The UK based University of Southampton, in collaboration with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), has announced three Commonwealth Shared Scholarships for the session starting from September 2019. The application deadline is March 14, 2019.

These scholarships are available exclusively to permanent residents of the Commonwealth countries, including India, who want to pursue select Masters programmes at the university. The scholarship aims to support talented students from these countries who otherwise be able to study a Masters programme in the UK.

Comments Winnie Eley, vice-president international at the University of Southampton, “The University of Southampton is proud to support this prestigious scholarship scheme. We welcome candidates who are passionate about contributing to sustainable development goals in their home country. Scholars will be joining a global community of academics and students engaging in world-class research.”

The scholarships are available for nine courses offered by the University of Southampton for entry in September 2019. These are MSc Applied Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing (AGISRS); MSc Demography; MSc Diabetes Best Practice; MSc Education; MSc Electrochemistry and Battery Technologies; MSc Gerontology; MSc Global Health; MSc Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care and MSc Sustainability.

The scholarships cover full-tuition fees, approved airfare from their home country to the UK and return at the end of the programme, a monthly stipend of £1,084 for living allowance and a study travel grant towards the costs of study-related travel within the UK or oversea, as well as baggage allowance, up to an annual approved limit, when returning home. If applicable, warm clothing allowance and thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation will also be given.

Applicants must be considering submitting a fresh application to any of the above mentioned degree programme starting in September 2019 stating they wish to be considered for a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship. In order to be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant should hold a first degree of at least upper second class standard or a second class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree). Moreover, the applicant must not have studied or worked for at least one academic year in a high income country. Also, the applicant must be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship. All the applicants need to receive an unconditional offer from the university in order to be eligible. Before applying, they also need to meet the English language requirements.

University of Southampton is among the top 100 universities in the world as per the QS World University Rankings 2019. It is a research-intensive university and a founding member of the prestigious Russell Group, with over 96 percent of its research environment being world-leading and internationally excellent (REF 2014). It is also a founding partner of SETsquared, the university business incubator ranked number one in the world by UBI Global. The university is ranked 11^th in Times Higher Education’s (THE) ‘Golden Age’ Universities 2018 – the top 200 institutions founded as universities between 1945 and 1967. Southampton is placed second among the UK universities featured in this list.

The complete list of the programmes for which the scholarships are applicable can be viewed by accessing the following link: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/uni-life/fees-funding/international-fees-funding/funding-partnerships/commonwealth-scholarships.page.

How to Apply: The students are required to complete the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship application through the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission’s System – http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk/apply/shared-scholarships/.

Application Deadline: The last date to apply for the scholarships is March 14, 2019.