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About Commonwealth Professional Fellowships

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are for mid-career professionals from low and middle income countries to spend a period of time at a UK host organisation working in their sector for a programme of professional development.

Purpose: 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 organisations in low and middle income Commonwealth countries.

These fellowships are offered under six development themes:

• Science and technology for development
• Strengthening health systems and capacity
• Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship
• Strengthening global peace, security and governance
• Strengthening resilience and response to crises
• Access, inclusion and opportunity

The CSC aims to identify talented individuals who have the potential to make change. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination, and encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates. For further information on the support available to candidates with a disability, see the CSC disability support statement.

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

• Sponsor Organisation: Commonwealth Scholarships

Benefits of Commonwealth Professional Fellowships

• 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 £1,944 per month, or £2,397 per month for those at organisations in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2022/23 levels).
• If a Fellow declares a disability, a full assessment of needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC.
• Arrival allowance of up to £1,061.10 (rates quoted at 2022/23 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.

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships Requirments

To be eligible for these Fellowships, prospective Fellows 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. Any applications for which references are not received by the reference closing date will be considered ineligible.
• 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 undertake their fellowship from the prescribed start date

In addition to the above, prospective fellows must ensure they meet any eligibility criteria set out by each individual host organisation.

The CSC aims to identify talented individuals who have the potential to make change. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination and encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates. For further information on the support available to fellows with a disability, see the CSC disability support statement.

Please note: Your personal information will be used to conduct necessary due diligence checks to CSC’s satisfaction, before CSC proceeds with any type of formal agreement or contractual relationship. In most cases, the due diligence checks will be straightforward, however further information may be requested, so we ask for your full co-operation to speed up the process.

If you do not agree to your personal data being used for the purpose of conducting due diligence, unfortunately CSC will not be able to proceed further with the application process.

Application Date and Process

Apply for a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship here. Applications will close at 17:00 BST on Monday 5 August. 

The 2025 Professional Fellowship programme is aimed at professionals whose work supports the CSC’s six development themes.

Fellowships will be tenable for between six weeks and three months starting from February 2025.

Application Deadline

05 August, 2024

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