UK Commonwealth 2023 Masters Scholarships for Developing Countries - COMING SOON
Published: 19 Aug 2022
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Each year, UK Commonwealth Scholarships for Master’s and PhD study in the UK are offered for citizens of developing Commonwealth countries. These scholarships are funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the aim of contributing to the UK’s international development aims and wider overseas interests, supporting excellence in UK higher education, and sustaining the principles of the Commonwealth.
UK Commonwealth Masters Scholarship
Benefits of UK Commonwealth Masters Scholarship
Each scholarship provides:
- Approved airfare from your home country to the UK and return at the end of your award (the CSC will not reimburse the cost of fares for dependants, nor usually the cost of journeys made before your award is finally confirmed)
- Approved tuition and examination fees
- Stipend (living allowance)
- Thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, where applicable
- Warm clothing allowance, where applicable
- Study travel grant towards the costs of study-related travel within the UK or overseas
- For PhD Scholars, fieldwork grant towards the cost of fieldwork undertaken overseas (usually the cost of one economy class return airfare to your fieldwork location), where approved
- For UK Commonwealth Scholarships PhD Scholars, paid mid-term visit (airfare) to your home country (unless you have claimed (or intend to claim) spouse and/or child allowances during your scholarship, or have received a return airfare to your home country for fieldwork)
- Family allowances, as follows (rates quoted at 2021-2022 levels):
- If you are accompanied by your spouse but no children: spouse allowance of £244 per month
for a maximum period of nine months, if you and your spouse are living together at the same
address in the UK (unless your spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship; other conditions
also apply)
- If you are accompanied by your spouse and children: spouse allowance of £244 per month
and child allowance of £244 per month for the first child, and £120 per month for the second
and third child under the age of 16, if your spouse and children are living with you at the same
address in the UK (unless your spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship; other conditions
also apply)
- If you are accompanied by your children but no spouse: child allowance of £465 per month for
the first child, and £120 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if your
children are living with you at the same address in the UK
Requirements for UK Commonwealth Masters Scholarship
Masters: To apply for UK Commonwealth Scholarships, you 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 your academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2022
- By September 2022, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard, or a second class degree (2:2) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree). The CSC would not normally fund a second UK Master’s degree. If you are applying for a second UK Master’s degree, you will need to provide justification as to why you wish to undertake this study
- NOT be registered for a PhD, or an MPhil leading to a PhD, at a UK university or in your home country before September 2022
- Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship
- Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format
The CSC promotes equal opportunity, gender equity, and cultural exchange. Applications are encouraged from a diverse range of candidates.
Selection Process
Applications are considered according to the following selection criteria:
- Academic merit of the candidate
- Quality of the proposal
- Potential impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country
Selection process
Each year, the CSC invites selected nominating bodies to submit a specific number of nominations.
The CSC invites around three times more nominations than scholarships available – therefore, nominated candidates are not guaranteed to be awarded a scholarship. There are no quotas for scholarships for any individual country. Candidates nominated by national nominating agencies are in competition with those nominated by other nominating bodies, and the same standards will be applied to applications made through either channel.
Application Documents
Applications must include supporting documentation to be eligible.
Candidates must upload the following documents with the application:
- Proof that the applicant is a citizen or has 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
- References from at least two individuals on institutional letterhead
- Supporting statement on institutional letterhead from a proposed supervisor in the UK from at least one of the institutions named on the application form
If any of the required documentation is not provided by the closing date, the application will be considered ineligible.
Candidates can also upload any university admissions letter held for their chosen courses.
The CSC will not accept supporting documentation submitted by nominating agencies or outside the online application system.
Please note that the CSC does not charge candidates to apply for any of its scholarships or fellowships through its online application system and it does not charge organisations to nominate candidates.
Application Deadline
Not SpecifiedHow to Apply
Interested and qualified? Go to
Common wealth Scholarships on cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk to apply
Candidates must apply to one of the following nominating agencies as well as to the CSC. Nominating agencies will then put forward candidates to the CSC. The CSC does not accept direct applications for these scholarships:
Each nominating agency oversees its own selection process and may have additional eligibility criteria. Candidates must check with the nominating agency for their specific advice and rules for applying, and their own eligibility criteria. Nominating agencies may set their own closing date for applications.
Candidates must complete an application using the CSC’s online application system, in addition to any other application required to be completed by the nominating agency. The CSC is unable to accept any applications that are not submitted via the online application system.
Applications for Commonwealth PhD scholarships for the 2023/24 academic year are expected to open in September 2022.
Agencies will nominate candidates to the CSC by December 2022.
Candidates 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.
For more details, click here
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