Introduction.
The UK is one of the best countries in the world when it comes to the education system and there is no doubt about that. After all, the UK has lots of prestigious universities where the most successful people have spent their years studying and learning everything they need in order to excel in their domain. Nonetheless, Commonwealth is now accepting applications for Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships.
For the uninitiated, these are scholarships for Ph.D. candidates who come from low and middle-income Commonwealth countries and the scholarships are allowing students to spend up to 12 months at a UK university as part of their doctoral studies.
The Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships are funded by the UK Department of International Development (DFID) and they have been specially created in order to help talented and outstanding students gain the knowledge that they need in order to follow their academic goals. Here are the themes that these scholarships support:
Science and technology for development
- Strengthening health systems and capacity
- Promoting global prosperity
- Strengthening global peace, security, and governance
- Strengthening resilience and response to crises
- Access, inclusion, and opportunity
Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarships for Ph.D. Students: Benefits
- Approved airfare from your home country to the UK and return at the end of your award (the CSC will not reimburse the cost of fares for dependants, nor the cost of journeys made before your award is confirmed)
- Approved tuition fees
- Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,110 per month, or £1,362 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2019-2020 levels)
- Warm clothing allowance, where applicable
- Study travel grant towards the cost of study-related travel within the UK or overseas
- If you are widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of £476 per month for the first child, and £117 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if you are accompanied by your children and them are living with you at the same address in the UK (rates quoted at 2019-2020 levels)
- If you declare a disability, a full assessment of your needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC
Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarships for Ph.D Students: Criteria
To apply for these scholarships, applicants must:
- Be a citizen of or have been granted refugees status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
- Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
- Be registered for a PhD at a university in an eligible Commonwealth country by the time their scholarship is confirmed (September 2020)
- Ensure that an institutional or departmental link exists between their home university and their proposed UK university. This link must be greater than simply a collaboration between individuals — see ‘Tenure and placement’ on page 4 for further details in the ‘Terms and conditions’ pdf file available at the official link. Both supervisors must provide a supporting statement which includes details of the link in order for candidates’ application to be eligible
- Be available to start their academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September/October 2020
- By October 2020, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honors standard, or a second class degree (2:2) and relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree)
- Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format
- Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship
Eligible Regions:
Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia.
Official Letter and Deadline
We are advising all students who are interested in these scholarships to CLICK HERE and visit the official Commonwealth website in order to get more information on how to apply. In addition, the deadline for these scholarships is November 6th, 2019.