Overview

The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship programme is one of three Master’s programmes offered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) provides the UK government scholarship scheme led by international development objectives. It operates within the framework of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) and offers a vivid demonstration of the UK’s enduring commitment to the Commonwealth. By attracting individuals with outstanding talent and identifiable potential from all backgrounds and supporting them to become leaders and innovators on returning to their home countries, the CSC’s work combines sustainable development with the UK national interest and provides opportunities for international partnerships and collaboration. Purpose: To contribute to development needs of Commonwealth countries by providing training for skilled and qualified professionals and academics who would not otherwise have been able to study in the UK.​ Intended beneficiaries: High-quality postgraduate students from Least Developed and middle-income countries (including fragile and conflict affected states), who have not studied for a year or more in a high-income country before, who would not otherwise afford to study in the UK, and who have the potential to enhance the development of their home countries with the knowledge and leadership skills they acquire. Award duration: normally 12 months Application process: UK universities bid for scholarships for specific courses with demonstrable development impact and must agree to fund the living cost component of the scholarships. Applications are made via successful universities, which make the initial selection of candidates, who are subsequently approved by the CSC.

How to apply

Applications for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships for the 2024/25 academic year are now closed. Applications to the CSC must be made using the CSC’s online application system. The CSC is unable to accept any applications or documentation not submitted via the online application system. Applicants are advised to complete and submit applications as early as possible, as the online application system will be very busy in the days leading up to the application deadline. Applicants must apply to study an approved Master’s course at a participating UK university. View full list of approved courses View details of all participating UK universities Applicants can apply for more than one course and to more than one university, however they may only accept one offer of a Shared Scholarship. Note these scholarships are only for Master’s courses and not for undergraduate or PhD study. Applicants must also apply and secure admission for the chosen university course in addition to applying for a Shared Scholarship. Please check with the chosen university for their specific advice on when to apply, admission requirements and rules for applying. Applications will be shared with the universities who will nominate their chosen candidates to the CSC in March 2024.

Supporting documentation

Applications must include supporting documentation to be eligible. Applicants must upload the following documents with the application:

• Proof that they are a citizen or have refugee status in an eligible Commonwealth country: a copy of a valid passport (or national ID card) showing a photograph, date of birth, and country of citizenship.
• Full transcripts detailing all higher education qualifications, including to-date transcripts for any courses currently being studied, with certified translations if not in English. Where any transcripts are missing or do not include all pages, the application will be considered ineligible.

Applications will be considered ineligible if any of the required documentation is not included by the closing date. The CSC will not accept supporting documentation submitted outside the online application system. Please note that the CSC does not charge apply for any of its scholarships or fellowships through its online application system.

Advice for applicants

Applicants can find general information about applying for a Commonwealth Scholarship on our advice for applicants page. Please read and complete the Shared Scholarships eligibility checklist before submitting your application.

Choosing a university/course

Applicants may find the following resources useful when researching their choices of institution and course of study in the UK:

• Study UK – British Council website, with guidance for international students and a course and institution search.
• Steps to Postgraduate Study – a guide to asking the right questions about taught postgraduate study in the UK.
• Postgrad.com – information for postgraduate students, with a course search
• Prospects – information on postgraduate study in the UK.
• Research Excellent Framework 2021 results – results of a system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.
• UCAS Postgraduate – guidance on how to find and apply for a postgraduate course.
•  Discover Uni – the official website for comparing UK higher education course data.
• UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) – advice for international students on choosing a course of study.

The CSC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Applicants can also discover how Commonwealth Alumni are making an impact and leading change across critical development issues by visiting our Development impact stories page.

Applicant eligibility

To be considered for these scholarships, applicants must:

• Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country.
• Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country.
• Be available to start academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2024.
• By September 2024, hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree).
• Not have studied or worked for more than one (academic) year or more in a high-income country
• Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
• Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format.

The CSC aims to identify talented individuals who have the potential to make change. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants. For further information on the support available to scholars who share that they have a disability, see the CSC disability support statement. There is no age limit for CSC applications. Applicants are advised to confirm with their employers any age restrictions on leave entitlement they may have in place.

