APPLY: UK’s Commonwealth scholarship opens for 2024/25 applications in Nigeria

Applications for the Commonwealth master’s scholarship for the 2024/25 academic year are now open in Nigeria.

The education ministry’s federal scholarship board, which coordinates such government-affiliated programmes, is calling for applications.

The Commonwealth scholarship is managed by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) in the UK and is led by international development objectives.

It is awarded to people with the potential to make a positive impact in their countries and on the global stage.

As part of the UK’s Commonwealth commitment, an estimated 700 students are annually sponsored to undertake postgraduate degrees.

To be eligible for the award, an applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of a Commonwealth country, have an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class (2:1), and be unable to afford to study in the UK without a scholarship.

Candidates are either agency-nominated in their countries or nominated by non-governmental charitable bodies.

The federal scholarship board, while calling on Nigerians to apply for the CSC’s master’s and doctorate scholarships, said Nigerian candidates must additionally have a youth service exemption or discharge certificate.

It said applicants must have gotten at least two admissions from UK universities and print out their application form before submission.

The FSB said the applications are open from September 10 and will last until October 15, 2024.

In funding, the Commonwealth scholarship provides airfare for the scholar’s travel to and from the UK.

Their full fees are covered by an agreement between the CSC and the UK university.

To date, over 31,000 have taken up a Commonwealth scholarship or fellowship since the first group of 175 arrived in the UK in 1960.