Please note the earlier deadline for these scholarships
Awards made under this scheme are jointly funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development (FCDO), as part of the British aid programme to developing countries, and participating institutions in the United Kingdom. The scheme is administered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK.
The aim of the scheme is to assist students of excellent academic calibre from developing Commonwealth countries who would benefit from higher education in the United Kingdom, to the developmental advantage of their home countries, but who, for financial reasons, are unable to study in Britain and are outside the scope of other British Government Support Schemes.
For the 2023/24 academic year LSE has five awards to support the full time study on one of the seven eligible programmes.
Further information can be found here.
You must also submit your application for admission from LSE to be considered and secure an offer of admission (either conditional or unconditional).
Awards are for full-time one-year taught postgraduate courses only. No awards will be made for undergraduate study.
The following programmes have been submitted for consideration for this funding for an award at LSE in the 2023/24 academic session.
Applicants are expected to hold a first degree at either first class or upper second class level.
You must also confirm that you are sufficiently fluent in written and oral English to pursue your studies at LSE immediately, as no pre-course English Language teaching is available under these awards.
Applicants who have already studied for one year or more in a developed country, or who possess sufficient resources to self-fund, are not eligible for an award.
Applicants must certify that they:
- Are nationals of (or permanently domiciled in) an eligible 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;
- Will return to their home country as soon as their award ends.
Applicants are advised that false declarations will cause at least the FCDO's share of the award to be terminated, even if the course of study has started. In such circumstances, the candidates will be required to refund any payments made by FCDO in connection with the award.
Applicants must be currently domiciled in and a national of one of the following Commonwealth Countries
- Bangladesh
- Cameroon
- Eswatini
- The Gambia
- Ghana
- India
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Rwanda
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Sri Lanka
- Tanzania
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Zambia
The FCDO and participating United Kingdom institutions will jointly meet the full costs of an award holder's study in the United Kingdom, including airfares to and from the United Kingdom. The full tuition fees and a maintenance allowance (£18,192 was the 2022/23 maintenance stipend amount) will be provided.
A grant of up to £225 to cover master's thesis costs is available along with a £200 study travel grant; the cost of up to 10 kilograms of accompanied excess baggage is also available for scholars returning home at the end of their awards.
Please note the earlier deadline for these scholarships
To apply for a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship for programmes beginning in September 2023, it is expected that you will follow these steps:
The CSC will provide LSE with the applications submitted to them. LSE will then short list and identify suitable candidates based on financial need and academic merit and return LSE's first choice nominations and reserves to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for their agreement.
While you may apply to more than one institution, only one offer of award may be accepted.
Nominated candidates will be emailed around April/May 2023. Please ensure that our domain name - lse.ac.uk - is added to your safe senders list and routinely check your junk/spam folders.
Your LSE Graduate Financial Support Application will also be considered for LSE scholarships. The outcome to your Graduate Support Scheme application will be displayed after you have received an offer. Successful applicants selected for other LSE Scholarships or awards will be notified by the end of July 2023.