Commonwealth Scholarships cover full tuition, return airfare and a monthly living allowance of £1,712 (£2,000 in London) for postgraduate study in the UK. They are funded by the UK government for citizens of developing Commonwealth countries. The critical thing almost every guide buries: you cannot apply to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission directly. You must be nominated, and that changes how you plan everything.
The Short Answer
Applications for the 2027/28 Master’s and PhD scholarships are open now and close at 16:00 BST on Tuesday 20 October 2026. You apply in the CSC Central portal and separately to a nominating body in your country, whose own deadline is usually earlier. Miss the nominator, and your portal application goes nowhere.
Which Schemes Currently Exist
The Commission runs several schemes, and two of the ones most often written about have stopped.
| Scheme | For | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Master’s Scholarships | Low and middle income Commonwealth countries | Open for 2027/28 |
| PhD Scholarships | Least developed countries and vulnerable states | Open for 2027/28 |
| Shared Scholarships | Least developed and lower middle income countries | Currently closed, next cycle unannounced |
| Commonwealth Fellowships | Mid-career professionals and academics | New combined programme from 2026/27 |
| Distance Learning Master’s | — | Paused — not running in 2026 or 2027 |
| Split-site PhD | — | Paused — not running in 2026 or 2027 |
Take the two pauses seriously. Distance Learning was one of the largest schemes by planned volume, and articles recommending it are now out of date. The Commission has not published a reason for either pause, and we are not going to invent one.
Who Qualifies for the Master’s Scholarship
You must meet all of the following:
- Be a citizen of, or have refugee status granted by, an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
- Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
- Be available to begin study in the UK by the start of the academic year in September 2027
- Hold, by September 2027, a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) standard — or a lower second with a relevant postgraduate qualification
- Be unable to afford to study in the UK without the scholarship
- Have submitted all supporting documents in the required format
Two details that catch people out. If you have already completed a Master’s at a UK institution, or already held a Commonwealth Scholarship at Master’s level, you are not eligible. And the financial-need criterion is a real criterion, not a formality — this is not a pure merit award.
Applicants with disabilities who do not hold a 2:1 may still be considered through the Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum as a nominating body. That route is genuinely available and underused.
What the Award Actually Pays
- Full tuition fees, agreed directly between the Commission and your UK university
- Return airfare from your home country at the start and end of the award
- Stipend of £1,712 per month, or £2,000 at universities in the London metropolitan area
- A study travel grant towards study-related travel in the UK or overseas
- Child allowance: £622 per month for a first child, £154 per month for a second and third child under 16
- Additional support for disabled scholars following a needs assessment
The UK visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge are waived for Commonwealth Scholars applying from outside the UK. That surcharge alone runs to well over a thousand pounds for a multi-year course, so it is a bigger benefit than it sounds.
One correction to the guidance circulating elsewhere: older write-ups mention a warm clothing allowance and a thesis grant. Neither appears in the Commission’s current published terms. Do not budget for them.
Shared Scholarships pay less — £1,452 per month, or £1,781 in London — because the cost is split between the Commission and the university.
The Nominating Agency System
This is the part that decides most applications, and it is the part most guides skip.
The Commission does not accept direct applications for Master’s and PhD scholarships. Every candidate must be put forward by an approved nominator: a national nominating agency, a selected NGO or charity, or — for Shared Scholarships — a participating UK university. You complete the CSC Central application, and you separately satisfy your nominator’s own process, which has its own form, its own requirements and usually an earlier closing date.
The national nominating agencies for our main readership:
| Country | Nominating agency |
|---|---|
| Nigeria | Federal Scholarship Board, Garki, Abuja |
| Ghana | Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, North Ridge, Accra |
| Kenya | Ministry of Education, Nairobi |
| India | Ministry of Education, R.K. Puram, New Delhi |
| Pakistan | Scholarship Division, Higher Education Commission, Islamabad |
| Bangladesh | Secondary and Higher Education Division, Ministry of Education, Dhaka |
Contact your agency directly and early. Ask one question: what is your closing date and what do you require from me? Agencies publish inconsistently, and a phone call in August is worth more than a search in October.
