UK Commonwealth Scholarships for Developing Commonwealth Countries and Africa

DFID/UK Universities
Masters Degree
Deadline: 31 May 2010 (annual)
Study in: UK
Course starts AY 2010 -2011


Brief description:

The Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (with funding from 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.

Awards are for taught masters courses only. No awards will be made for undergraduate or doctoral study.




Host Institution(s):

Awards are only available at participating institutions in the UK. See the Booklet for 2010 Shared Scholarship Scheme (link found below) for details of the UK institutions offering Scholarships joint-funded with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in 2010.



Field of study:


Shared Scholarship Scheme (SSS) Awards are offered only for subjects relating to the economic, social and technological development of a candidate’s country. Additional details of the eligible courses (or departments) offered by the institutions is found at the 2010 Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Booklet (link found below).


Number of Awards:

It is envisaged that around 170 Scholarships will be offered in 2010 distributed to the participating institutions.


Target group:

Nationals of Commonwealth Developing Countries (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda Nauru, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Namibia, Cameroon, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guineas, Pitcairn, Rwanda, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania,Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, and Zambia)



Scholarship value/inclusions:


DFID and participating United Kingdom institutions will jointly meet the full costs of an award holder’s study in the United Kingdom including air fares to and from the United Kingdom. Maintenance allowance is paid by the scholar’s host institution, at the level set by the UK Government: £1,024 per month for scholars based in London and £828 per month for the rest of the UK. (July 2009 figures).

A grant of up to £225 to cover thesis (Master’s) costs is available; also available is £200 for study travel. The cost of up to 10 Kilograms of excess baggage (books only) is available for scholars returning home at the end of their awards. No additional allowances are paid for spouses or other dependants.


Eligibility:

Candidates are normally expected to hold a first degree at either first class or upper second-class level. Sponsoring institutions must confirm that candidates are sufficiently fluent in written and oral English to pursue their proposed studies immediately, as no pre-course English Language Teaching is available under these awards.

Applicants should:

a. be nationals of (or permanently domiciled in) a Commonwealth developing country, and not currently be living or studying in a developed country (please see the booklet for a list of eligible countries);

b. hold a first degree at either first or upper second class level;

c . be sufficiently fluent in English to pursue the course;

d. have not previously studied for one year or more in a developed country;

e. not be employed by a government department (at national level) or a parastatal organisation (employees of universities are normally acceptable, however);

f. be able to confirm in writing that neither they or their families would otherwise be able to pay for the proposed course of study; and

g. be willing to confirm that they will return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete.



Application instructions:



Most universities will handle advertising and recruitment directly and applications should therefore be directly addressed to the participating university. In processing applications, a university may use one of the following options:

Option 1: A few universities want all candidates for their Shared Scholarship courses to apply via the Electronic Application System.

Option 2. Following a university’s closing date, the university will ask the candidates it selects to complete the CSC application form.

The specific deadlines set by the participating institutions varies but is around February-May of each year (see booklet for exact deadlines). Candidates should note that institutions are asked to forward their nominations to the CSC no later than 31 May 2010; where institutions have not specified a closing date candidates, should contact the institution so as to ascertain the latest date that the institution is willing to accept applications.

Candidates should note that although they may apply to more than one institution, only one offer of award may be accepted. It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.


Contact information:

Although applications for specific courses should be addressed to the individual university concerned, general inquiries regarding the scheme should be sent to the scheme administrators at the address below. Please note that applications sent to this office will be disregarded and will not be passed on to the institutions.

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission
c/o Association of Commonwealth Universities
Woburn House, 20-24 Tavistock Square
London WC1H 9HF

Telephone : 44 (0) 207 380 6700

Fax : 44 (0) 207 387 2655
E-Mail : info@acu.ac.uk

Contact details of each institution can also be found at the 2010 Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme Booklet.



Source link: http://www.scholars4dev.com/2834/commonwealth-shared-scholarship-scheme-for-developing-countries/#ixzz11w4DeooU