Commonwealth Shared Scholarships 2027/28: Fully Funded UK Masters

If you are a Nigerian graduate who cannot afford a UK Masters degree, this is the opportunity you have been waiting for. The Commonwealth Shared Scholarships 2027/28 opened on Tuesday 10 November 2026, and applications close at 16:00 GMT on Tuesday 8 December 2026. This fully funded tuition grant covers a one year taught Masters degree at a participating UK university, and Nigeria is named on the official list of eligible countries. It pays your full tuition fees, your return airfare, and a monthly living allowance. There is no application fee and no age limit, and no national nomination is required. You apply through CSC Central and to the university for admission. The window is short, only four weeks.

The programme is run by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) and funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, together with participating UK universities.

What the scholarship is worth

Each scholarship provides:

• Approved tuition fees in full. You pay no part of your tuition fee.
• Approved return airfare from your home country to the UK, funded by the CSC.
• A monthly stipend of £1,712, or £2,000 per month at a university in the London metropolitan area.
• A warm clothing allowance, where applicable, and additional support if you share that you have a disability, with a full assessment of your needs.
• A thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, and a study travel grant towards the cost of study related travel within the UK or overseas, where applicable.
• A contribution towards a mandatory tuberculosis (TB) test, where required for a visa application, on presentation of receipts.
• A child allowance of £622 per month for the first child, and £154 per month for the second and third child under 16, if you are widowed, divorced, or a single parent and your children live with you at the same UK address. The CSC notes these allowances are only a contribution towards the true costs.

Who can apply

You must meet all of these conditions:

• Be a citizen of, or have been granted refugee status by, an eligible Commonwealth country, and be permanently resident there. Nigeria is on the official list, alongside Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and more than 30 other countries.
• Be available to start your studies in the UK in September 2027.
• By September 2027, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second class degree plus a relevant postgraduate qualification.
• Not have studied or worked for more than one academic year in a high income country. Distance learning while resident in your home country is permitted, but you must make this clear in the form.
• Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship, and provide all supporting documents in the required format.

There is no age limit, and the CSC does not require an IELTS test, although your chosen university may require evidence of English. You may not apply if you are an employee, a former employee, or a relative of an employee of the UK Government, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, or the British Council, or a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner or a relative of one.

Which courses and universities count

Shared Scholarships are only available for approved full time taught Masters courses at participating UK universities, not any Masters degree you like. The CSC said the 2027 list of approved courses and participating universities would be published in advance of the opening date, so check the live official CSC page for the current list before you choose a course. You can apply for more than one course and to more than one university, but you may only accept one offer. These scholarships are for Masters courses only, not undergraduate or PhD study, and the award is normally tenable for 12 months. Choose a course clearly linked to development needs in Nigeria.

How to apply in five steps

Applying is a two track process. You must apply to the university for admission and apply for the scholarship through CSC Central.

1. Pick an approved course from the 2027 list. Open the approved courses and participating universities on the official CSC page. Shortlist courses that match your first degree and career plans, and check each university admission deadline.
2. Apply for admission to the university course. Some universities have their own internal deadlines for Shared Scholarship candidates, so do not leave this to the last week.
3. Register on CSC Central and complete the scholarship application. The form uses two factor authentication, so you need a smartphone or a second email account. To view a saved application you will need the reference and passcode from your Application Reference Number email. Keep that email safe. If you do not have a surname, enter a full stop in the surname field.
4. Upload all supporting documents before the deadline. Your application is ineligible if any required document is missing by 16:00 GMT on Tuesday 8 December 2026. Nothing is accepted outside the online system.
5. Submit early. The CSC advises you to submit as early as possible, because the system will be very busy near the deadline. Prepare your answers outside the system, then paste them in once they are final. Use the save function, because refreshing the browser window will exit the form and any unsaved data will be lost. Applications cannot be edited after submitting.

