Commonwealth Scholarship for International Students in UK

Want to study in UK but find it too expensive and cannot afford besides having good grades? Well, commonwealth scholarship got you covered!

Commonwealth scholarship is known to be one of the best scholarships in UK so far. The students from low and middle-income families can avail the commonwealth scholarships to pursue their masters or doctoral degree in UK. The commonwealth scholarship focuses on supporting British international development goals and is the UK’s primary scholarship scheme. Supporting sustainable development overseas and attracting outstanding talent to UK is the primary goal of the commonwealth scholarships.

Background:

Canadian statesman Sidney Earle Smith proposed the idea of commonwealth scholarship on 1^st September 1958 in a speech in Montreal. Commonwealth scholarship was established in 1959 at the first conference of commonwealth education ministers (CCEM) held in Oxford, Great Britain. Since then, hosted by over 20 countries, over 25000 individuals have been given the prestigious commonwealth award.

Eligibility Criteria for Commonwealth Scholarship:

The students who wish to apply for the commonwealth scholarships are required to read the criteria of eligibility below to check their eligibility status

• Applicant must be the citizen of commonwealth countries, refugee or British protected person or a permanent resident in a developing commonwealth countries
• Applicant should not have submitted an application for registering in any university of UK, India or anywhere else
• Those candidates are eligible to apply who have been abroad for studies or training on scholarships or their own for a period of six months.
• Commonwealth scholarships- U.K mater’s course

1. The age of the applicant must not be more than 40 years
2. Applicant should have minimum qualification of bachelor’s degree
3. Candidates are required to have 60% at least or above in social sciences and 65% or more in science subjects
4. Applicants are required to be able to afford study in UK without the scholarship as well
5. Only those students are eligible to apply who have received the offer of admission from any university listed with the commonwealth scholarship commission

• Commonwealth scholarship UK- PHD degree

1. Applicants are required to be able to afford study in UK without the scholarship as well
2. Applicant must be the citizen of commonwealth countries, refugee or British protected person or a permanent resident in a developing commonwealth countries
3. Only those students are eligible to apply who have received the offer of admission from any university listed with the commonwealth scholarship commission

Fields of Study

The commonwealth scholarship is for the students who belong to low and middle-income families. Students can pursue masters and doctoral degree after they receive commonwealth scholarship in the UK. The commonwealth scholarship are offered under the following six themes

• Science and technology for development
• Strengthening health systems and capacity
• Promoting global prosperity
• Strengthening global peace, security, and governance
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises
• Access, inclusion, and opportunity

Value of Commonwealth Scholarship:

The commonwealth scholarship is a fully funded scholarship and it covers the following

• Airfare would be provided to the winners of commonwealth scholarship from their home country to the UK. The winners would also be provided a ticket to return to their homeland at the end of their award
• Approved tuition fees
• Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,084 per month or £1,330, for those at universities in London metropolitan area
• Allowance for warm clothing where applicable
• Study travel grants would be provided to students towards the cost of study-related travel within the UK or Overseas
• Provision towards the cost of fieldwork undertaken overseas was approved
• Students are granted a paid mid-term visit to their home country unless they have claimed or intended to claim allowances for their child/spouse or have received a return airfare ticket to their home country for field work
• Students are also granted family allowances as follows

1. If spouse is living with the students, a spouse allowance is provided up to 233 euros per month. Child allowance is also provided if £233 per month for the first child, and £114 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if student is accompanied by their spouse and children and they are living with the student at the same address in the UK
2. If student is widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of £465 per month for the first child, and £114 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if the student is accompanied by his/her children and they are living with him/her at the same address in the UK

Documents Required:

The following documents are required to apply for the commonwealth scholarships:

• Proof of citizenship or refugee status of the applicant
• Full transcripts of applicant which detail all higher education
• 2 reference letters that are required to submit through online application system
• Applicant is required to have a supporting statement from one professor of the at least one institution named on the application form. It is required to be directly submitted by the supervisor
• The size of the documents uploaded on the application system should not be more than 5MB and must be in PDF, doc, docx or jpg.

Deadline:

The deadline to apply for the commonwealth scholarships is at the end of September each year. And to submit the CSC nominations is by the end of December.

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