Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme (CSSS)

Award details

King’s College London is proud to offer Commonwealth Shared Scholarships in partnership with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC). These awards are jointly funded by King’s and the CSC to support talented students from eligible Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK.

Award value

• Approved airfare from the Scholar’s home country to the UK and return at the end of the award
• Approved tuition fees
• Stipend (living allowance)
• Warm clothing allowance
• Thesis grant 
• Study travel grant
• Contribution towards the cost of a mandatory tuberculosis (TB) test
• If a Scholar has children and is widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of child allowance of £622 per month for the first child, and £154 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if their children are living with them at the same address in the UK

For full details, visit: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships/commonwealth-shared-scholarships-applications/

Eligibility criteria

The 2026/27 Commonwealth Shared Scholarships Scheme (CSSS) awards at King's College London are open to students applying for the following campus-based full-time Master's programmes only:

• MSc Mental Health Studies
• MSc Health Psychology
• MSc Palliative Care
• MRes Clinical Research

Important Note: Distance-learning and part-time study modes are NOT eligible for the scholarship.

To apply for these scholarships, applicants must:

• Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country.
• Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country.
• Be available to start academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2026.
• By September 2026, hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree).
• Not have studied or worked for more than one (academic) year or more in a high income country
• Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
• Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format.by the given deadlines (see ‘Application Process’).

In addition, applicants must:

• Meet the relevant entry requirements for their chosen degree programme and be sufficiently fluent in English to pursue the course.
• Be willing to confirm that they will return to their home country as soon as the period of study is complete.

Award conditions

For full terms and conditions – including further details of the scholarship themes, value of the scholarship, and general conditions – visit the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission's webpage.

Application process

To apply, candidates MUST submit the following:

• By the deadline of 16:00 (GMT) on 09 December 2025, apply to the CSC via the CSC’s online application system. For further details, click here.

AND

• By the deadline of 12 January 2026, submit a complete King's College London online admissions application for any of the following approved master’s programmes: MSc Mental Health Studies, MSc Health Psychology, MSc Palliative Care, or MRes Clinical Research.* Within the "Funding" screen of the King's admissions application, applicants should tick option 5, and add in "CSSS2026" to the "award scheme code or name" field.

NB: applicants are encouraged to submit both applications as soon as possible. Failure to meet the respective application deadlines (given above) means that the applicant will be ineligible and won’t be considered for the scholarship opportunity.

Admissions Fee

Applicants for master’s programmes at King’s College London are normally required to pay an admissions application fee, however, if you are applying for the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme (CSSS) opportunity, you can have this fee waived.

To request a waiver of your admissions application fee, please complete the 'Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme Application Fee Waiver Form' by no later than 2nd January 2026. Requests for a waiver of the admissions application fee must be submitted as soon as possible to ensure that the request is processed in time for you to submit your application by the deadline of 12^th January 2026.

Selection process

Eligible applications will be reviewed by King's College London, and King's will nominate selected candidates to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) by no later than 10 March 2026. The CSC will then consider and confirm whether the candidates meet the eligibility criteria for this scheme. Candidates should expect to receive a decision by July 2026.

Applications will be considered according to the following selection criteria:

• Academic merit of the candidate
• Quality of the plan of study
• Potential impact on the development of the candidate’s home country

For further details, see the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships selection criteria

For full details about the 2026/27 CSSS awards, please visit the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission's web-page.

Contact Details

For general queries about the scholarship scheme, please contact: King's Doctoral College, King's College London (Email: doctoral-college@kcl.ac.uk).

For specific queries relating to the master's programme at King's, please contact to the relevant academic department - details available via the online prospectus pages.