Chevening Scholarships
Chevening Scholarships is a program run by the UK Government and a small group of private and public partners to offer sponsorship for postgraduate study at universities in the UK for international students. The UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office administers the program, but it is not restricted to the 54 countries of the Commonwealth as funding has been awarded to postgraduate students from more than 140 territories and countries.
The focus of the program is to develop leadership skills and Chevening Scholars are usually aiming to become leaders in their home countries. The idea is that Chevening Scholars will meet, network and create lasting friendships with postgraduate students who will become leaders of their professions in the future in the UK and beyond. Over 50,000 postgraduate students have studied through the program since it began in the 1980s.
In 1979 the UK Government introduced tuition fee payments for postgraduate students and in 1980 international students started paying the full cost of their tuition fees. As a result of this the UK Foreign Secretary at the time, Francis Pym, suggested increasing the funding for international students to study in the UK. The Chevening Scholarships were established in 1983 by the UK Government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the scholarship program was known as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Awards Scheme (FCOAS). The FCOAS quickly became an important part of British foreign policy, and by 1986 many British Embassies and High Commissions were describing it as some of their most important work.
In the first academic year, 100 scholars were studying in the UK and this has increased to over 1,500 per year in recent times. The name of the scholarship program was changed in 1994 to the Chevening Scholarships, drawing the name from Chevening House, which is the official residence of the UK Foreign Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister.
Chevening Scholarships enable outstanding emerging leaders from all over the world to pursue one-year master’s degrees in the UK.There have now been 17 Chevening Alumni who have gone on to become Heads of State or government.
Because these scholarships are fully-funded (flights, accommodation, and course fees are all included), you are free to focus on achieving your professional goals and maximising the experience of a lifetime. You will live and study in the UK for a year, during which time you will develop professionally and academically, network extensively, experience UK culture, and build lasting positive relationships with the UK. On completing your studies, you will leave the UK equipped with the knowledge and networks necessary to bring your own ideas to life.
Benefits of being a Chevening Scholar
The most obvious benefit of a Chevening Scholarship is the funding that covers tuition fees and basic living costs while in the UK.
Who can apply for a Chevening Scholarship?
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Chevening Scholarship you must:
● Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country or territory.
● Return to your country of citizenship for a minimum of two years after your award has ended.
● Have completed all components of an undergraduate degree that will enable you to gain entry onto a postgraduate programme at a UK university by the time you submit your application. This is typically equivalent to an upper second-class 2:1 honours degree in the UK but may be different depending on your course and university choice.
● Have at least two years (equivalent to 2,800 hours) of work experience.
● Apply to three different eligible UK university courses and have received an unconditional offer from one of these choices by 14 July 2022.
You are not eligible for a Chevening Scholarship if you:
● Hold British or dual British citizenship (unless you are a citizen of a British Overseas Territory or hold BN(O) and are applying from Hong Kong).
● Hold refugee status in a non-Chevening eligible country. Applicants who are citizens of a Chevening-eligible country and who hold refugee status in a Chevening-eligible country are eligible for a scholarship.
● Are an employee, a former employee, or relative* of an employee of Her Majesty’s Government, or have been within the last two years from the opening of Chevening applications (including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, all British Embassies/High Commissions, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade and the UKVI), the British Council, a sponsoring UK university, or a staff member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
● Employees, former employees, or relatives* of an employee of Chevening Partner organisations are eligible to apply, but if the employment took place within the last two years, you cannot receive a Chevening Partner Award from the organisation from which you work, previously worked, or are affiliated with through relatives.
● Have previously studied in the UK with funding from a UK Government-funded scholarship.
Having a master’s degree does not prevent you from applying for a Chevening Award to study for a second master’s degree in the UK, as long as you can clearly explain why it will help you fulfil your career plan to influence positive change in your home country.
Once submitted, applications undergo an electronic sift against our eligibility criteria. Any applications deemed ineligible will be removed from the selection process. If you make these errors in your application form, your application will be ineligible. Please note that once your application has been submitted, it is not possible to change it retrospectively.
Work Experience Requirement
You must ensure that you meet the minimum work-experience requirement for the scholarship before submitting your Chevening application. Chevening Scholarships require that applicants have at least two years of work experience.
If you do not already have the required level of work experience, you will be unable to submit your application.
Eligible types of work experience
The types of work experience that are eligible for Chevening can include:
Full-time employment
Part-time employment
Voluntary work
Paid or unpaid internships
Work experience can be completed before, during, or after graduating from your undergraduate studies, however, any mandatory employment that counted towards your undergraduate or postgraduate course would not be eligible.
You do not need to meet the work experience requirement in one period of employment. Applicants can submit up to fifteen different employment periods in order to meet the requirement. If you have held more than fifteen positions then please enter the periods which make up the greatest number of hours worked.
If you are currently employed, it is not a requirement of Chevening that you resign from your position. You are advised to discuss your application with your employer and it is your responsibility to ensure that they will release you if you are selected for a Chevening Scholarship. You can refer them to the employers page on our website. The British embassy/high commission or the Chevening Secretariat cannot intervene in this.
Applying for a Chevening Scholarship
The application is completed online through the Chevening Scholarship’s website and each nation or region has their own specific application site. Applications usually open in the September of each year and you should get in touch with your local British Embassy or High Commission before you begin your application process.
HOW CHEVENING SCHOLARS ARE SELECTED
All Chevening Applications undergo a rigorous review and selection process.
Applications are first sifted and checked by the Chevening Secretariat in London against initial eligibility criteria.
Initial eligibility criteria includes ensuring applicants have:
● An undergraduate degree qualification
● At least two years’ work experience
Applications are then individually reviewed by independent reading committees who score applications against FCDO, Chevening, and regional objectives, and the potential of the candidate to meet those objectives.
Reading committees want to see that applicants have:
- Influenced the opinion of others in a professional context or voluntary organisation. Applicants will provide at least one detailed example of influencing others to achieve something. They will evidence the steps they took and give details about the result. Above all, they will show a real determination to achieve.
- Experience building professional relationships. Applicants will share their ideas for engaging with networks, including Chevening, in future. Outstanding answers will share how they used their networking skills to achieve a positive outcome.
- Professional or academic experience. Applicants will demonstrate knowledge of their chosen course and universities. They will provide a good rationale for studying on the chosen three courses and universities, linking them to their relevant experiences so far.
- Given real thought to how they will achieve their career goals. Reading committees are looking for detailed short-term, mid-term and long-term goals. These goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
Next steps
Applications are then considered by academic advisers, usually from UK institutions, who assess whether the candidate has the relevant background and experience to complete the selected course, and check whether the university has strength in the relevant subject area.
Candidates are scored and a longlist is presented to the local British embassy/high commission, who interview and select final candidates along with the local partner organisation.
Some partnerships may vary slightly from this model, with applications considered by the partner (although still in concert with the FCDO/Chevening objectives and the eligibility criteria).
OFFER DEADLINE
The deadline to receive and submit at least one unconditional UK university offer is 17:00 BST (UK time) on 14 July 2022.
https://www.chevening.org/scholarships/application-timeline/
