Commonwealth Shared Scholarships

Key information

Deadline date
Amount
Tuition fees, maintenance stipend, return flights

Scholarship overview

The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission with funding from UK Department of International Development (DFID) and UK universities, to support scholarships for students from developing Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the United Kingdom.

The Commission funds the cost of tuition fees (at overseas rate), return airfares and other allowances and SOAS supports the student stipend for the award holders.

Eligible programmes

There are eight scholarships available for the 2026/27 academic year under the following eligible programmes:

Part-time programmes are not eligible. 

Candidate criteria

In order to be eligible, applicants must:

  • Have applied to study at SOAS and hold an unconditional offer by the final shortlisting stage in early January.
  • Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person.
  • Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country.
  • Be available to start their academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2026.
  • By September 2026, hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree (2:2) and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a masters degree).
  • 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 university without this scholarship.
  • Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format as outlined on the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship website.

Candidate assessment

Candidates will be assessed by a selection panel based on academic merit, research proposals and the potential impact their studies will have on their home country’s development.

Information included in your scholarship and admissions applications will be reviewed by the panel.

Application process

Applicants must follow two steps in order to be considered for these scholarships. For advice on how to apply, please refer to the Applicant Advice Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK.

Step 1: apply for your programme

Applicants must submit a complete online application for admission to study one of the five eligible programmes at SOAS as soon as possible. You will be required to have an offer of admissions before the final shortlisting takes place. Final shortlisting will begin in early January 2026

For further information about applying for postgraduate courses, please see Taught Masters applications.

Step 2: apply for the scholarship 

The deadline for application is 4:00pm (GMT) on 9 December 2025.

You must apply for this scholarship via the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships online application system.

For a full overview on the application procedure and what you will need to provide, please visit our Commonwealth Shared Scholarships page. Please read this before submitting your application online.

Notification of results

The scholarship shortlisting period is expected to be completed by the end of February 2026 at the earliest. Shortlisted candidates will then be sent to the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships Commission for review and informed of this in March 2026.

Successful awardees will be contacted by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission by June 2026.

Contact

If you have any questions, please get in touch via the following:

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