ELIGIBILITY:

Eligible countries:

Please note that only candidates from the eligible countries listed below can apply for Commonwealth Master’s 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 and Zambia

To be considered for these scholarships, applicants 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 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)*. The CSC would not normally fund a second Master’s degree. If applying for a second Master’s degree, applicants must provide justification as to why they wish to undertake this study.

Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.

Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format.

The CSC recognises that disabled people have often faced and overcome challenges or barriers in their education journey that have prevented them from achieving the academic requirement for a Commonwealth Scholarship. Disabled applicants who can demonstrate their potential to contribute to international development but who do not hold a 2:1 undergraduate degree may be considered for a contextualised nomination through the Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum nominator. For more information, please contact CDPF directly using the details on our NGOs and charitable body nominators page.

BENEFIT:

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).

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).

Warm clothing allowance, where applicable.

Study travel grant towards the cost of study-related travel within the UK or overseas.

If a Scholar has children and is widowed, divorced, or a single parent, 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.