Fully Funded Commonwealth Master's Scholarship

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pays for people from 43 low and middle income Commonwealth countries and territories to take a one-year taught Master's at a UK university. It is for talented people who could not otherwise afford to study in the UK and who want to use what they learn for sustainable development back home. You cannot apply to the CSC alone: you must also apply through a nominator, usually your country's national nominating agency, which may set its own closing date, and that date can fall before the CSC's own 20 October deadline.

What you get:

• Full tuition fees at your UK university, covered by agreement between the CSC and the university, with no part of the fee left for you to pay
• Approved airfare from your home country to the UK, and home again at the end of the award
• A living stipend of £1,712 a month, or £2,000 a month at universities in the London area (current rates)
• A study travel grant towards study-related travel within the UK or overseas
• Your Student visa application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge covered
• A child allowance if you are widowed, divorced or a single parent and your children live with you in the UK: £622 a month for the first child, and £154 a month for the second and third child under the age of 16
• A full assessment of your needs, and of your eligibility for extra financial support, if you share that you have a disability

What you'll do:

• Citizen of, or granted refugee status by, an eligible Commonwealth country, or a British Protected Person
• Permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
• Eligible countries and territories (43): Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, 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, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia
• By September 2027, a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours, or a lower second-class degree plus a relevant postgraduate qualification, usually a Master's. Final-year undergraduates can apply
• Disabled applicants without a 2:1 may be considered for a contextualised nomination through the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum
• Unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship
• Available to start studying in the UK by September 2027
• Nominated by your national nominating agency or a selected charity nominator, meeting that nominator's own criteria and closing date as well as the CSC's
• No age limit
• Not eligible if you have already studied at Master's level at a UK institution or already held a Commonwealth Master's Scholarship. A second Master's is not normally funded and needs a justification
• One-year taught Master's only: no MBAs, no research Master's, and nothing supporting the fossil fuel energy sector overseas
• You must commit to returning home after the scholarship. Switching to a Graduate or other visa to stay in the UK is not permitted
• Supporting documents by the deadline: passport or national ID, full transcripts for every higher education qualification (with certified translations if not in English), and references from at least two people, signed, in PDF
• Not open to employees or relatives of employees of the UK Government, staff of the British Council or the Association of Commonwealth Universities, or current or former Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioners and relatives of Commissioners. Former employees can apply three years after leaving