Commonwealth PhD Scholarship: Complete 2027/28 Guide

Quick answer

The Commonwealth PhD Scholarship funds full-time doctoral study at a UK university for 36 months. It is open only to applicants from 17 least developed countries and fragile states, and you apply through a nominator as well as the CSC (CSC PhD Scholarships page).

The 2027/28 round closed at 16:00 BST on 20 October 2026. The award covers full tuition, a return flight and £1,712 a month (£2,000 in London).

You need a first degree of at least 2:1 standard, or a 2:2 plus a relevant postgraduate qualification, and a signed supporting statement from a proposed UK supervisor. India, Ghana and Kenya are not on the PhD country list.

The CSC has paused the Split-site PhD Scholarship and will not run it in 2026 or 2027 (CSC Scholarships and Fellowships page).

Key dates for the 2027/28 round

Source: CSC PhD Scholarships page. Nominators may set their own closing dates (same page). The CSC’s page still described the round as open when we checked on 21 October 2026, even though the stated closing time had passed. The pages we read describe only the 2027/28 round, so check the CSC page and your nominator for the next one.

The 17 eligible countries

The CSC says the PhD Scholarship is for applicants from least developed countries and vulnerable states in the Commonwealth, as classified by the OECD Development Assistance Committee. Only candidates from these countries can apply (CSC PhD Scholarships page):

• Bangladesh
• The Gambia
• Kiribati
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Rwanda
• Sierra Leone
• Solomon Islands
• Sri Lanka
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
• Zambia

This list is shorter than the 43 countries eligible for the Master’s and Shared Scholarships. Countries such as India, Ghana and Kenya are eligible for the Master’s Scholarship but are not on the PhD list. See our overview for the full country table by award. The list can change between rounds.

Who can apply

To apply you must (CSC PhD Scholarships page):

• Be a citizen of an eligible country, have refugee status there, or be a British Protected Person.
• Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country.
• Be able to start study in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2027.
• Hold, by September 2027, a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree plus a relevant postgraduate qualification, usually a Master’s. Disabled applicants without a 2:1 may still apply through the Commonwealth Disabled People’s Forum nominator (CSC nominator list).
• Not already hold a registration for a PhD, or an MPhil leading to a PhD. The CSC page gives the cut-off as September/October 2026, which looks out of step with the 2027 start, so confirm it with your nominator.
• Be unable to afford UK study without the scholarship.
• Provide all supporting documents, including a supervisor’s supporting statement.

There is no age limit. The CSC does not require an IELTS test. Scholars commit to returning home after the award, and the CSC does not permit switching to a graduate or other visa to stay in the UK. UK government employees and their relatives, staff of the Association of Commonwealth Universities or the British Council, and current or former Commissioners and their relatives are not eligible (CSC PhD Scholarships page). Each nominator may add its own criteria, so check its rules. To check your degree against the 2:1 standard, use our GPA to percentage converter.

Full PhD Scholarship vs Split-site

The PhD Scholarship funds your doctorate at a UK university. The Split-site PhD Scholarship was for graduates who already have a place at a university in an eligible Commonwealth country with a link to a UK university. The CSC says it has paused Split-site and will not run it in 2026 or 2027 (CSC Scholarships and Fellowships page). If you are already registered for a PhD, you are not eligible for the full PhD Scholarship.

PhD Scholarships for high-income countries

The CSC’s FAQs mention a separate Commonwealth PhD Scholarship for candidates from high-income Commonwealth countries, funded by the UK Department for Education (CSC FAQs). The CSC’s page for that scheme describes only the 2024/25 round, which has closed. Its country list was Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Applicants needed a supporting statement from a proposed UK supervisor, two references and an offer of admission from every university named on the form (CSC high-income PhD page).

We did not see this scheme on the CSC’s current list of programmes, and we could not confirm a 2027/28 round. The 2024/25 stipend on that page is out of date, so we do not quote it. If you are from one of those countries, check the CSC before planning around it.

What the scholarship pays

The CSC lists these for PhD scholars (CSC PhD Scholarships page). The CSC quotes rates at current levels, and they can change.

