Funding

Grant

Program dates

TBA

PhD Scholarship•Remote

Routledge/Round Table Commonwealth Studentship Awards

Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)

Application Deadline

Closed · July 31, 2026

Reopens ~Jul 2027

Official Page

The Routledge/Round Table Commonwealth Studentship Awards fund doctoral research on Commonwealth-related themes across the humanities and social sciences. They are run by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) together with The Round Table journal and its publisher, Routledge. Two awards are made each year: one for a PhD or DPhil student registered at a UK university, and one for a student at an ACU member university in another Commonwealth country. A candidate’s research need not already have a Commonwealth focus — the grant is designed to help add one.

Benefits & funding

  • Up to £5,500 per award.
  • £4,000 is paid when the awards are announced; the remaining £1,500 on completion of the post-studentship requirements.
  • A mentor at a university in another Commonwealth country receives a separate £500, payable at the end of the studentship.
  • The chance to publish an article in The Round Table journal and to record a podcast for the journal’s website.

Eligibility

  • Open only to students registered for a PhD or DPhil.
  • UK award: any UK university. International award: an ACU member university in a Commonwealth country other than the UK — Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarship alumni studying for a PhD at any Commonwealth university outside the UK may also apply for this award.
  • Open to applicants of any nationality; not limited to Commonwealth citizens.
  • Humanities and social sciences — for example politics, international relations, economics, history, geography, law, development studies and area studies. Pure sciences and medicine are excluded, though policy-related science or health topics are accepted.
  • The research must relate to the Commonwealth as a whole or a Commonwealth-wide body, or have a comparative or cross-country Commonwealth relevance.
  • Applicants must identify and work with a mentor based at a university in a Commonwealth country other than their own.

Can you apply?

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Application process

  1. 1
    Download the application form from the ACU studentships page.
  2. 2
    Identify a mentor at a university in a Commonwealth country other than the one where you are based.
  3. 3
    Complete and submit the application form by the deadline.
  4. 4
    Winners are expected to be announced in September 2026, after which the article and podcast deliverables must be produced within twelve months of taking up the award.

Program timeline

  1. Application deadline

    31 July 2026

  2. Winners announced

    September 2026

  3. Within 12 months of taking up the award

    research article (4,000–6,000 words) and podcast due