Eligible countries

Please note that only applicants from the eligible countries listed below can apply for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships. Bangladesh Belize Botswana Cameroon Dominica Eswatini Fiji Gabon Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mauritius Montserrat Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa Sierra Leone Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Tanzania The Gambia Togo Tonga Tuvalu Uganda Vanuatu Zambia

Completing the application form

In the application form, applicants are asked to:

• List all undergraduate and postgraduate university qualifications obtained.
• List up to 10 publications and prizes.
• Provide details of employment history and explain how the experience gained supports and is relevant to the programme to be undertaken in the UK.
• List names and positions of three referees who are qualified to comment on both their capacity to benefit from the proposed Scholarship in the UK and their ability to deliver development impact afterwards. One of the referees must be a current employer (if applicable).
• Provide a Development Impact statement in four parts.

In the first part applicants should explain how the proposed scholarship relates to:

1. Development issues at the global, national, and local level.
2. Development issues connected to the chosen CSC development theme and the wider sector.

The second part should explain how they intend to apply their new skills once the Scholarship ends. The third part should outline what they expect will change in development terms following the Scholarship, including:

1. The outcomes that they aim to achieve
2. The timeframe for their implementation
3. Who the beneficiaries will be

In the fourth part applicants should write about how the impact of their work could be best measured and evidenced. Applicants are also asked to:

• Confirm what their award objectives are and how each of them will be met by the Scholarship programme.
• Confirm what their career plans are for the 5 years following the Scholarship.
• Confirm their long-term career plans.
• Provide a detailed plan of study.
• Provide a personal statement to summarise the ways in which their personal background has encouraged them to want to make an impact in their home country. Applicants may wish to highlight any areas where they have already made significant contributions, including overcoming personal or community barriers in accessing higher education or within their field.
• Summarise the ways in which they have engaged in voluntary activities and the opportunities they have had to demonstrate leadership.

Selection process

Each participating UK university will conduct its own recruitment process to select a specified number of candidates to be awarded Commonwealth Shared Scholarships and put these forward to the CSC. The CSC will then confirm that these candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the programme. Applications will be considered according to the following selection criteria:

• Academic merit
• Quality of research proposal
• Potential impact on the development of the candidate’s come country

For further details, see the Commonwealth Scholarships selection criteria. Applicants should note the criteria carefully and link their answers in the application form to each point listed.

Tenure and placement

Scholarships are tenable for any approved course offered by a participating UK university. Scholarships are to obtain one degree; funding will not be extended to enable candidates to complete a qualification in addition to or higher than that for which the selection was made. Scholarships are made in respect of full-time study only and no other course of study may be undertaken at the same time. Candidates must take the necessary steps to apply for admission to the preferred university. Many courses have strict admission deadlines and candidates should check admission requirements carefully when applying.

Financial assistance

Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are jointly funded by the CSC and participating UK universities. Each scholarship provides:

• Approved airfare from the Scholar’s home country to the UK and return at the end of the award (the CSC will not reimburse the cost of fares for dependants, nor the cost of journeys made before the award is confirmed) – funded by the CSC.
• Approved tuition fees: full fees are covered by agreement between the CSC and the UK university, and scholars are not liable to pay for any part of the tuition fee.
• Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,347 per month, or £1,652 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at current levels) – paid and funded by the university.
• Warm clothing allowance, where applicable – paid and funded by the university.
• Thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, where applicable – paid by the university, funded by the CSC.
• Study travel grant towards the cost of study-related travel within the UK or overseas – paid by the university, funded by the CSC.
• Contribution towards the cost of a mandatory tuberculosis (TB) test, where required for a visa application (receipts must be supplied) – paid by the university, funded by the CSC.
• If a Scholar has children and is widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of child allowance of £576.61 per month for the first child, and £143 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if their children are living with them at the same address in the UK.

If a Scholar shares that they have a disability, a full assessment of their needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC. The CSC’s family allowances are intended to be only a contribution towards the cost of maintaining a Scholar’s family in the UK. The true costs are likely to be considerably higher, and Scholars must be able to supplement these allowances to support any family members who accompany them to the UK. For more information, see the current Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars. Please note that the conditions outlined in the Handbook are subject to change.