The CSC says family allowances are only a contribution and real costs are likely to be higher, so you must be able to supplement them. Check the Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars for current conditions. We found no thesis grant listed for PhD scholars on the CSC page. The CSC’s FAQs say that for UK-based study it covers airfare, visa costs and a living allowance (CSC FAQs), but the award page gives no visa-fee amount, so confirm what is covered with the CSC.

How to apply

1. Check your country in the table above, then find your nominator. The main route is your national nominating agency. Selected NGOs and charitable bodies also nominate. The CSC does not accept direct applications.
2. Choose a supervisor and three universities. The CSC advises listing three universities and supervisors in order of preference. It will not change your university or supervisor after selection unless unforeseeable information emerges, and it may place you at another university for which a supervisor has provided a statement.
3. Seek university admission early. The CSC says you do not need an offer letter when you apply for the PhD Scholarship, but it strongly advises seeking admission at the time of, or as soon as possible after, applying (CSC FAQs). Many courses have strict admission deadlines.
4. Collect your documents. You need a passport or national ID, full transcripts of all higher education, at least two references in PDF, and the supervisor’s signed supporting statement from at least one named UK university. The CSC strongly advises one from your first-choice university.
5. Apply to your nominator and submit on CSC Central. The CSC cannot accept applications or documents sent any other way. You must upload references and supporting statements by the deadline. You cannot edit an application after you submit it.

The CSC does not charge a fee to apply. See our step-by-step application guide for more.

Asking a supervisor for the supporting statement

The CSC says the proposed supervisor must write the statement in their own words, sign it and send it as a PDF on institutional letterhead or as an email that clearly shows the sender’s details. The CSC asks the supervisor to confirm that they are in principle prepared to work with you and have the facilities for the research, how your plan of study fits their department’s expertise, how much of the plan of study, if any, they wrote, and that you can complete it within 36 months (CSC PhD Scholarships page). You can adapt this email:

Subject: Request for a supporting statement for a Commonwealth PhD Scholarship application

Dear Professor [Name],

I am applying for a Commonwealth PhD Scholarship to study [research topic] and would like you to be my supervisor at [university]. I have attached my research proposal and CV.

The scholarship requires a signed supporting statement from a proposed UK supervisor, as a PDF on institutional letterhead or an email showing your details. The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission asks supervisors to confirm:
- that you are in principle prepared to have me working with you and have the facilities for the research;
- how my plan of study fits your department’s expertise;
- how much of my plan of study, if any, you wrote;
- that you can complete the programme within the 36-month tenure.

I must upload the statement to the application system by the deadline of [date]. Could you let me know whether you are able to provide it by [earlier date]?

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]

How selection works

The CSC assesses candidate merit including academic experience, the quality of the research proposal, and the potential impact on your home country’s development, and asks you to link your answers to each point (CSC selection criteria). Nominators put forward an agreed number of candidates, and the CSC selects from that pool. A nomination is no guarantee of selection (CSC PhD Scholarships page).

The form asks for a four-part Development Impact statement linked to one of the six CSC development themes. It also asks for a detailed plan of study, your five-year and long-term career plans, a personal statement, and up to 10 publications and prizes. Scholars study full-time for one degree and may not hold another award covering the same costs.

Frequently asked questions

Continue your Commonwealth Scholarship research

• → Commonwealth Scholarship overview
• → Commonwealth Scholarship eligibility
• → Commonwealth Scholarship application process
• → Commonwealth Shared Scholarship

About the author

Christian Chinonso is the founder of LearnViaHub, where he researches academic credentials and the practical questions international students face, such as scholarships, grade conversion and admissions requirements.

How we researched this

Last checked: 21 October 2026. We read the CSC’s PhD Scholarships page, Master’s Scholarships page, Scholarships and Fellowships page, FAQs and high-income PhD page. Every date, country, rule and rate above comes from those pages unless another source is linked. We left out figures we could not match to an official CSC page. The supervisor email is our own wording, built from the CSC’s list of what the statement must cover.

Dates, rates and country lists change between rounds, so confirm them on the CSC website and with your nominator before you apply.