Commonwealth Phd scholarship program for high income commonwealth countries is currently accepting applications. It’s a full-time doctoral program at a UK university. The scholarship program aims to support high quality research. It’s for individuals with outstanding knowledge and talent to become future leaders. The scholarship program also aims to build collaborations and international partnerships, once the scholarship holders complete their education and return home. 

The priority is given to those scholars who are from under-represented or marginalized groups. The scholarship is from the UK department for Education, Commonwealth Phd scholarships. If you are from a high-income commonwealth country with a potential to undertake world-class research, this scholarship is for you. 

The current scholarship program covers six CSD Development themes including:

• Science and Technology for development 
• Strengthening health system and capacity 
• Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship
• Strengthening Global peace, security and Governance 
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises 
• Access, inclusion and Opportunity 

The scholarship evaluation is based on Academic merit, Quality of research proposal and Impact potential. 

Commonwealth Phd scholarship Benefits 

The scholarship covers the following expenses:

• Tuition fees
• Airfare to and from the United Kingdom
• Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,347 per month, or £1,652 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area 
• Warm clothing allowance, where applicable
• Thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, where applicable 
• Please note that the scholarship does not cover additional allowances such as family allowances, travel insurance, visa fees, or study materials
•  A Scholar who has a spouse but no children can receive a monthly spouse allowance of £290 for up to nine months, as long as they live together in the UK and the spouse does not have a scholarship of their own. There are other conditions that apply as well.
• A Scholar who has a spouse and children can receive a monthly spouse allowance of £290 and a monthly child allowance of £290 for the first child and £143 for the second and third child under 16 years old, as long as they live together in the UK and the spouse does not have a scholarship of their own. There are other conditions that apply as well.
•  A Scholar who has children and is widowed, divorced, or a single parent can receive a monthly child allowance of £576.61 for the first child and £143 for the second and third child under 16 years old, as long as they live together in the UK.

Eligibility for Commonwealth Phd Scholarship 

Applicant must check the following eligibility criteria before submitting application, otherwise application will not be consider: 

• Citizen of, or have been granted refugee status by, an eligible Commonwealth country, or a British Protected Person.
• Currently permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country and have been for the last two years.
• Not registered for or have started a PhD (or an MPhil leading to a PhD) at a UK university, or in home country before the start of the scholarship.
• Available to start academic studies in the UK in January/February next year.
• By the start of the proposed scholarship, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard, or a second class degree (2:2) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree).
•  Hold an unconditional offer or a conditional offer conditional only on finance for the next UK academic year from all of the UK universities listed on application, and have submitted them as part of  application.

Document requirements for Commonwealth Phd scholarship 

To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must submit all the required supporting documentation along with their application form. The supporting documentation includes:

• A proof of citizenship or refugee status in one of the eligible Commonwealth countries. This can be a scanned copy of a valid passport or national ID card that shows the photo, date of birth, and country of citizenship.
• Full transcript of all the higher education qualifications obtained or in progress, with certified translations if not in English. The transcript should include all pages and grades. Incomplete or missing transcripts will result in an ineligible application.
• Two references from individuals who can attest to the applicant’s academic and professional achievements and potential. The references should be in PDF format, signed and on institutional letterhead or an email that clearly shows the sender’s details.
• Supporting statement from a proposed supervisor in the UK from at least one of the institutions named on the application form. The statement should be in PDF format, signed and on institutional letterhead or an email that clearly shows the sender’s details. The statement should explain why the supervisor is interested in working with the applicant and how the applicant’s research proposal aligns with their expertise and research interests.
• An unconditional offer, or an offer conditional only on finance, for the 2023 UK academic year for all institutions named on the application form. The offer letter should be in PDF format and include the course title, duration, and start date.

All the supporting documentation must be uploaded to the online application system by the deadline for applications. The CSC will not accept any documentation submitted by any other means or after the deadline. Applications that do not include all the required documentation will be considered ineligible.

How to apply for the Commonwealth Phd scholarship program ?

The scholarship application is online. Applicant’s can submit their applications through CSC’s online application system.  Create your account on the Commonwealth scholarship system. Fill out all the information, and upload required documents. Remember, applying early will make it easier for you. As the deadline gets close, the application system gets busy. 

Remember, the CSC system does not charge any fee for any of the applications whether it’s commonwealth fellowships or scholarship programs. 

Deadline for the scholarship 

The deadline for submitting an application is 27 February 2024, 16:00 GMT.  

If you want to know more about this program, click the link below,

Click below link to Apply,

Eligible Countries 

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Malta, New Zealand, Seychelles, Singapore, St Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.