Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships 2026

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Commonwealth scholarships, applicants need to:

• Be a citizen of a Commonwealth eligible Country or have refugee status for an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person. 
• Be a permanent resident in an eligible Commonwealth country.
• Be available to start academic studies in the UK at the start of the September 2026 academic year.
• Hold a first degree of at least second-class upper (2:1) honours, or a second-class lower degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree) by September 2026.
• Demonstrate that they are unable to study in the UK without this scholarship.
• Have submitted all the required documents in the stated format.

Application Process

Required Documents:

You are advised to do the following for a successful application:

• Apply through the CSC Central application system.
• State the qualification you are applying for.
• List your three preferred universities and courses in order of preference and explain the reason for your choice. Kindly note that the CSC will make the final decision on the institution of study.
• Apply to your preferred Universities (probably in advance, as some courses have set deadlines).

In addition to applying through CSC, applicants must apply to a nominator. Commonwealth lists two types of nominators for the scholarship scheme:

• National nominating agencies – (main route of application).
• Selected non-governmental organisations and charitable bodies.

Commonwealth recommends that applicants prepare their answers outside of the CSC system and add them to the form once finalised.