Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are for mid-career professionals from low and middle income countries to spend a period of time at a UK host organisation working in their sector for a programme of professional development.

Purpose: To provide professionals with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in their given sector, and to have catalytic effects on their workplaces.

These fellowships are offered under six development themes:

Science and technology for development

Strengthening health systems and capacity

Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship

Strengthening global peace, security and governance

Strengthening resilience and response to crises

Access, inclusion and opportunity

ELIGIBILITY:

To be eligible for these Fellowships, prospective Fellows 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

Have at least five years’ full-time, or equivalent part-time, relevant work experience, in a profession related to the subject of the fellowship programme, by the proposed start of the fellowship – voluntary work experience will not be counted towards this minimum

Be in employment at the time of application at an organisation that they will return to upon completion of the fellowship

Provide at least two references, one of which must be from their current employer. Any applications for which references are not received by the reference closing date will be considered ineligible.

Not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship within the last five years (at the time of taking up the award)

Not be seeking to undertake an academic programme of research or study. Academics are eligible to apply for the scheme, but only to undertake programmes of academic management, not research or courses relevant to their research subject

Be available to undertake their fellowship from the prescribed start date

In addition to the above, prospective fellows must ensure they meet any eligibility criteria set out by each individual host organisation.

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 candidates. For further information on the support available to fellows with a disability, see the CSC disability support statement.

Please note: Your 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 your full co-operation to speed up the process.

If you do not agree to your personal data being used for the purpose of conducting due diligence, unfortunately CSC will not be able to proceed further with the application process.

BENEFIT:

Each Fellowship provides:

Approved return airfare from the Fellow’s home country to the UK.

Reimbursement of the standard visa application fee.

Stipend (living allowance) payable monthly (or pro rata) for the duration of the award at the rate of £2,057 per month, or £2,553 per month for those at organisations in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2023/24 levels).

If a Fellow declares a disability, a full assessment of needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC. See the CSC disability support statement for more information.

Arrival allowance of up to £1,156.60 (rates quoted at 2023/24 levels), including an element for warm clothing.

A maximum of £3,000 per Fellow can be agreed by host organisations for short courses/conferences as well as travel to visit other UK organisations where this forms an integral part of the programme. Host organisations should bear in mind the restrictions set out in our guidance on claimable costs.