Documents you need

Upload these to CSC Central in the required format:

• Proof of citizenship or refugee status in an eligible Commonwealth country: a valid passport, or a national ID card, showing a photograph, your date of birth, and your country of citizenship.
• Full transcripts for all higher education qualifications, including transcripts to date for any course you are currently studying, with certified translations if they are not in English. A missing or incomplete transcript makes your application ineligible.
• References from at least two individuals, in signed PDF format, on institutional letterhead or in an email that clearly shows the sender details.

In the form you will also list your qualifications, up to 10 publications and prizes, and your employment history. You must name three referees who can comment on your capacity to benefit from the scholarship and your ability to deliver development impact afterwards. One referee must be your current employer, if applicable.

The Development Impact statement

This statement is the heart of your application. It has four parts:

1. How your proposed scholarship relates to development issues at the global, national, and local level, and to your chosen CSC development theme.
2. How you intend to apply your new skills once the scholarship ends.
3. What you expect will change in development terms, including the outcomes you aim to achieve, the timeframe, and who the beneficiaries will be.
4. How the impact of your work could best be measured and evidenced.

You will also confirm your award objectives, your career plans for the five years after the scholarship, your long term career plans, a detailed plan of study, and a personal statement on your background and your wish to make an impact in your home country. Selection is based on academic merit, quality of research proposal, and potential development impact, so link every answer to those three points.

The CSC is looking for graduates who will return home and use what they learned. Your application should read like a plan for Nigeria, not just a plan for yourself.

Key dates for the 2027/28 round

• Tuesday 10 November 2026: applications open on CSC Central.
• Tuesday 8 December 2026, 16:00 GMT (17:00 WAT): applications close. Nothing submitted outside the online system is accepted.
• March 2027: participating universities nominate their chosen candidates to the CSC.
• After nomination: the CSC confirms nominated candidates meet the eligibility criteria. If you are successful, the university will notify you that you have been provisionally selected.
• Before the award is confirmed: you submit a Health and Disability Form and sign an undertaking to return home after the end of the award. The CSC then provides a formal Confirmation of Award letter.
• September or October 2027: you start your Masters degree in the UK, on the date stated in your Confirmation of Award letter.

Your university admission application may have its own earlier deadline, so treat the earlier of the two as your real deadline.

Common mistakes that get applications rejected

• Applying for a course that is not on the approved list. Only approved courses count. Check the 2027 list on the official CSC page first.
• Applying only to CSC Central, or only to the university. You need both. The scholarship application and the admission application are separate, and both must be in place.
• Missing or incomplete transcripts. Upload full transcripts for every higher education qualification, including all pages. A missing page makes the whole application ineligible.
• Paying an agent or a website for the application. The CSC does not charge to apply for any of its scholarships or fellowships. Anyone asking you to pay for a Commonwealth application form is not acting for the CSC.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship fully funded?

Yes. It covers your full tuition fees, your approved return airfare, and a monthly stipend of £1,712, or £2,000 in London, plus a warm clothing allowance, a thesis grant, a study travel grant, and a TB test contribution where required.

Can Nigerians apply for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships 2027/28?

Yes. Nigeria is named on the official CSC list of eligible countries. You must be a Nigerian citizen, or hold refugee status granted by Nigeria, and live permanently in Nigeria. You also need at least a 2:1 first degree, or a lower second class degree plus a relevant postgraduate qualification.

Do I need IELTS to apply?

The CSC itself does not require an IELTS test. However, your chosen university may require evidence of English, so check the course page.

Is there an application fee?

No. The CSC does not charge to apply. If anyone asks you to pay for a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship application, treat it as a scam.

Start your application today

The Commonwealth Shared Scholarships 2027/28 give Nigerian graduates a real route to a fully funded Masters degree in the UK, with tuition, flights, and living costs covered. The window is short, and the competition is serious. Open the official CSC Shared Scholarships page today, check the 2027 approved course list, and start your admission and CSC Central applications in parallel. Draft your Development Impact statement offline, gather your transcripts and references now, and submit well before 16:00 GMT on 8 December 2026. For the official details, visit the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Shared Scholarships page.