Fully Funded Commonwealth Shared Scholarships For International Students (Master’s/PhD) 2023/2024

The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship programme is one of three Master’s programmes offered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.

 Scholarships For International Students (Master’s/PhD) 2023/2024

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: Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Commonwealth Shared Scholarships enable talented and motivated individuals to gain the knowledge and skills required for sustainable development, and are aimed at those who could not otherwise afford to study in the UK.

 

Intended beneficiaries: Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are for candidates from eligible low and middle income Commonwealth countries, to undertake full-time taught Master’s study at a UK university.

 

Candidate eligibility

To apply for these scholarships, candidates must:

  • Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
  • Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
  • Be available to start their academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2023
  • By September 2023, hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree (2:2) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree)
  • Not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high-income country
  • Be unable to afford to study in the UK university without this Scholarship
  • Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format

 

Eligible countries

Please note that only candidates from the eligible countries listed below can apply for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships in 2023/24.

Bangladesh
Belize
Botswana
Cameroon
Dominica
Eswatini
Fiji
Gabon
The Gambia
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
Togo
Tonga
Tuvalu
Uganda
Vanuatu
Zambia

 

Completing the application form

In the application form, candidates will be asked to:

  • List all undergraduate and postgraduate university qualifications obtained
  • List up to 10 publications and prizes
  • Provide details of their employment history and explain how each job is relevant to the programme to be undertaken in the UK
  • Provide a statement on the relevance of their previous work experience to the proposed Scholarship
  • List names and positions of three referees who are qualified to comment on both the candidate’s capacity to benefit from the proposed Scholarship in the UK and their ability to deliver development impact afterwards. One referee must be a current employer (if applicable)
  • Provide a Development Impact statement in 4 parts.

The first part should explain how the candidate’s proposed Scholarship relates to:

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

The second part should explain how the candidate intends to apply their new skills and qualification after returning home.

The third part should outline what the candidate expects will change in development terms following the Scholarship, including:

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

The fourth part should outline how the impact of the candidate’s work could be best measured. It should:

  1. Confirm what the candidate’s award objectives are and how each of them will be met by the Scholarship programme
  2. Confirm what the candidate’s objectives are for the next five years and how each of them will be met by the Scholarship programme
  3. Confirm what the candidate’s objectives are in the longer term and how each of them will be met by the Scholarship programme
  4. Provide a personal statement to summarise the ways in which the candidate’s personal background has encouraged them to want to make an impact in their home country. Candidates should indicate areas in which they have already contributed, such as having overcome any personal or community barriers in the chosen career
  5. Summarise the ways in which the candidate has engaged in voluntary activities and the opportunities where they have had to demonstrate leadership

 

For more information, visit the COMMONWEALTH SHARED SCHOLARSHIPS portal at: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships/commonwealth-shared-scholarships-applications/

 

For general enquiries about applying for Commonwealth Scholarships or Fellowships, please use the Contact us form.