Commonwealth Shared Scholarships 2027-28: GBP 1,712 a Month, Apply from 10 November

The Commonwealth Shared Scholarships pay full tuition, a monthly stipend of £1,712 (£2,000 in the London area) and the airfare for a one-year master’s degree in the UK. For the 2027/28 academic year the application window opens on Tuesday 10 November 2026 and closes at 16:00 GMT on Tuesday 8 December 2026, and India is on the eligible-country list.

This is one of three master’s programmes run by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) in the UK, and the applications are made directly through the CSC’s own online system – there is no state government nomination step. It is also narrower than a fully open scholarship: you can only apply to a master’s course that a participating UK university has bid for. The list of approved courses and universities for the 2027/28 cycle is published before the window opens; the lists currently on the CSC page still belong to the 2026 programme, so treat them as a preview, not as the final 2027 list.

This page carries the verified 2027/28 window, the money the award actually pays, the full eligibility test, the documents the CSC rejects applications for, the step-by-step application route, and how the selection works. Every figure is from the CSC’s own scholarship page, read on 21 October 2026.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarships 2027-28 at a glance

What the scholarship pays

• Full tuition fees. The CSC and the UK university agree the fee, and the scholar is not liable for any part of it – this is the clearest difference from a partial fee waiver.
• Stipend of £1,712 per month, or £2,000 per month for universities in the London metropolitan area. The rate is quoted at current levels and is paid by the university.
• Approved airfare from your home country to the UK, and the return fare at the end of the award. Fares for dependants, and any journey made before the award is confirmed, are not reimbursed.
• Warm clothing allowance where applicable, paid by the university.
• Thesis grant towards preparing a thesis or dissertation, where applicable.
• Study travel grant for study-related travel inside the UK or overseas.
• Contribution towards a mandatory tuberculosis (TB) test where a visa application requires one – receipts must be supplied.
• Child allowance of £622 per month for the first child and £154 per month for the second and third child under 16, available to scholars who are widowed, divorced or single parents and whose children live with them at the same UK address.
• A full assessment of needs and eligibility for extra financial support if the scholar shares that they have a disability.

Two conditions on the money. The CSC describes the family allowances as a contribution only – the true cost of keeping a family in the UK is higher and the scholar must be able to supplement it. And a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship cannot be held concurrently with another scholarship, award or bursary that covers the same costs.

Who can apply – the full eligibility test

The CSC lists the test as a set of conditions; all of them apply at the same time.

• You are a citizen of an eligible Commonwealth country, or have been granted refugee status by one.
• You are permanently resident in that eligible country.
• You are available to start study in the UK at the beginning of the UK academic year in September 2027.
• By September 2027 you hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard – or a lower second-class (2:2) degree plus a relevant postgraduate qualification, usually a master’s.
• You have not studied or worked for one academic year or more in a high-income country. Distance learning at a university in a high-income country while you were resident in your home country is permitted, and must be declared clearly in the form.
• You are unable to afford study in the UK without the scholarship.
• You provide all supporting documentation in the required format by the closing date – missing documents make the application ineligible.

There is no age limit for CSC applications. The CSC advises applicants to check any age restriction their employer may place on leave, but the scholarship itself does not bar older candidates.

Is India eligible for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships?

Yes. India is named in the CSC’s eligible-country list for this programme, alongside Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and others. The CSC’s rule is strict on the two points that catch most applicants: you must be a citizen of the listed country and permanently resident there. An Indian passport holder who has been living and working abroad for years is not automatically covered.

Do not confuse this with the Commonwealth PhD Scholarships, whose eligible-country list is much shorter and does not include India. For Indian readers, the CSC route is the master’s programmes: Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, and the separate Commonwealth Master’s Scholarship whose 2027/28 window closed on 20 October 2026.

Documents you must upload with the application

• Proof of citizenship or refugee status in an eligible Commonwealth country – a copy of a valid passport or national ID card showing a photograph, date of birth and country of citizenship.
• Full transcripts of every higher education qualification, including to-date transcripts for any course you are still studying. Transcripts that are incomplete or missing pages make the application ineligible, and documents not in English need certified translations.
• References from at least two individuals, in PDF, signed, and either on institutional letterhead or in an email that clearly shows the sender’s details. References must be uploaded inside the application itself.
• The form also asks for the names and positions of three referees, one of whom must be your current employer if you are employed.

The CSC states plainly that it will not accept supporting documents outside the online application system, and that anything missing at the closing date means the application is not considered.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check the approved course list for 2027/28 once it is published – you can only be awarded a Shared Scholarship for a course a participating UK university has put forward.
2. Apply separately to the university for admission to that master’s course. The scholarship application does not replace the admission application, and many courses have their own strict deadlines.
3. Register on CSC Central, the CSC’s application system, once the window opens on 10 November 2026. Registration uses two-factor authentication, so you need access to a smartphone or a second email account, and the 2FA step is repeated at every login.
4. Keep the application reference and passcode from the confirmation email. The reference looks like 01234-SSP-UK-15, is case sensitive, and is needed to reopen a saved application.
5. Prepare the long answers outside the system: up to 10 publications and prizes, your employment history, a four-part development impact statement, a detailed plan of study and a personal statement. Use the save function while working inside the form.
6. Upload the passport/ID, full transcripts and the two signed references, then submit. Applications cannot be edited after submission.
7. Submit early. The CSC warns that the system is very busy in the days before the deadline, and the closing time is 16:00 GMT – 21:30 IST.

You do not pay the CSC anything to apply: the CSC states that it does not charge for any of its scholarships or fellowships through the online application system.

How selection works

• UK universities bid for Shared Scholarships for specific courses with demonstrable development impact, and agree to fund the living-cost component themselves – the award is jointly funded by the CSC and the university.
• After the closing date, applications are shared with the universities, which make the initial selection of candidates.
• The universities nominate their chosen candidates to the CSC, which approves the final awards.
• Applicants are assessed against the CSC’s published selection criteria; the development impact statement and academic references carry real weight, which is why the CSC asks you to link your answers to each criterion.
• You can apply to more than one course and more than one university, but you can accept only one Commonwealth Shared Scholarship.

Important dates for the 2027-28 cycle

• 10 November 2026 – applications open on CSC Central.
• 8 December 2026, 16:00 GMT (21:30 IST) – closing date for applications and for every supporting document.
• Before the opening date – the CSC publishes the approved course list and the participating universities for 2027/28. The links on the page today still describe the 2026 programme.
• September/October 2027 – study in the UK begins; the award normally runs for 12 months.

Commonwealth Shared vs Commonwealth Master’s – which one applies to you

• Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are applied for directly on the CSC system, are limited to approved courses, and are jointly funded with the university.
• Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships are the CSC’s other master’s route, run through nominating agencies in the applicant’s country, with a different window (the 2027/28 round closed on 20 October 2026).
• Both are master’s-only, both cover fees and living costs, and neither can be held alongside another award that pays the same costs.

Frequently asked questions

Official links

• Commonwealth Shared Scholarships – CSC official page (2027/28 opening and closing dates, eligible countries, financial assistance)
• Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK – main site (CSC Central application system and other CSC programmes)

Use the CSC page itself for the final 2027/28 course list before you start an application – the course lists linked there today still belong to the 2026 programme.

For more funding options for Indian students, see the study abroad scholarship, international scholarship and post-graduation scholarship pages.

Related scholarship posts: Commonwealth Master’s Scholarship 2027-28, Chevening Scholarship 2027-28 and Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2027-28.