Commonwealth Split-site PhD Scholarships

Benefits & funding

• Approved return airfare between the Scholar’s home country and the UK.
• Full approved tuition fees for the UK placement.
• Living allowance at the latest published rate of £1,378 per month, or £1,690 per month at universities in the London metropolitan area.
• A warm clothing allowance where applicable and a study travel grant for approved research-related travel.
• For an eligible widowed, divorced, or single-parent Scholar whose children live with them in the UK, £590 per month for the first child and £146 per month for the second and third child under 16.
• Additional support may be offered after an assessment of a disabled Scholar’s needs.

Eligibility

• Be a citizen of, or hold refugee status granted by, an eligible Commonwealth country and be permanently resident in an eligible country.
• Be registered for a PhD at a university in an eligible country by the scholarship start date.
• Have an institutional or departmental link between the home university and proposed UK university; both supervisors must document that link.
• Hold at least an upper second-class first degree, or a lower second-class degree plus a relevant postgraduate qualification, usually a Master’s degree.
• Be unable to afford the UK research period without the scholarship and submit all required documents.
• The latest published eligible-country list comprises Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, 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, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, and Zambia.
• There is no CSC age limit and employment experience is not required.

Application process

1. 1
   Wait for the CSC programme page to announce a new application cycle; no application is available for 2026 or 2027.
2. 2
   Confirm eligibility and establish the required institutional link with a participating UK university.
3. 3
   Prepare the direct CSC application, including the research plan, development-impact statements, qualifications, publications, employment history, and referee details.
4. 4
   Upload citizenship or refugee-status evidence, full transcripts, at least two references, and supporting statements from both the home and proposed UK supervisors through the official application system by the announced deadline.

Program timeline

1. The latest published cycle was scheduled to start its UK study period.

   September 2025

2. The programme is paused and will not run.

   2026–2027

3. Future cycle

   No reopening date or application deadline has been announced.