Overview

Funded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Commonwealth Split-site Scholars hips 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

The CSC aims to identify talented individuals who have the potential to make change. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination and encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates. For further information on the support available to fellows with a disability, see the CSC disability support statement.

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

Tenure and placement

• Awards are tenable for a 12-month period of study at any approved UK university or higher education institution with which the CSC has a part funding agreement (as mentioned previously) for a specific programme of research.

• Your final qualification will be awarded by your home country university (not your proposed UK university). This scholarship will not support your period of study at your home country university. Funding will not be extended to enable candidates to complete a qualification in addition to or higher than that for which the selection was made nor for study towards a PhD at a UK institution. Awards are made in respect of full-time study only and no other course of study may be undertaken at the same time.

• Your application must be made in the context of an institutional or departmental link between your home university and your proposed UK university already in operation or currently under negotiation. This link must be greater than simply a collaboration between individuals. It is very important that both your supervisor in your home country and your proposed supervisor in the UK provide supporting statements that highlight current institutional links and collaboration. Applications without both statements will be considered ineligible.

• The 12-month period of study in the UK supported by the scholarship can be divided into a maximum of two periods of study. If divided into two periods, a maximum of 12 months between periods in the UK is permitted. Usually, you would be expected to spend a period of at least 6 months in your home country between visits to the UK. If less than 6 months is required between visits, further justification as to why this would be beneficial will be required in your study plan.

• The CSC would not normally fund a Split-Site Scholarship during the first 6 months of PhD registration, to ensure that the direction of the PhD has already been established in conjunction with your home supervisor. If you choose to apply for a scholarship within the first 6 months of your PhD registration, you will need to justify why this would be beneficial in your study plan. Otherwise, the 12-month period of study in the UK can be taken at any stage during your PhD study, providing this is justified in your study plan.

• If you have not already started your PhD at the time of your application, you will only be eligible to spend a maximum of six months in the UK in your first year of study.

• Split-site scholarships are intended to provide access to specific expertise or equipment that would not otherwise be available in your home country. Applications clearly demonstrating the specific value of studying in the UK to your research will be looked upon favourably, as well as how your work will support ongoing research links. Applications that include a significant proportion of activity such as literature reviews or desk research are unlikely to be supported.

• The CSC will make the final decision on institution of study and reserves the right to overrule any preferences indicated by the candidate. The CSC will consider the suitability of the course and its value for money when deciding on any overrule. The CSC will not change the university of a provisionally selected candidate after the point of selection unless exceptional information becomes available that could not have been foreseen at the time of application.

Value

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

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.

Ready to apply?

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

For more details , please visit https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships/commonwealth-split-site-scholarships-for-low-and-middle-income-countries/