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.

Eligibility

To apply for these fellowships, prospective Host organisations 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 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

Eligibile 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

Benefits

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

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.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Commonwealth Split-site (PhD) Scholarships 2021