Overview

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.

Purpose: To widen access to UK equipment and expertise for high quality doctoral candidates from low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries, and to contribute to UK and Commonwealth higher education and research through collaboration and partnerships.

Intended beneficiaries: High-quality graduates whose proposed research has a developmental focus and who have the potential to become influential teachers or researchers in their home countries.

Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships are offered under six CSC Development themes.

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

Value

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 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

The CSC’s family allowances are intended to be only a contribution towards the cost of maintaining your family in the UK. The true costs are likely to be considerably higher, and you must be able to supplement these allowances to support any family members who come to the UK with you.

For more information, see the Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows

How to apply

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 13 August 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 03 September 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.

You are not required to apply via a nominating body for these scholarships.

MORE DETAILS & APPLICATION FORM

• Full details about the offer: Commonwealth split-site scholarships (for low and middle income countries)

• Visit the CSC’s online application form to complete and submit your application.