Commonwealth Shared Scholarships

These scholarships are jointly offered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and selected UK universities. They support students from developing Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the United Kingdom.

Level of study

This scholarship is for postgraduate master’s study.

Subject areas

This scholarship is for study on specific courses across a range of subject areas. The list of eligible programmes for 2023 are:

• MSc Applied Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing
• MSc Oceanography
• MSc Genomics
• LLM International Law and Human Rights

What is covered

This scholarship covers:

• your tuition fees
• return travel costs
• a monthly stipend
• an allowances package
• costs for a mandatory tuberculosis test

Who can apply

To apply for this scholarship you must:

• be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
• be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
• be available to start your studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2023
• hold one of the following degrees by September 2023
  • a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard
  • a second class degree (2:2) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a master’s degree)
• not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high income country
• be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship
• commit to return to their home country within one month of the end date of their scholarship

Eligible Commonwealth countries

• Bangladesh
• Belize
• Botswana
• Cameroon
• Dominica
• Eswatini
• Fiji
• Gabon
• The Gambia
• Ghana
• Grenada
• Guyana
• India
• Jamaica
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mauritius
• Monserrat
• 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
• Togo
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
• Vanuatu
• Zambia

How to apply

Applications for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships open on 3 November 2022 and close at 16:00 (GMT) on 13 December 2022.

1. Check that you meet all scholarship and programme eligibility criteria before you begin. Please ensure that you have the required documentation ready.

2. By 16:00 (GMT) on 13 December 2022 at the latest you must:

a.    Apply on the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission application portal for this scholarship. You are advised to complete and submit your application as soon as possible, as the online application system will be very busy in the days leading up to the application deadline and the Commission cannot make allowances for local or personal difficulties which might affect your ability to submit.

b.  shortlisted applicants will be contacted in mid February with an invitiation to submit their application for their chosen programme using our online application form.

3. Ensure that you meet the required English language requirements by March 2023 at the latest.

Further information

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission provides more information on this scholarship.

The Commission will normally only fund your first UK master’s degree. You’ll need to provide justification if you’re applying for a second UK master’s degree.

Further Commonwealth Scholarship opportunities include:

• Commonwealth Master's Scholarship
• Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarship
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarship
• Commonwealth Split-site Scholarship

What’s it like to be a University of Southampton Commonwealth Shared Scholar?

Meet some of our most recent scholars as they share their experience of being a Commonwealth Shared Scholar at the University of Southampton.