Deadline: August 13, 2021
Applications are open for the Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships 2021/2022. Funded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Commonwealth Split-site 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.
All Commonwealth Scholarships which are funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Department (FCDO) are offered under six CSC 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.
Scholarship
Each fellowship 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 the cost of journeys made before your award is confirmed).
- Approved tuition fees.
- Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,116 per month, or £1,369 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2020-2021 levels).
- Warm clothing allowance, where applicable.
- Study travel grant towards the cost of study-related travel within the UK or overseas.
- If you are widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of £478 per month for the first child, and £118 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if you are accompanied by your children and they are living with you at the same address in the UK.
Eligibility
- 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 registered for a PhD at a university in an eligible Commonwealth country by the time your scholarship is confirmed (September 2021).
- Ensure that an institutional or departmental link exists between your home university and your proposed UK university. This link must be greater than simply a collaboration between individuals – see section on ‘Tenure and placement’ for further details. Both supervisors must provide a supporting statement which provides further details of the link to ensure your application is eligible.
- Be available to start your academic studies in the UK by January 2022.
- By December 2021, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard, or a second-class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree).
- Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
Eligible Countries
Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St Helena, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, The Gambia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Zambia
Application
- You should apply to study at a UK university which has a part funding agreement with the CSC. Part funding agreements are at the discretion of individual universities. For a list of universities that have agreed to part fund Commonwealth Scholarships, visit the UK universities with part funding agreements page on the CSC website.
- You must make your application directly to the CSC using the CSC’s online application system. The CSC will not accept any applications that are not submitted via the CSC’s online application system.
- All applications must be submitted by 17:00 (GMT) on August 13, 2021 at the latest.
- You are advised to complete and submit your application as soon as possible, as the online application system will be busy in the days leading up to the application deadline.
For your application to be eligible for consideration, your application must include the following supporting documentation by 17:00 (GMT) on September 3, 2021:
- Copy of your valid passport (or national ID card) showing your photograph, date of birth, and country of citizenship or refugee status – uploaded to the online application system
- Full transcripts detailing all your higher education qualifications (with certified translations if not in English) – uploaded to the online application system
- Supporting statement from your supervisor at your home country university, which must include details of the institutional link between the university where you are/will be registered for your PhD and your proposed UK university – submitted directly by your supervisor to the online application system (supervisors will be sent an email request).
- Supporting statement from your proposed supervisor at a UK university, which must include details of the institutional link between the university where you are/will be registered for your PhD and your proposed UK university – submitted directly by your supervisor to the online application system (supervisors will be sent an email request).
- Reference from at least one other individual – submitted directly by the referee to the online application system (referees will be sent an email request)
The CSC will not accept supporting documentation submitted outside the online application system.
Supporting documentation uploaded to the online application system must be uploaded as files which are no more than 5 MB in size and must be in one of the following formats: PDF, .doc, .docx, .odt, .jpg, .jpeg. Files submitted in any other format (including Zip files and PDF Portfolios) will NOT be accepted.
Only one application per applicant for these scholarships will be accepted. Only the application with the latest submission date, including submission of references and supporting statements will be accepted. Any modifications to an application will count as a later submission date.
For more information, visit Commonwealth Scholarships.
