Applications are now being accepted for Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2025 for mid-career professionals who want to advance their knowledge and abilities in their respective fields while also having a positive impact on their workplaces.
Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are designed for mid-career professionals from low- and middle-income countries to spend time at a UK host organization working in their field as part of a professional development program.
Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2025
All Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in the 2024/25 round are in the thematic area of Clean Energy, Air and Oceans. The Purpose is to provide professionals with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in their given sector, and to have catalytic effects on their workplaces.
Intended beneficiaries: Mid-career professionals (with five years’ relevant work experience) working in development-related organisations in low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries.
Table of Contents
Brief Description
Fellowship Sponsor(s): Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK
Host Institution(s): UK host organisation
Fellowship Worth: Fully-funded
Number of Awards: Several
Study Level: Mid-career professionals
Nationality: See eligible Countries (below)
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Eligibility Criteria
Applicants for Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2025 for International Students must meet the following requirements:
- Applicants must be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
- Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
- Have at least five years’ full-time, or equivalent part-time, relevant work experience, in a profession related to the subject of the Fellowship programme, by the proposed start of the fellowship – voluntary work experience will not be counted towards this minimum
- Be in employment at the time of application at an organisation that they will return to upon completion of the Fellowship
- Provide at least two references, one of which must be from their current employer.
- Not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship within the last five years (at the time of taking up the award)
- Not be seeking to undertake an academic programme of research or study. Academics are eligible to apply for the scheme, but only to undertake programmes of academic management, not research or courses relevant to their research subject
- Be available to start and complete their fellowship within prescribed dates
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Eligible Countries
The following countries are eligible for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships:
Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St Helena, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia.
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Host organisation programmes
Read further information below on the 2025 Professional Fellowship host organisation programmes.
The host organisations listed below have been selected to host Professional Fellows for 6 weeks or 3 months in 2025. Please read individual host eligibility criteria to ensure that you are eligible for a specific programme.
- Bees for Development
- British Geological Society
- Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Inclusion International
- Knowledge for Change
- LifeLine Network International
- London North West University Healthcare Trust
- Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Tackle
- University College London
- University of East London
- University of Salford
- University of Strathclyde
- Wessex Global Stroke Partnerships
Benefits of Commonwealth Fellowships 2025
Each Fellowship provides:
- Approved return airfare from the Fellow’s home country to the UK.
- Reimbursement of the standard visa application fee.
- Stipend (living allowance) payable monthly (or pro rata) for the duration of the award at the rate of £2,057 per month, or £2,553 per month for those at organisations in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2023/24 levels).
- If a Fellow declares a disability, a full assessment of needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC. See the CSC disability support statement for more information.
- Arrival allowance of up to £1,156.60 (rates quoted at 2023/24 levels), including an element for warm clothing.
- A maximum of £3,000 per Fellow can be agreed by host organisations for short courses/conferences as well as travel to visit other UK organisations where this forms an integral part of the programme. Host organisations should bear in mind the restrictions set out in our guidance on claimable costs.
How to Apply for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2025
Interested applicants for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are to complete an online application form and provide all the required information by the application deadline.
Fellowships will be tenable for between six weeks and three months starting from February 2025.
Supporting Documents
In the application form, prospective fellows will be asked to:
- List all undergraduate and postgraduate university qualifications obtained (where applicable)
- List up to 10 publications and prizes (if applicable)
- Provide details of employment history and explain how each job is relevant to the programme you wish to undertake in the UK (up to 100 words per employment)
- Provide a statement on the relevance of your previous work experience to the proposed fellowship (up to 300 words).
- List names and positions of up to three referees who are qualified to comment on both your capacity to benefit from your proposed fellowship in the UK and your ability to deliver development impact afterwards. One of your referees must be your current employer.
- Provide a Development Impact statement in 4 parts.
In the first part (up to 200 words) you should explain how your proposed Fellowship relates to:
- Reducing reliance on fossil fuels, lowering rates of air pollution or promoting marine conservation, in accordance with the aims of COP 26 and SDGs 7, 13 and 14.
- Development issues at the global, national and local level
- Development issues connected to the theme of climate change and the wider sector
Application Deadline: 16 August, 2024