Commonwealth Scholarships 2027/28: Eligible Countries and Deadline

If you are looking for a Commonwealth Scholarship for 2027, two awards for study in the UK are open to African applicants right now. The first, Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK, is offered by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, a government body, and pays for a one-year master's degree in any subject. The second, University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027, funds a doctorate for applicants from a shorter list of countries. Both close on Tuesday 20 October 2026, in the afternoon UK time.

Time is short. Starting from scratch in late September leaves you roughly three weeks to pick a course, write your answers, collect your documents and submit, so the order in which you do things matters more than usual.

What a Commonwealth Master's Scholarship pays for

Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK is a full award for a 12-month master's at a UK university. Any field is accepted, so a nurse and a civil engineer compete for the same scholarship. It covers three costs:

• Tuition. Full fees are covered by agreement between the Commission and your UK university, and you are not liable to pay any part of the tuition fee.
• Stipend. You receive GBP 1,712 a month for living costs, or GBP 2,000 a month at a university in the London metropolitan area. Both rates are quoted at current levels and may change.
• Travel. An approved airfare takes you from your home country to the UK, and a return fare brings you home at the end of the award.

Two rules in the travel terms catch people out. The Commission will not reimburse fares for dependants, so if a partner or children come with you, their tickets are your cost. It also will not pay for trips made before the award is confirmed. Do not buy a ticket on the strength of a hopeful email.

The higher London rate applies only in the London metropolitan area, so weigh it against rents near each campus on your shortlist.

You study in person in the UK, so this award does not combine with a full-time job at home.

Which African countries can apply

Your country decides your options. The two awards use different lists.

For Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK, the eligible African countries are Botswana, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. The same list also names India and Malaysia, so the pool of applicants is not only African.

For University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027, the list is shorter: Gambia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

The gap between the two lists is easy to miss. Nigeria sits on both. Ghana and Kenya appear only on the master's list, and so do Botswana, Eswatini, Gabon, Mauritius, Namibia and South Africa. If you come from one of those eight countries and want a doctorate, neither the Sussex listing nor the current list for the Commission's general PhD programme includes your country, which makes the master's the award to aim for.

Check your country against the official list for this cycle before you write a single answer.

The deadline: 16:00 BST on 20 October 2026

The Commission gives the closing time for Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK as 16:00 BST on Tuesday 20 October. The Sussex page for University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027 says you must apply online on the Commonwealth Scholarships Application System by 4pm, written there as 16:00 GMT, on 20 October 2026.

Those are not the same moment. BST, British Summer Time, runs one hour ahead of GMT, and the Commission's own wording shows that the UK is still on summer time on that Tuesday. Treat 16:00 BST as the cut-off for both awards. If one page turns out to be more generous, you lose nothing by being early.

On your own clock, the 16:00 BST cut-off falls at:

• 15:00 in Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Togo
• 16:00 in Nigeria and Gabon
• 17:00 in South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini
• 18:00 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
• 19:00 in Mauritius

Aim to finish at least two days early. A failed upload or a power cut in the final hour leaves you no time to recover.

How to prepare in the weeks you have left

With only a few weeks to go, work in this order:

1. Confirm eligibility today. Find your country on the right list and check that you are applying at the right level. For the PhD, check that you hold a valid IELTS certificate, and if you do not, look up test dates and result times in your city this week.
2. Choose the course before you write. A study plan built around one specific UK programme reads far better than a general wish to study abroad.
3. Draft offline. Write your answers in a document, leave them for a day, then cut every sentence that could appear in someone else's application. Keep a copy outside the portal.
4. Contact referees now. If the form asks for references, people you ask in the final days may reply too late.
5. Scan your papers. Clear scans of certificates and transcripts take longer than most applicants expect, especially if an office must stamp them first.

Write for a reader who has never visited your country. Explain the problem your studies will address at home in concrete terms, such as a clinic you ran or a budget you managed. Vague ambition is a common weakness.

Specifics are the cure. One real number from your own work carries more weight than a paragraph of good intentions.

The PhD route through the University of Sussex

University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027 accepts doctoral applicants in any field. The award covers full overseas PhD tuition fees, a stipend and return travel to the UK. It also includes a Research Training Support Grant and fieldwork costs, which matters if your project depends on data collected at home.

Build your research plan with that in mind. A proposal that shows where the fieldwork will happen, what it involves and why it cannot be done from a desk in the UK makes full use of that support.

The listing names a stipend but not its amount, so check the monthly figure on the official page before you compare it with the master's award. You also need a valid IELTS certificate.

The Commission also runs its own Commonwealth PhD Scholarships for the same 11 countries, with a duration of 36 months in the UK. The dates of that programme for the coming cycle are not confirmed on our side. Check its official page for the current deadline before you plan around it.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Commonwealth Scholarship 2027 fully funded?

Both awards in this guide are listed as fully funded. The master's pays full tuition, a monthly stipend and an approved airfare each way. The Sussex PhD covers tuition, a stipend, return travel, a research training grant and fieldwork costs.

Can I apply from Ghana or Kenya?

Yes, for Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK. Neither country is on the list for University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027 this round.

Do I need IELTS?

The Sussex PhD asks for a valid IELTS certificate. The master's listing does not state a test requirement, so check the official page and the English requirement of the course you choose.

Is there anything for professionals or entrepreneurs?

Yes, but without confirmed dates. The Commonwealth Startup Fellowships are for entrepreneurs, last 6 months, list an amount of GBP 2,000 in total and are hosted in Ghana and the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth Fellowship Programme 2026/27 is aimed at mid-career professionals and academic staff. Check both official programme pages for the current dates.

What if my country is on neither list?

Then these two awards are closed to you this round. Browse other scholarships instead of sending an application that does not meet the country rule.