I am not someone who has selected others, but have a few ideas. Agree with grammar already suggested, but also writing ability, able to read/write/speak language. Others may be subject and quality of MS thesis, recommendation of your advisor/committee member, past hard work that resulted in awards, honorary societies, helping others and team spirit of special note, volunteerism for something in school or community, published papers, co-authorship, meeting presentations, presentations or teaching lessons in classroom setting perhaps. In this day and age, just about anything on public social media can be reviewed.

grammar

I am not someone who has selected others, but have a few ideas. Agree with grammar already suggested, but also writing ability, able to read/write/speak language. Others may be subject and quality of MS thesis, recommendation of your advisor/committee member, past hard work that resulted in awards, honorary societies, helping others and team spirit of special note, volunteerism for something in school or community, published papers, co-authorship, meeting presentations, presentations or teaching lessons in classroom setting perhaps. In this day and age, just about anything on public social media can be reviewed.

I don't think grammar alone is considered to select candidates. The idea raised by Hansen is very interesting. Fortunately, I have certificate for everything he mentioned except honorary society and awards. I have presented two papers on two different national research conferences.

I can write/read English language as you may evaluate from our conversation.

I am a University teacher. Can I use project certificate as an award certificate?

All additional I can suggest is keep trying, sabbatical leave perhaps, joint research venture between your University and others, possibly a collaborative grant. i know quite a few people wanting to buy and eat organic, non-GMO, gluten free, etc. i have heard but not verified that some crops were selected to be resistant to heribicides such as Roundup (Glyphosate), so what are effects of various pesticides on soils, organisms, etc. other subjects of soils interest is both effects and restoration of severely burned soils. There are various subjects related to soils like soil stability, erosion, productivity, restoration from chemiical spills, mining, etc. Some industries might support work pertaining to their issues.

In addition to the essential points indicated above, you have to select a program which is more related to your academic background and competencies. Opt a research title that’s more related to the call for application and take more time to write the Ph.D. concept note which you may continue to work on it for your dissertation. And these days, you need to have more computer programming skills to work on big data and/or spatial data management problems so as to easily grab scholarship opportunities. Therefore, consider taking more training in programming languages and related statistical software. Good luck!

Please the question is not your GPA but Ability to write a sound research proposal in your area of interest and the availability of supervisors who show interest in the research proposal. Then Supervisors are in position to convince the department or college or faculty to facilitate your scholarship if a student meet the requirements.

Best GPA is not same as luck.

Hi Birhanu,

All that I can add is that peer reviewed publication in good journals is much easier for academic staff to evaluate than conference contributions and GPAs. A graduate from an Australian research masters program should have at least two such publications. That also gives a guide to the standard of scientific writing to expect. Supervisors do not want to be burdened with writing a student's research. IELTS and similar scores are indicative.

Lastly, if you have won highly competitive scholarships that counts a lot. But you must be prepared to explain and document your claims.

Best wishes, Paul.

Dear Dr. Ogbaji,

Thanks for your response. But, so far, no one has asked me for research proposal. I send my CV and transcripts to supervisors. Supervisors across Australian Universities, for example, are willing to become my supervisor and told me to continue my University application for admission. After submission of my documents to Universities, the final outcome is not positive. That is my concern.

Dr. Abiola's comment is relaxing. In fact luck is good. But I know that luck is always happen when opportunities meet hard work. Luck alone has nothing to do.

I agree with the idea tossed by Dr Paul Milham. I value the importance of publishing in reputable journals to win study scholarships. I have two articles published in the international journals such as:

- Soil Use and Management (WILEY)

- Climate and Development (Tylor & Francis)

I have one article that passed through the first review process in "Geoderma" and sent for second round review.

Moreover, I have many other papers published in the journals with medium reputation such as.

- Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Management

- Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management

One thing I miss is IELTS test. The language of instruction in Ethiopia starting from school to higher learning institutes, is English. So, what is the importance of IELTS/TOEFL?

Having the highest GPA in your MSc is not a solution but a well articulated proposal will place you in a better position to be selected among equals. It is good you write the IELTS/TOEFL exam, it also places you in a better position for selection. I will advise that you should try one of the Chinese Universities

For the PhD application, publications and letter of recommendation are more important than GPA.

It may be due to the availability of financial supports. In many universities, if you are an international applicant, you must prove to have financial support for at least the first year. Such support may come from your future advisor in form of an assistantship or from yourself in form of bank deposit. Without such guaranty, the admission office would not accept your application (at least at my university).