Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships at a UK university 2020 (Funded)

Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships are for candidates from low and middle income Commonwealth countries, to undertake full-time taught Master’s study at a UK university.

Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Commonwealth Master’s 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. These scholarships are offered under six themes:

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

Eligibility

To apply for these scholarships, you 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/October 2020
  • By September 2020, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard, or a second class degree (2:2) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree). The CSC would not normally fund a second UK 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
  • Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship
  • Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format

Scholarship Worth:

Each scholarship 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 o £1,110 per month, or £1,362 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2019-2020 levels)
  • Warm clothing allowance, where applicable Thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, 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 £476 per month for the first child, and £117 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 (rates quoted at 2019-2020 levels)

Eligible Commonwealth countries

  1. Antigua and Barbuda
  2. Malawi
  3. Malaysia
  4. Mauritius
  5. Montserrat
  6. Mozambique
  7. Namibia
  8. Nauru
  9. Nigeria
  10. Pakistan
  11. Papua New Guinea
  12. Rwanda
  13. Samoa
  14. Sierra Leone
  15. Solomon Islands
  16. South Africa
  17. Sri Lanka
  18. St Helena
  19. St Lucia
  20. St Vincent and the Grenadines
  21. Tanzania
  22. Tonga
  23. Tuvalu
  24. Bangladesh
  25. Belize
  26. Botswana
  27. Cameroon
  28. Dominica
  29. Eswatini
  30. Fiji
  31. The Gambia
  32. Ghana
  33. Grenada
  34. Guyana
  35. India
  36. Jamaica
  37. Kenya
  38. Kiribati
  39. Lesotho
  40. Uganda
  41. Vanuatu
  42. Zambia

Selection process

Each year, the CSC invites selected nominating bodies to submit a specific number of nominations. The deadline for nominating bodies to submit nominations to the CSC is 18 December 2019

The CSC invites around three times more nominations than scholarships available – therefore, nominated candidates are not guaranteed to be awarded a scholarship. There are no quotas for scholarships for any individual country. Candidates nominated by national nominating agencies are in competition with those nominated by other nominating bodies, and the same standards will be applied to applications made through either channel.

Applications will be considered according to the following selection criteria:

  • Academic merit of the candidate
  • Quality of the plan of study
  • Potential impact on the development of the candidate’s home country

 

How to Apply

You must apply to one of the following nominating bodies in the first instance – the CSC does not accept direct applications for these scholarships:

All applications must be made through one of these nominating bodies. Each nominating body is responsible for its own selection process and may have additional eligibility criteria. You must check with your nominating body for their specific advice and rules for applying, their own eligibility criteria, and their own closing date for applications.

You must make your application using the CSC’s online application system, in addition to any other application that you are required to complete by your nominating body. The CSC will not accept any applications that are not submitted via the online application system.

All applications must be submitted by 16:00 (GMT) on 30 October 2019 at the latest.

You can access the online application system now

Please note that the CSC does not charge candidates to apply for any of its scholarships or fellowships through its online application system, and it does not charge organisations to nominate candidates.

Choosing a university/course

You may find the following resources useful when researching your choices of institution and course of study in the UK:

  • Study UK – British Council website, with guidance for international students and a course and institution search
  • Steps to Postgraduate Study – a guide to asking the right questions about taught postgraduate study in the UK
  • Postgrad.com – information for postgraduate students, with a course search
  • Prospects – information on postgraduate study in the UK
  • Research Excellent Framework 2014 results – results of a system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions
  • UCAS Postgraduate – guidance on how to find and apply for a postgraduate course
  • Unistats – the official website for comparing UK higher education course data
  • UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) – advice for international students on choosing a course of study

The CSC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

 

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships 2020


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *