Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027/28

Each scholarship provides:

• Approved airfare from the Scholar’s home country to the UK and return at the end of the award (the CSC will not reimburse the cost of fares for dependants, nor the cost of journeys made before the award is confirmed).
• Approved tuition fees: full fees are covered by agreement between the CSC and the UK university, and Scholars are not liable to pay for any part of the tuition fee.
• Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,712 per month, or £2,000 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at current levels).
• Study travel grant towards the cost of study-related travel within the UK or overseas.
• Provision towards the cost of fieldwork undertaken overseas (the cost of one economy class return airfare to the fieldwork location), where approved.
• Paid mid-term visit (airfare) to the Scholar’s home country, unless they have claimed or intend to claim spouse and/or child allowances during their scholarship or have received a return airfare to their home country for fieldwork.
• Family allowances, as follows (rates quoted at current levels):
  • If a Scholar is accompanied by their spouse but no children: spouse allowance of £313 per month for a maximum period of nine months, if they and their spouse are living together at the same address in the UK (unless the spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship; other conditions also apply).
  • If a Scholar is accompanied by their spouse and children: spouse allowance of £313 per month and child allowance of £313 per month for the first child, and £154 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if their spouse and children are living with them at the same address in the UK (unless their spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship; other conditions also apply).
  • If a Scholar has children and is widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of child allowance of £622 per month for the first child, and £154 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if their children are living with them at the same address in the UK.

If a Scholar shares that they have a disability, a full assessment of their needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC.

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

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

Please note that the conditions outlined in the Handbook are subject to change.

Applications for Commonwealth PhD scholarships for the 2027/28 academic year will open on Tuesday 8 September. The closing date for applications to be received is 16.00 BST on Tuesday 20 October. The scholarships are for study in the UK beginning in September/October 2027. Applications to the CSC are made using the application system, CSC Central. 
Applications will be considered according to the following selection criteria:

• Candidate merit (including academic experience)
• Quality of research proposal
• Potential impact on the development of the candidate’s come country

For further details, please refer to the Commonwealth Scholarships selection criteria. 

Applicants should note the criteria carefully and link their answers in the application form to each point listed.
For more details, visit Commonwealth Scholarship webpage

Applications must include supporting documentation to be eligible.

Please note that applicants are required to collect references and supporting statements, either on institution letterhead or an email clearly showing the sender’s details, from referees and proposed supervisors in the UK, and then upload them in PDF format to the application system with their other supporting documentation.

The references and supporting statements must be uploaded to the application system by the deadline for applications and we are unable to accept references and supporting statements any other way or after this date.

Applicants must upload the following documents with the application:

• Proof that they are a citizen or have refugee status in an eligible Commonwealth country: a copy of a valid passport (or national ID card) showing a photograph, date of birth, and country of citizenship.
• Full transcripts detailing all higher education qualifications, including to-date transcripts for any courses currently being studied, with certified translations if not in English. Where any transcripts are missing or do not include all pages, the application will be considered ineligible. If to-date transcripts are not available, the application must include an explanation why this is the case.
• References from at least two individuals, in PDF format, signed and on institutional letterhead or an email clearly showing the sender’s details.
• A supporting statement, in PDF format, signed and either on institutional letterhead or an email clearly showing the sender’s details, from a proposed supervisor in the UK from at least one of the institutions named on the application form.

Applications will be considered ineligible if any of the required documentation is not included by the closing date.

The CSC will not accept supporting documentation submitted outside the online application system.

References must clearly by written by the referee in their own words. When completing the references, referees should be asked to comment as fully as possible on the applicant, keeping in mind the following points for inclusion, as appropriate:

• How long, and in what capacity, the referee has known the applicant.
• The referee’s views on the applicant’s suitability for the proposed Scholarship and the need for the particular subject of study in the UK.
• Information on how, and to what extent, the applicant has shown ability in terms of:
  • capability to grasp concepts and reason analytically;
  • capacity for original thought;
  • and motivation and perseverance in achieving objectives.
• Assessment of the applicant’s particular strengths and weaknesses.
• The applicant’s potential to impact development in their home country.
• Any other general qualities which the referee considers would make the applicant a good recipient of a Scholarship.

Please note that the CSC does not charge apply for any of its scholarships or fellowships through its online application system.

Supporting statements must clearly by written by the proposed supervisor in their own words. When completing supporting statements, proposed supervisors should be asked to confirm that they are, in principle, prepared to have the applicant working with them and that they have the facilities to undertake the research. They should also be asked how the applicant’s plan of study fits with the expertise of their department and to indicate how much of the applicant’s plan of study, if any, they wrote, and to confirm that the study programme can be completed within the proposed 36 month tenure. Any additional comments they make will be appreciated by the Commission.