Application is now open for the Commonwealth Split-Site PhD Scholarship. Interested candidates are encouraged to send their applications in before the deadline date.
About Commonwealth Scholarships
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) administers the primary UK government scholarship program, which is guided by international development objectives. The CSC operates as an executive non-departmental public body and is sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID). It operates within the framework of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) and serves as a tangible representation of the UK’s longstanding commitment to the Commonwealth.
One of the scholarship programs offered by the CSC is the Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships, designed to support a year of study at a UK university as part of a candidate’s ongoing PhD program in their home country. This arrangement involves joint supervision by a home country supervisor and a UK supervisor.
The 12-month period of study in the UK, which is facilitated by this scholarship, can be undertaken at any point during the candidate’s PhD program, as long as it is justified in their study plan. This period can be broken down into two or more segments, with the condition that no more than 12 months should pass between each term of the award. If a candidate has not yet initiated their PhD program at the time of application, they are eligible to spend a maximum of six months in the UK during their first year of study.
These scholarships are for:
- As part of their PhD studies at home, applicants will spend 12 months studying at a UK university beginning in September 2024.
- Applicants who have registered—or plan to register—for a PhD program at an institution in a Commonwealth nation that qualifies
- Study at a UK university that is formally affiliated with your home university, either departmentally or institutionally.
- Enroll in a UK university that has a financial partnership with the CSC. View the full list of UK colleges that have consented to provide partial funding.
Details about Commonwealth Split-Site PhD Scholarship:
Scholarship Sponsor: Commonwealth Scholarships, UK
Scholarship Value: Check Below
Number of awards: N/A
Study level: PhD
Host Institution(s): Commonwealth Scholarships, UK
Benefits:
Each fellowship provides:
- Approved travel from your home country to the UK and back after your award (the CSC will not cover the cost of travel before your award is confirmed, nor the cost of fares for dependents).
- Approved tuition costs
- Living allowance (stipend) at £1,347 per month (rates indicated at current levels) or £1,652 per month for students attending institutions in the London metropolitan region
- Allowance for warm clothes, if applicable
- A study travel award to help pay for study-related domestic or international travel
- A child allowance of £576.61 per month for the first child and £143 per month for the second and third children under the age of sixteen if the Scholar is a widow, divorced, or single parent and their children are living with them at the same location in the United Kingdom.
The family allowances offered by the CSC are only meant to help with a portion of the expenses associated with keeping your family in the UK. If you bring family members to the UK with you, you will need to supplement these allowances because the real expenses will probably be much greater.
Eligibility Criteria for Commonwealth Split-Site PhD Scholarship
Applicants are advised to meet the following requirements to be eligible for the Commonwealth Split-Site PhD Scholarship:
- Be a British Protected Person, a citizen of a Commonwealth country that qualifies, or someone who has been awarded refugee status by such country.
- Possess a permanent residence in a Commonwealth nation that qualifies.
- By the time your scholarship begins (September 2024), you must be enrolled for a PhD at an institution in a Commonwealth nation that qualifies.
- Make sure your intended UK university and your home university have an institutional or departmental connection. This connection needs to go beyond just individual cooperation; for further information, read the “Tenure and Placement” section. Your application won’t be accepted until both supervisors submit a supporting statement with further details on the link.
- Prepare yourself to start your studies in the UK in September 2024.
- By September 2024, have either a lower second class degree with a relevant postgraduate degree (usually a Master’s degree) or a first degree with at least an upper second class (2:1) honors grade.
- Not having enough money to study in the UK without this scholarship.
The CSC looks for talented individuals who have the ability to bring about change. Applications from a diverse range of individuals are encouraged, and they are committed to an inclusive and non-discriminatory policy. Refer to the CSC disability support statement for further details on the resources offered to fellows with disabilities.
Eligible Countries
Please be aware that the Commonwealth Split-site Scholarship program will only accept applications from citizens of the qualifying nations indicated below in 2024–2025.
- Guyana
- India
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mauritius
- Montserrat
- Bangladesh
- Belize
- Botswana
- Cameroon
- Dominica
- Sri Lanka
- Tanzania
- The Gambia
- Togo
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Zambia
- Eswatini
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Rwanda
- Saint Helena
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
Selection Criteria
The following selection criteria will be applied to applications for the Commonwealth Split-site:
- The academic standing of the applicant
- The study proposal’s caliber
- Possible effects on the candidate’s native country’s development
Application Process for Commonwealth Split-Site PhD Scholarship
The Commonwealth Split-site Scholarship application period is currently open for the 2024–2025 school year. On December 5, 2023, at 16:00 GMT, applications must be submitted. Studying in the UK starting in September or October of 2024 is the purpose of the scholarships. Applications must be submitted online using the CSC’s online application system.
It is recommended that applicants finish and submit their applications as soon as possible because the online application system will be extremely active in the days preceding the application deadline. The application process must be completed in a UK university that has a partial funding arrangement with the CSC. Universities have the choice to decide which agreements to sponsor in part. See the UK universities with part funding agreements page on the CSC website for a list of universities that have committed to partially support Commonwealth Scholarships.
The results should be known to applicants by July 2024. All candidates will be contacted via email, so please make sure you keep an eye on all email account folders, including the spam and junk mail folders. If a candidate receives an email offer of a scholarship and does not reply within a given period, the offer may be revoked.
You can also visit the official website for further details.
The Application Deadline is: December 5, 2023
Not interested in this particular scholarship? See other UK scholarships here.
