation supporting the professional development and advancement of CFA Charterholders and candidates in Sri Lanka. Its membership of over 240 members consists of CEOs, CFOs, portfolio managers, equity analysts, banking professionals, investment advisors and other senior-ranking financial practitioners and over 500 candidates, mainly in the financial sector.