Commonwealth Shared Scholarships

Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are for candidates from least developed and lower middle income Commonwealth countries, for full-time Master’s study on selected courses, jointly supported by UK universities.

Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Commonwealth Shared 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.

The aim of the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme (CSSS) is to assist students from developing Commonwealth countries who are of excellent academic calibre but for financial reasons would not otherwise be able to afford to study in the United Kingdom. The scheme allows them to benefit from postgraduate study at a university in the United Kingdom which will help them to contribute toward the development of their home countries.

Awards are for taught Master's programmes only, subjects must be related to the economic, social and technological development of a candidate's country.

Further Information

These Scholarships are offered under six themes:

1. Science and technology for development
2. Strengthening health systems and capacity
3. Promoting global prosperity
4. Strengthening global peace, security and governance
5. Strengthening resilience and response to crises
6. Access, inclusion and opportunity

Applications will be considered according to the following selection criteria:

• Academic merit
• Quality of Study Plan
• Potential impact of the work on the development of the candidate's home country. 

• To apply for a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship, 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 your academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2022
  • By September 2022, hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree (2:2) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree).
  • Not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high-income country
  • Be unable to afford to study at a UK university without this scholarship

• Application process
  • Applicants must make their application using the CSC's Electronic Application System (EAS)
• Selection process
  • Each participating UK University conducts its own recruitment process to select a specified number of candidates for Shared Scholarships. They put forward their selected candidates in April each year. The CSC then confirms whether the selected students meet the eligibility criteria for this scheme, and they inform candidates of their results by July of each year