The Commonwealth Masters Scholarship for the 2027/2028 intake closes on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Today is Monday, October 12, so you have 8 days left. It pays for a one-year taught masters at a UK university, and Nigeria is on the list of countries that can apply.
You have to finish two applications, not one. The first goes to the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) and the second goes to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) on a portal called CSC Central. This post is the final checklist, so nothing stops your form on the last day.
Both applications close on October 20. The CSC does not accept late applications, late documents or late references.
Important dates for the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship 2027/2028
| What | Date |
|---|---|
| CSC applications opened | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 |
| Deadline on CSC Central | Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 4:00 pm BST |
| Deadline for the FSB online form | On or before October 20, 2026 |
| Nominators send their names to the CSC | By December 2026 |
| Results | By July 2027 |
| Study starts | September/October 2027 |
BST is the same clock time as Nigeria right now, so 4:00 pm BST is 4:00 pm for you. The FSB notice did not give a closing time. So don’t wait for the last hour.
About the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship for study in the UK
This is a UK government scholarship. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office pays for it and the CSC runs it. It is meant for people from lower and middle income Commonwealth countries who can’t pay for UK study on their own, and Nigeria is one of those countries.
It is for a one-year taught masters, full time. MBA is not covered. The CSC does not take direct applications, so you go through a nominator, and for Nigerians the FSB under the Federal Ministry of Education is running the nomination. The CSC says it does not charge any fee to apply on CSC Central. So if anybody asks you to pay money to apply, be careful.
PhD applicants have different rules, so this post is for the masters only.
How to apply for the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship from Nigeria
Do these in order. The first two steps are the FSB side and the last step is the CSC side.
- Open the Electronic Application System (EAS) from the FSB notice for 2027/2028, register, and fill the form online.
- Upload your scanned passport photograph, all university transcripts, birth certificate, and the admission letter from a UK school that is listed in your form. Submit on or before October 20, then download the PDF of the form and print one hard copy. You will hand it in at the interview venue.
- Register on CSC Central and fill the CSC form. Upload your documents and references there and submit before 4:00 pm on October 20.
The CSC says it will not take any document that was not uploaded on CSC Central, even if you send it by email.
How CSC Central works, so you don’t lose your form
- Login uses two-factor checks, so you need a smartphone or a second email account every time you sign in.
- Save often.
- One wrong refresh of the browser and you are kicked out of the form. Anything unsaved is gone.
- The system’s own back button is the one to use, not the browser’s.
- Once you submit, that is final. You can’t edit the form again.
The CSC also advises writing your answers in a separate document first, then pasting them in when they are final. Do that.
Who is eligible to apply for the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship
- You must be a Nigerian citizen, and you must live in Nigeria permanently.
- A first degree of at least second class upper (2:1) by September 2027. The FSB notice mentions only second class upper for masters.
- Evidence that you did NYSC.
- You should be free to start full-time study in the UK in September 2027.
- You can’t afford UK study without this scholarship.
- No UK masters already, and no earlier Commonwealth masters scholarship. A second masters of any kind needs a written reason in the form, and the CSC does not normally fund it.
- Admission into at least two UK institutions. That one comes from the FSB, not the CSC.
Documents to get ready for the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship application
- Passport or national ID card showing your photo, date of birth and citizenship (CSC Central).
- Scanned passport photograph and birth certificate (FSB form).
- Transcripts for every higher school you attended, with all pages. If one page is missing, the CSC treats the application as ineligible. Still in school with no final transcript? Upload the one you have so far and explain why.
- NYSC evidence.
- Admission letters from UK schools.
- Two references in PDF, signed, on letterhead or in an email that clearly shows who sent it. The form asks for three referees. One must be your current employer if you are working, and at least two references must be uploaded.
- Official translation and evaluation for any foreign certificate (FSB).
Your referees can’t send references to the CSC themselves. You collect them and upload them on CSC Central before the deadline.
What to do if you don’t have two admission letters yet
The FSB asks for admission into at least two UK schools. The CSC side says you should apply to your universities before you apply for the scholarship. It also wants three universities and courses listed in order of preference. Those must be schools that part-fund Commonwealth scholars. The full list is on the CSC UK universities page.
