Commonwealth Scholarship 2010

Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international programme under which member governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. The CSFP was established at the first Commonwealth education conference in 1959 and is reviewed by education ministers at their triennial meetings – the only scholarship scheme in the world to receive such high-level recognition.

The CSFP was set up to provide a framework through which any Commonwealth government could offer scholarships or career development opportunities to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. The five main principles of the Plan, laid down at the time of its formation, are that it would:

be distinct and additional to any other schemes
be based on mutual cooperation and the sharing of educational experience among all Commonwealth countries
be flexible, to take account of changing needs over time
be Commonwealth-wide, and based on a series of bilateral arrangements between home and host countries
recognise and promote the highest level of intellectual achievement
It is for each individual country to decide whether to offer awards and, if so, what type of awards. For many years, awards were focused on postgraduate Scholarships – at both Master’s and doctoral level – with some undergraduate awards and mid-career Academic Fellowships. Since 2000, however, there has been greater diversity, including the introduction of Distance Learning Scholarships, Post-Doctoral Fellowships, undergraduate exchange, and short Professional Fellowships. See Countries offering awards for details of what awards are available at the moment.

The CSFP is reviewed at the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) held every three years. The last review, for the 17CCEM in June 2009, found that the number of awards had risen sharply, and that the scheme enjoyed widespread support and recognition.

If you are a citizen of a Commonwealth country other than the UK, seeking information about UK scholarships and fellowships, the Commission currently offers the following awards:

• Scholarships to study for postgraduate qualifications at UK Universities:

• Scholarships to study for undergraduate qualifications at UK Universities

• Scholarships to study for UK Masters’ degrees by distance learning

• Fellowships for mid-career academics to spend time in UK academic institutions

• Fellowships for mid-career professional staff other than academics to spend time at a Host organisation in the UK