Applications are open for Commonwealth Masters Scholarships 2025-2026. It is an initiative of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and a department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which enables the transformative impact around the world under the national interest of the United Kingdom’s foreign policy.
Do you want to opt for a fully funded master’s abroad? What about London? What do you think of this city? Do you want to do your master’s over there? Do you want to get full funding for your master’s, including tuition fees, stipend, and four other stipends? So in total, it comes to 6 different allowances for your master’s. If yes, then this opportunity is for you!
Commonwealth Masters Scholarships 2025 Details:
The Common Wealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) awards around 700 scholarships to applicants belonging to commonwealth-eligible countries to pursue a fully funded master’s degree in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide skills and knowledge to the talented individuals required for sustainable development and is aimed at those who could not afford their education in the United Kingdom
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Key components of Commonwealth Master’s scholarship:
Commonwealth scholarships are for masters as well as for PhDs. In this article, we are going to cover the master’s scholarship.
The following components shall decide whether your application gets rejected or not.
Applying to the following;
- Apply for the scholarship
- Apply to the university or college of your choice.
- Apply to the nominating agency.
Scholarship Coverage
- Your tuition fee will be covered by this scholarship.
- You will also get airfare from the scholar’s home country to the UK and return at the end.
- Just like that, you also get a stipend of pound 1378 per month or pound 1,690 per month if you live in metropolitan cities of London.
- Then you get a warm clothing allowance because of the cold temperature in the European region.
- After getting into the course, if you are going in for any kind of exchange program or any study-related course, then also you will get a study travel grant.
- If the scholar has children, he/she is a widow or has separated, and for any reason there is a dependent (child) with you, there is something called a child allowance, which comes to around pounds 590 per month for the first child and then pounds 146 per month for the second and third child, under the age of 16 if both of you are all living at the same address in the UK.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Moving on to eligibility, check if your country is on the list of eligible countries; if it is not there, then you are not eligible for the Commonwealth scholarship.
- You should be available to start this course in September 2025, that is, next year.
- The Commonwealth scholarship program usually does not fund a second master’s if you are applying, but in the rare cases that it does, you have to give a proper justification as to why you need to go for a second master’s despite having one.
- If you are a candidate with any disability and you have the kind of potential, then you may be nominated through a nominating agency specially made for the selection of disabled people. The normal nominating agencies won’t work for you.
How do you Apply?
- All applications are online, and there is no fee or charge for the application or nomination process.
- You apply for a scholarship, you apply to the university or college for the desired course, and then you apply to the nominating agency. Your application gets forwarded from the nominating agency to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
Types of Nominating Agencies:
- National nominating agencies: Each country may have one or two nominating agencies; you can reach out to the nominating agency through the mail or phone call to understand the next procedures for applications.
- NGOs and charitable bodies: multiple categories, including disabled persons—can apply through these agencies.
Documents required:
The first document that you need to have is the citizenship proof that you are a citizen of the Commonwealth countries listed before.
- A valid passport (or national ID) showing a photograph, date of birth, and country of citizenship.
- Full transcripts detailing all higher education qualifications, including up-to-date transcripts for any courses currently being studied, with certified translations if not English.
- Two reference letters in PDF format and on institutional letterhead
Reference letters:
It should include the following information:
- How long and in what capacity has the referee known the applicant?
- What are the views on the applicant’s suitability for the proposed scholarship and the need for the particular subject in the UK?
- How and to what extent has the applicant shown ability in terms of capability to grasp concepts and reasons automatically?
- Assessment of the applicant’s particular strengths and weaknesses.
Application form:
What information is required for the application form?
- List of all undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications if you have
- List of any publications (maximum you can go up to 10).
- Work experience and how that work experience shall help you thrive in this particular scholarship
- Reference letters (out of which one could be the current employer if you are working)
- Development Impact Statement.
- Personal statement (what is your motivation for applying to this scholarship)
Also, Check: Open Doors Russian Government Scholarship 2025
Development Impact Statement:
There are four parts to it.
- How this funding will help you solve development problems at the national and international level.
- How do you intend to apply new skills learned once the scholarship ends?
- What do you expect in developmental terms, and how does this funding help you achieve the desired outcome?
- What are your thoughts about how the impact of your work will be measured?
Selection Process & Criteria:
- Academic merit
- Research proposal
- Potential impact on your country
For more details regarding the selection criteria, view:
We understand that it’s difficult to put up with this much information, and for that, we encourage you to go through the following pages
- Applicant Advice Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (fcdo.gov.uk) and secondly;
- Commonwealth Scholarships Frequently Asked Questions – Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (fcdo.gov.uk)
Deadlines:
Common Wealth Masters Scholarship: The deadline is October 17, 2024.
Commonwealth universities/colleges’ deadlines maybe before that, depending on what kind of nominating agency and university you are applying to.
Final Words
Make sure to follow the application process religiously while applying for the scholarship; you have to apply to the particular course at a university of your choice in addition to applying to the nominating agency. If these three steps are done and are done well, nobody can stop you from being admitted to the most prestigious universities in the UK. Best of luck!
