Brief description:
The
UK Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme provides scholarships for
international students from developing Commonwealth countries who wants
to study a postgraduate degree in UK Universities. It is a joint
initiative between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (with funding
from DFID), and UK universities.
The
Scheme allows them to contribute toward the development of their home
countries. Awards are for taught masters courses only. No awards will be
made for undergraduate or doctoral study.
Participating Universities(s):
Scholarships are only available at participating universities in the UK. See the Booklet for 2013 Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Prospectus for details of the UK institutions offering Scholarships joint-funded with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in 2012.
Fields of study:
Shared
Scholarship Scheme (SSS) Awards are offered only for subjects relating
to the economic, social and technological development of a candidate’s
country. Additional details of the eligible courses (or departments)
offered by the institutions is found at the 2013 Commonwealth Shared
Scholarship Prospectus (link above).
Number of Scholarships:
It is envisaged that around 170 Scholarships will be offered distributed to the participating institutions.
Target group:
Nationals
of Commonwealth Developing Countries (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda
Nauru, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin
Islands, Namibia, Cameroon, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Gambia, Ghana,
Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi,
Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Papua New Guineas, Pitcairn, Rwanda, St Helena, St Kitts and
Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, 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, and Zambia)
Scholarship value/inclusions:
DFID
and participating United Kingdom institutions will jointly meet the
full costs of an award holder’s study in the United Kingdom including
air fares to and from the United Kingdom. Maintenance allowance is paid
by the scholar’s host institution, at the level set by the UK
Government: £1,134 per month for scholars based in London and £917 per
month for the rest of the UK. (July 2012 figures).
A
grant of up to £225 to cover thesis (Master’s) costs is available; also
available is £200 for study travel. The cost of up to 10 Kilograms of
excess baggage (books only) is available for scholars returning home at
the end of their awards. No additional allowances are paid for spouses
or other dependents.
Eligibility:
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.
Applicants should:
a.
be nationals of (or permanently domiciled in) a Commonwealth developing
country, and not currently be living or studying in a developed country
(please see the booklet for a list of eligible countries);
b. hold a first degree at either first or upper second class level;
c . be sufficiently fluent in English to pursue the course;
d. have not previously studied for one year or more in a developed country;
e. not
be employed by a government department (at national level) or a
parastatal organisation (employees of universities are normally
acceptable, however);
f.
be able to confirm in writing that neither they or their families would
otherwise be able to pay for the proposed course of study; and
g. be willing to confirm that they will return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete.
Application instructions:
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.
The specific deadlines set by the participating institutions varies but is around February-May of each year
(see 2013 Prospectus for exact deadlines). Candidates should note that
institutions are asked to forward their nominations to the CSC no later
than 30 April 2013; where institutions have not
specified a closing date candidates, you should contact the institution
so as to ascertain the latest date that the institution is willing to
accept applications.
It is important to read the 2013 Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Prospectus and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.
Contact information:
All
enquiries should be addressed to the University at which you wish to
study. Contact details of each institution can also be found at the
2013 Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Prospectus.