If your letters are not in yet, don’t guess what the FSB will accept. Email fsb@education.gov.ng or call the numbers at the bottom of this post and ask, this week.
What the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship pays for
| Benefit | What you get |
|---|---|
| Tuition | Full fees, paid by agreement between the CSC and the university |
| Flight | Approved return airfare from Nigeria to the UK |
| Monthly allowance | £1,712 a month, or £2,000 a month at universities in the London area |
| Study travel grant | A grant for study-related travel in the UK or abroad |
| Child allowance | £622 a month for the first child and £154 for the second and third, only for scholars who are widowed, divorced or single parents with the children living with them in the UK |
These are the rates the CSC quotes now, and they can change. The family allowance is only a small help. The CSC says the real cost of keeping a family in the UK is higher.
One more thing. Every Commonwealth scholar must go back home after the award. Switching to a graduate visa to stay in the UK is not allowed.
What to put in your Commonwealth Masters Scholarship application form
The FSB says it will grade you on academic merit, development impact after your study, and the quality of your study plan. The CSC looks at candidate merit, quality of the research proposal, and the impact your study can have back home.
So your answers must connect to Nigeria’s problems. The FSB lists these priority areas to think about when you write your proposal:
- Education
- Health
- Economic growth and the private sector
- Governance and conflict
- Climate and environment
- Water and sanitation
- Engineering, science and technology
- Food and nutrition
- Humanitarian disasters and emergencies
The CSC form asks for a development impact statement in four parts. Part one is the development issues your study connects to. Part two is how you will use your new skills after the award. Part three is what will change, by when, and who benefits. Part four is how your impact can be measured. It also asks for a detailed plan of study, a personal statement, your career plans for the five years after the scholarship, and your voluntary work and leadership.
For the personal statement, read our guide on how to write a scholarship personal statement people will read first.
Day by day final checklist till October 20
| Day | What to finish |
|---|---|
| Monday, October 12 | Register on EAS and CSC Central. Check your degree class, NYSC proof and passport. Message your three referees today. |
| Tuesday, October 13 | Pick your three UK universities and courses. Email the FSB if you don’t have two admission letters. |
| Wednesday, October 14 | Scan every transcript page, passport, birth certificate and NYSC proof. |
| Thursday, October 15 | Write the development impact statement and study plan in a separate document. |
| Friday, October 16 | Write the personal statement and career plans. Chase your referees for their PDFs. |
| Saturday, October 17 | Fill the whole EAS form. |
| Sunday, October 18 | Fill the CSC Central form and upload everything. |
| Monday, October 19 | Read both forms one last time, then submit both. |
| Tuesday, October 20 | Spare day only. Don’t plan to submit today. |
No dulling with this one. The CSC itself says its system will be very busy in the days before the deadline.
Mistakes that can cancel your Commonwealth Masters Scholarship application
- Doing only the FSB form, or only CSC Central. You need both.
- One transcript page missing.
- Asking your referees to email the CSC. It won’t take them that way.
- Picking an MBA, or a course that runs longer than one year.
- Listing only one university. If the CSC can’t place you at the schools you listed, the scholarship can’t go ahead. It also normally won’t change your university or course after selection.
- Refreshing the page in CSC Central while you have unsaved work.
For more of this kind of thing, see common mistakes that make Nigerian students lose scholarship slots.
What happens after you submit your Commonwealth Masters Scholarship application
The FSB notice mentions an interview, and that is where your printed form goes. Nominators send their chosen names to the CSC by December 2026. A nomination is not a guarantee that you will be selected. The CSC says you should hear the result by July 2027, by email, so check your spam and junk folders too. And if you get an offer and don’t reply in time, it can be withdrawn.
If this scholarship is too tight for your time, our list of postgraduate scholarships Nigerian students can apply for abroad has others with later dates. You can also see more on our scholarships page.
Contact the Federal Scholarship Board about the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship
- Email: fsb@education.gov.ng
- Phone: 09124516750 or 09082454557
- Official CSC page: Commonwealth Masters Scholarships