General conditions

A Commonwealth Shared Scholarship covers fees, approved fares and personal maintenance. Other scholarships, awards, or bursaries that cover the same costs may not be held concurrently. For the CSC to administer the application effectively and efficiently after submission, it will be necessary to create a record in the applicant’s name. If they apply for an award to the CSC, their details will be kept on file. Basic anonymised demographic data for all applicants will be kept for analytical research. The CSC is committed to protecting personal information and to being transparent about the information we are collecting about applicants and what we do with it. To find out more, see our privacy notice. Applicant’s personal information will be used to conduct necessary due diligence checks to CSC’s satisfaction, before CSC proceeds with any type of formal agreement or contractual relationship. In most cases, the due diligence checks will be straightforward, however further information may be requested, so we ask for full co-operation to speed up the process. If a applicant does not agree to personal data being used for the purpose of conducting due diligence, unfortunately CSC will not be able to proceed further with the application process. If an application is successful and the CSC has confirmed all eligibility requirements are met, the university will notify the applicant that they have been provisionally selected (selected for an award subject to the CSC agreeing terms of admission to the university) at which point they will be a provisional scholarship candidate. The CSC does not require any candidates to take an IELTS (English language) test. Universities may require candidates to provide evidence of a particular level of English language proficiency as a condition of the scholarship. The CSC will not be able to offer a scholarship if it would contravene the terms and conditions of another scholarship previously held. When terms of admission to the university have been agreed, the CSC will provide a formal Confirmation of Award letter. Applicants will be required to submit a Health and Disability Form before the Confirmation of Award can be issued. Candidates will be required to sign an undertaking to return to their home country as soon as possible after the end of the award. Candidates are expected to start the award on the date stated in the Confirmation of Award letter. If a candidate requires a Student visa to come to the UK to study, they must meet all relevant immigration requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration. They should check the GOV.UK website for updated information. All UK immigration regulations are set by UK Visas and Immigration and are subject to change. The CSC has no control over these regulations. Candidates will be selected for an award based on the plan of study outlined on the application form, which is not expected to change significantly during the award. Any such changes must be agreed by the CSC. Throughout the award, Scholars are expected to reside in the UK, and must to seek approval from the CSC in advance of any overseas travel. Scholars must not undertake paid employment during the award without approval from the CSC in advance. The CSC will consider a request to extend a scholar’s leave to remain in the UK after their award only if they wish to move from Master’s to PhD study. Strict conditions will apply. The CSC cannot provide a letter of support or permission for Scholars to remain in or return to the UK after the award to enable them to work or undertake postdoctoral study. The following are not eligible to apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship or Fellowship; an employee, a former employee, or relative of an employee of the Government of the United Kingdom; or a staff member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities or the British Council; or a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner, former Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner or a relative of a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner. Former employees of the organisations listed above are eligible to apply three years after ceasing their employment with them. In line with the UK Bribery Act 2010, any applicant convicted of bribery will be banned from reapplying for a Commonwealth Scholarship or Fellowship for a period of up to five years. Applicants are expected to adhere to the CSC’s Code of Conduct for award holders and the Disciplinary Policy and Procedure. An award may be terminated at any time for reasons of unsatisfactory conduct, progress, or attendance, or if registration is suspended or terminated by the university for any reason. The CSC is committed to administering and managing its scholarships and fellowships in a fair and transparent manner. For more information, see the CSC Anti-Fraud Policy and Procedure at and the FCDO guidance on reporting fraud. The CSC is committed proactively to safeguard and promote the welfare of our beneficiaries, and to protect its staff, Commissioners, beneficiaries and all those with whom the CSC comes into contact. The CSC requires staff, members of the Commission, applicants for and recipients of CSC awards and suppliers to act consistently with its requirements for safeguarding. Applicants should note the CSC Safeguarding Policy which sets out the obligation for staff, members of the Commission, applicants for and recipients of CSC awards and suppliers to act consistently with its requirements for safeguarding. Any safeguarding concerns should be reported to the Commission at: csc.safeguarding@cscuk.org.uk All conditions of award are subject to UK local law and practices and are subject to change by the CSC. For more information, see the current Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars. Please note that the conditions outlined in the Handbook are subject to change.

FAQs and enquiries

All enquiries about nomination for scholarships should be directed to the UK university. For general information about applying for Commonwealth Scholarships or Fellowships, please see our FAQs page. For more information on other scholarships offered by the CSC, visit the CSC Scholarships and Fellowships page. For queries not covered on the website, please use the Contact us form.

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Source: Opportunity Desk