Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative between the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and UK universities, including the University of Birmingham, to jointly support scholarships for students from developing commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the United Kingdom.
Level of Study: Postgraduate taught masters
Subject areas eligible: Cancer Sciences, Economic Development and Regeneration, Economics.
Nationalities eligible: Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
External Deadline for applying: 28/02/2017
Award Description
The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative between the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and UK universities, including the University of Birmingham, to jointly support scholarships for students from developing Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the United Kingdom.
The University of Birmingham is offering one Commonwealth Shared Scholarship for the 2017/18 academic year.
Value of Award
The award is financed jointly by the University and the DFID. The award will cover:
- Full tuition fees
- Maintenance stipend
- Air fare to and from the United Kingdom
- Immigration Health Surcharge costs
- A one-off arrival allowance payment of approximately £950
- Thesis expenses of £225
- Study travel grant up to £200
- Excess baggage allowance for books up to 10kg on the return flight
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates are expected to hold a first degree at first class level and be under the age of 30 at the time the award begins.
Candidates must also certify that they:
- are nationals of a Commonwealth developing country, and not at present living or studying in a developed country;
- have not undertaken studies lasting one year or more in a developed country;
- are themselves, or through their families, unable to pay to study in the United Kingdom;
- agree to return to their own country to work or study as soon as the award ends. The commission will only consider requests to extend leave to remain in the UK post-award for those wishing to move from Masters to PhD study. Strict conditions will apply.
- DFID requires that the University certifies when submitting its shortlist of candidates that they are sufficiently proficient in the English language to cope with the course for which they have applied. This will normally mean that you will have to have satisfied any requirements concerning competence in the English language which are a condition of your offer of admission.
Candidates must also have been offered a place at the University of Birmingham on one of the following postgraduate programmes:
- MSc Clinical Oncology (School of Cancer Studies)
- MSc Development Economics (Dept of Economics)
For further scholarship details and application procedures visit the Birmingham University Commonwealth Shared Scholarships page
