What Is Commonwealth Scholarship

Talented people with the potential to have a good influence on the world stage are given Commonwealth Scholarships. As part of the United Kingdom’s continuous commitment to the Commonwealth, around 700 students are offered postgraduate opportunities at UK universities each year.

You might be a great candidate for a Commonwealth Scholarship if you are from a Commonwealth nation and think you could change the world but are unable to pay for your education in the UK on your own.

What Is Commonwealth Scholarship

Commonwealth Scholarships are aimed at students from across the Commonwealth who would not otherwise be able to afford to study in the UK. By funding postgraduate studies in a range of different study formats, the scheme helps to support future innovators and leaders.

This is the UK’s main scholarship program, aimed at advancing the country’s objectives for worldwide development. Its goal is to encourage sustainable development abroad while drawing exceptional talent to UK colleges.

Which kinds of rewards are offered?

The Commission for Commonwealth Scholarships (CSC) provides:

• PhD scholarships offered by the Commonwealth (for fragile states and least-developed countries)
• Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships (available to nations with lower and moderate incomes)
• Master’s Scholarships from the Commonwealth
• Shared Scholarships for the Commonwealth
• Scholarships for Commonwealth Distance Learning
• PhD Scholarships from the Commonwealth (for high-income countries)
• Commonwealth Professional Fellowships
• Bachelors program

Commonwealth Scholarship Development Themes

All Commonwealth Scholarships are offered under six development themes.

• Science and technology for development
• Strengthening health systems and capacity
• Promoting global prosperity
• Strengthening global peace, security, and governance
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises
• Access, inclusion, and opportunity

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• be a Commonwealth citizen, refugee, or 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
•  hold a first degree of either first or upper second class (2:1) classification, or lower second class (2:2) classification plus a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a 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 have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high-income country;
• be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship;
• have applied for admission to UCL for one of the eligible programs below:

Division of Medicine

MSc Clinical and Public Health Nutrition

Institute for Global Health

MSc Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology

MSc Global Health and Development

Institute for Global Prosperity

MSc Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

MA Education, Gender and International Development

MA Education and International Development

Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis

MSc Urban Spatial Science

Development Planning Unit

MSc Social Development Practice

Important Documents for Commonwealth Scholarship 

International students must submit supporting documents to apply for the Commonwealth Scholarship program. Here are all the important documents:

•  Proof of identification.
•  Supporting statement from a supervisor in the UK from one educational institution is named on the application form and it has to be submitted by the supervisor.
•  Copy of passport.
•  Academic transcripts.
•  Admission letter of a UK university.
• Proof of exams to study in the UK.

Benefits of Commonwealth Scholarship 

Commonwealth Scholarship offers funds for tuition fees, travel, and allowances. It does not include grants or funds for accommodation. Here are all the common benefits and tuition fee benefits that students get from Commonwealth Scholarships:

• Economy class airfare tickets are given to students two times. Once when they join the program and after completing the program they return to their home country.
•  The scholarship offers a child allowance of GBP 465 every month for the first child. For second and third children, who are below 16 years old, GBP 114 is granted under the scholarship.
•  Financial support and aid.
•  Allowance for woolen clothes for all students during the winter season.
•  For 18-month-long scholarships, a spouse allowance of about 233 GBP per month is offered.

Impact On Communities And Societies

Not only through the institutional and individual benefits mentioned above but also by funding research into specific subject areas that offer benefits to democratic processes and to societies as a whole. Scholarships provide an environment for the exchange of ideas and practices, as well as the development of indigenous solutions, and encourage research and innovation essential for poverty elimination, socioeconomic progress, and democratic development.

The CSC particularly focuses on the first motivation – supporting talented and able individuals – not least as it believes this focus in turn assists institutional capacity building and, as a consequence, has an influence on the wider community and society.

In recent years, however, international development objectives have come very much to the forefront as a major focus for the scheme, along with other objectives such as maintaining the international profile of institutions, promoting international
collaboration, and identifying future leaders. In the UK, since the late 1990s in particular, CSC policy has emphasised both development impact, largely in relation to the Millennium Development Goals, and leadership, as well as international collaboration and partnerships, and has aimed to ensure the relevance of its awards to scholars’ home

How to apply

To apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship, students need to belong to a Commonwealth country. The financial grant through Commonwealth Scholarship is available throughout the course duration. The scholarship program offers funding options for allowances, travel, and tuition fee. It is a transformative opportunity for students with good academic records and economically weaker backgrounds to study abroad.

Candidates must apply for the scholarship via the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) portal. In order to be considered for an award, the student must also have an active admission application (including references) with UCL . For information on how to apply for admission to UCL,  For information on how to apply for admission to UCL, please see the How to Apply section of our online prospectus.

Scholarships in UK

• Scholarship for MS in UK
• The Oxford and Cambridge Society of India Scholarship
• Sussex India Scholarship
• Oxford University’s Rhodes Scholarship
• Cambridge University Scholarships
• Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarships
• Hornby Scholarships
• John Kinghorn Scholarship
• Felix Scholarships

Selection Criteria for the Commonwealth Scholarship

The scholarship is very competitive because there is no quota country-wise. No country has an individual quota which makes it easy for the students. The scholarship application will be checked by the subject matter expert advisor of the relevant program and then by the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme selection committee.

The academic merit, record, and research proposal potential and impact of the research on the home country are considered for the selection. The Commonwealth Scholarship scheme invites the nominating bodies to submit a few nominations. The number of nominations is three times more than the actual intake capacity.

Important Dates for Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme

The application for the Commonwealth Scholarship program starts in December. Students can start uploading the documents from the following January month.

Conclusion

Despite complex and varying developments across a vast range of nation-states, the Commonwealth still provides a unifying bond linking together a fairly disparate set of countries. As the role of higher education in development is increasingly well recognised, so too is the potential for universities and academic staff to influence the political, economic, and social conditions necessary to support democratic principles throughout the Commonwealth. In the following sections, we will explore further how Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships, through the men and women who have held them, have contributed to this influence.

All over the Commonwealth, higher education fulfills a crucial development need across many disciplines, through both research activity and the training of professionals. With this international scholarships can play a specific role by enabling the acquisition of qualifications and skills, and through intangible benefits such as the confidence and exposure that often come with international experience and collaboration. As such, scholarships can be seen as a key element of development activity, particularly concerning higher education and also on a wider level.

Frequently Asked Questions