The Timeline
- Now to mid-October 2026 — contact your nominating agency, choose courses, assemble documents, complete CSC Central
- 16:00 BST, 20 October 2026 — CSC Central closes. This is a hard deadline
- December 2026 — nominators submit their nominations to the Commission
- By July 2027 — outcomes communicated
- September/October 2027 — study begins
Nine months from deadline to answer. Plan your life accordingly, and do not decline other opportunities while you wait.
How Competitive Is It, Really?
In the year to September 2025 the Commission supported 1,496 scholars and fellows and made 647 new awards — 233 Master’s, 181 PhD and 170 Shared. By region, East Africa took 191 new awards, Asia 152, Southern Africa 99 and West Africa 90.
The Commission does not publish a total applications figure, so we cannot give you an honest success rate and will not guess one. For a sense of scale, though: the small Startup Fellowship scheme made three awards from more than 1,400 applicants.
What Selection Actually Rewards
Four published criteria: academic merit, the quality of your research proposal (doctoral) or study plan (Master’s), and development impact.
That last one is where applications are won and lost. This is UK aid money with a development mandate. A strong academic record and a vague plan to “gain international exposure” loses to a slightly weaker record attached to a specific problem in a specific sector, a named intention to return, and a credible account of what changes because you trained.
The study plan is also assessed on evidence you researched the course and institution. Naming the two modules that matter to your work, and the academic whose research connects to it, reads entirely differently from naming a university.
Costs and Agents
No application fee appears anywhere in the Commission’s published guidance, and applications are made through the Commission’s own CSC Central portal. Nobody needs to submit on your behalf, and no agent has influence over selection.
If someone offers to secure you a Commonwealth Scholarship for a fee, walk away. Check your own nominating agency’s process directly with the agency — never through a third party who found you on WhatsApp.
Commonwealth Scholarships FAQ
Can I apply directly to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission?
No. Master’s and PhD applications require nomination by a national nominating agency, a selected NGO, or a UK university for Shared Scholarships. You complete CSC Central and satisfy your nominator separately.
What is the deadline for 2027/28?
CSC Central closes at 16:00 BST on Tuesday 20 October 2026 for Master’s and PhD scholarships. Your nominating agency’s own deadline is usually earlier, so treat theirs as the real one.
How much is the Commonwealth Scholarship stipend?
£1,712 per month for Master’s and PhD scholars, rising to £2,000 at London-area universities. Shared Scholarships pay £1,452, or £1,781 in London.
Do I need a 2:1 to apply?
Normally yes, by September 2027. A lower second-class degree plus a relevant postgraduate qualification is also accepted, and applicants with disabilities may apply through the Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum without meeting the 2:1 bar.
Are Distance Learning scholarships still available?
No. The Commission has confirmed that Distance Learning Master’s Scholarships and Split-site PhD Scholarships are paused and will not run in 2026 or 2027.
Does having a job disqualify me on financial grounds?
No. The criterion is that you could not fund UK study yourself, which is true of most salaried professionals in the region. State your circumstances factually rather than dramatising them.
Is there an application fee?
No fee is listed anywhere in the Commission’s published guidance, and applications are submitted through its own portal. Anyone charging you to apply is not acting for the Commission.
Your Next Step
Do two things this week. Email or call your national nominating agency and ask for their closing date and requirements. Then request your academic transcripts, because in most of our readership that request takes six to eight weeks and it is the single most common reason strong candidates miss the window.
Apply in parallel, not in sequence. Our guides to Chevening Scholarships, Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters and DAAD EPOS scholarships in Germany cover awards on different calendars. And since the study plan decides this one, read our guides to writing a winning scholarship essay and getting strong letters of recommendation before you draft.
Last reviewed: 22 September 2026, against the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission’s official scheme pages and its 2025 annual report. Scheme terms, stipends and deadlines change each cycle — confirm on cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk before applying.
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