This is to announce to all members of the University community that applications are now open for the 2025 Commonwealth Scholarships tenable in the United Kingdom.

The University has been allotted TWO slots to nominate for the 2025 call. Deans and Directors of Academic Centres are therefore called to nominate one candidate each with minimum of Second Class Upper Degree and good publication records. The nomination should reach the office of the Director, Directorate of Research, Innovations and Partnerships not later than Friday 4th October, 2024.

Please take note of the following important information with respect to the call:

1. Online applications open on 10th September 2024.
2. All nominated candidates must apply to the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission(CSC)’s online application system by 15th October 2024 at 16:00 (GMT). Any nominated candidate who has not submitted an application by this date and time cannot be considered for a scholarship.
3. The CSC has set the deadline of 15th October at 16:00 (GMT) for receipt of all required supporting documentation:
   • proof of citizenship or refugee status in an eligible Commonwealth country
   • all university academic transcripts
   • at least two references
   • for PhD candidates only: one supporting statement from a supervisor at a UK institution Only supporting documentation submitted directly to the CSC’s online application system
     in the correct format will be accepted and candidates whose applications do not include
     these documents by the deadline will not be eligible for further consideration for a
     Commonwealth Scholarship.
4. No hard copy documentation will be accepted by the CSC
5. After the online submission of the application, nominated candidates must provide a copy
   of their submitted CSC application form to their Dean or Director who shall forward same
   to DRIP for further processing.

Selection Criteria

The CSC will make the final selection of candidates. We seek candidates of the highest academic
quality who demonstrate a real capacity to make a difference to our country on completion of their
award. The CSC’s selection committee will grade applications on the following criteria:

i. Academic merit of the candidate
ii. Quality of the study plan
iii. Potential impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country.
It is CSC policy to consider personal circumstances in all applications to ensure that, all other things
being equal, candidates from disadvantaged or marginalised backgrounds are selected.
The CSC invites around three times more nominations than scholarships available – therefore,
nominated candidates are not guaranteed to be awarded a scholarship, and should not be contacted
regarding their nomination until CSC has acknowledged their nomination.

Please draw the selection criteria to the attention of candidates, and take these into account when
making your nominations, along with the following:

i. All candidates must demonstrate in their application the direct and applied relevance of
their study to development in our country. Candidates should make any such links explicit
in their applications.
ii. Commonwealth Scholarships are aimed at individuals who could not otherwise afford to
study in the UK. Every candidate will be required to sign a declaration that they do not
have access to sufficient funds to study in the UK and no candidate with the independent
means to study in the UK should be nominated to the CSC.
iii. Candidates will be asked to supply a personal statement within their application which will
provide the selection panel with more information about their background and give an
additional context to their application. It will be considered by the selection panel but will
not be graded.