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The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and UK universities to support students from developing Commonwealth countries.
The aim of the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme (CSSS) is to assist students from developing Commonwealth countries who are of excellent academic calibre but for financial reasons would not otherwise be able to afford to study in the United Kingdom. The scheme allows them to benefit from postgraduate study at a university in the United Kingdom which will help them to contribute toward the development of their home countries.
Awards are for taught Master's programmes only, subjects must be related to the economic, social and technological development of a candidate's country.
Further information can be found on the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission website here.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- be a Commonwealth citizen, refugee, or British Protected Person;
- be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country;
- be available to start your academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September/October 2023;
- by September 2023, hold a first degree of either first or upper second class (2:1) classification, or lower second class (2:2) classification plus a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree). If you are applying for a second UK Master’s degree, you will need to provide justification as to why you wish to undertake this study;
- 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;
- apply for admission to UCL for one of the eligible programmes below:
| Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis MSc Urban Spatial Science |
| Department of Chemistry MSc Materials for Energy and Environment |
| Development Planning Unit MSc Building & Urban Design In Development |
| Division of Medicine MSc Clinical and Public Health Nutrition |
| Institute for Global Health MSc Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology |
| Institute for Global Prosperity MSc Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship |
| Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction MSc Risk, Disaster and Resilience |
| IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society MA Education, Gender and International Development |
Value, benefits, and duration
- There are up to 9 (nine) scholarships available in 2023/24
- The award will cover tuition fees, a maintenance allowance, economy air travel to and from the UK at the beginning and end of the scholar’s degree programme plus additional discretionary allowances.
- Awards are normally tenable for one year only.
Selection
The CSSS is a shared scholarship between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and UCL, and selected candidates have to be accepted and approved by both parties, hence the requirement to also complete the CSSS online application form.
The successful and reserve candidates will be selected upon the recommendation of an academic panel and the Student Funding Office.
How to apply
Candidates must apply for the scholarship via the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) portal. In order to be considered for an award, the student must also have an active admission application with UCL by the scholarship deadline (13 December 2022). For information on how to apply for admission to UCL, please see the How to Apply section of our online prospectus.
Results
Successful and reserve nominees selected by UCL can expect to be informed by email by the end of March 2023. Final award confirmation should be expected by July 2023 once the CSC completes their criteria checks.
We are unable to inform unsuccessful applicants. If you do not hear from UCL Student Funding Office by the end of June 2023, please assume your application has been unsuccessful.