Commonwealth Shared Scholarships for Developing Commonwealth Countries
Study Subject(s): Any field of study
Course Level: Postgraduate (masters)
Scholarship Provider: DFID, UK universities
Scholarship can be taken at: UK
Scholarship Description
Awards made under this scheme are jointly funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), as part of the UK international development programme to developing countries, and participating institutions in the UK.
The scheme is administered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC), whose secretariat is provided by The Association of Commonwealth Universities.
The Scheme allows students from developing Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK to benefit from postgraduate study at a University in the UK which will help them to contribute toward the development of their home countries.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
be nationals of (or permanently domiciled in) a developing Commonwealth country, and not currently be living or studying in a developed country (please see the 'Shared Scholarships prospectus 2013' below for a list of eligible countries)
hold a first degree at either first or upper second class level
be sufficiently fluent in English to pursue the course
have not previously studied for one year or more in a developed country
be able to confirm in writing that neither they or their families would otherwise be able to pay for the proposed course of study
be willing to confirm that they will return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete
NOTE that candidates are normally expected to hold a first degree at either first class or upper second-class level. Sponsoring institutions must confirm that candidates are sufficiently fluent in written and oral English to pursue their proposed studies immediately, as no pre-course English Language Teaching is available under these awards.
Eligible groups
Nationals of Commonwealth Developing Countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guineas, Pitcairn, Rwanda, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania,Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Participating Institution(s)
Awards are available at participating institutions in the UK only.
For the year 2013, 62 universities have offered to support the scholarships by contributing the stipend for the students from their own resources, or those which the university has been able to generate from elsewhere. See list of participating universities from the 'Shared Scholarships prospectus 2013' below.
Fields of study
Awards are for taught masters courses only. No awards will be made for undergraduate or doctoral study. All courses undertaken must be demonstrably relevant to the economic, social or technological development of the candidate’s home country. Additional details of the eligible courses (or departments) offered by the institutions is found at the 'Shared Scholarships prospectus 2013' below.
Number of Awards
Up to 227 scholarship positions.
To date, in excess of 2,500 students from developing Commonwealth countries have been awarded Shared Scholarships.
Sponsorship duration
Awards are normally tenable for one-year taught postgraduate courses only
Scholarship benefits
The CSC funds the cost of tuition fees (at overseas rate), return airfares, and other allowances. Participating universities are required to support the student stipend for the award holder (at the rate set by the UK government).
Method of Application
All enquiries should be addressed to the university at which you wish to study and through which you should therefore apply for a Shared Scholarship, not to the CSC. The university will advise you on eligibility issues and how to make an application. There are two options:
Option 1: Most universities will handle advertising and recruitment directly using their own application form, and you should therefore apply to the university direct. Following their closing date for applications, the university will ask those candidates which it selects to complete the CSC’s application form using our Electronic Application System (EAS). Please note that candidates must complete their application via the EAS by 16 April 2013 at the latest, in order to be nominated to the CSC by their host university.
Option 2: Some universities request all of their Shared Scholarship candidates to apply via the CSC’s Electronic Application System (EAS) - see link above. You will be advised by the institution if this is the case, and should then access the EAS once it is open for Shared Scholarship applications by the end of October 2012. Applications must be submitted in time to meet the university’s own deadline, which will be made clear in the EAS and is listed in the 'Shared Scholarships prospectus' below. (Where a university has not specified a closing date, you should contact the institution to ascertain the latest date that applications will accepted).
All institutions are asked to forward their nominations to the CSC no later than 31 May 2013 using the EAS.
NOTE:
Although institutions will normally recruit direct, the availability of these awards will be advertised through British High Commissions if the institutions have indicated their wish to avail themselves of this service.
Applications should be made directly to the institutions at which candidates wish to study. The sponsoring institutions will be the judges of academic calibre and will forward their nominations to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for its agreement. Institutions will normally advise candidates of the result not later than July.
Candidates should note that although they may apply to more than one institution, only one offer of award may be accepted.
The specific deadlines set by the participating institutions varies but is around February-May each year (see prospectus for exact deadlines). Candidates should note that institutions are asked to forward their nominations to the CSC no later than 31 May each year; where institutions have not specified a closing date, candidates should contact the institution to ascertain the latest date the institution is willing to accept applications.
DEADLINES:
Deadline for application to participating universities varies between December 2012 and April 2013. Candidates must complete their application via the EAS by 16 April 2013 at the latest, in order to be nominated to the CSC by their host university.
Contact
All enquiries about making an application and eligibility should be addressed to the university to which you wish to apply (contact details are given in the 'Shared Scholarships prospectus' below);
Or,
General enquiries regarding the scheme should be sent to the scheme administrators at the address below. Please note that applications sent to this address will be disregarded and will not be passed on to the relevant university:
Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission
c/o The Association of Commonwealth Universities
Woburn House, 20-24 Tavistock Square
London WC1H 9HF, UK;
Or,
You may contact the CSC by completing the online email form here.
Scholarship Application Deadline: 16 April 2013 (annually)
Scholarship Open to International students: Yes
For more information, please visit the official website
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