Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs 2025
The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP) presents a distinctive and esteemed opportunity for academic personnel and professionals from Commonwealth Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to undertake a PhD while continuing their occupational commitments. This initiative, inspired by His Majesty King Charles III, strives to bolster research potential and elevate the skills of individuals in vital sectors essential to the resilience, economic security, and long-term growth of SIDS.
Acknowledging the urgent requirement to upgrade future generations within both governmental and private domains, the programme targets professionals dedicated to engineering, education, health, and climate resilience. The fellowships allow applicants to pursue a PhD in their native country while gaining from collaborative supervision with an overseas partner university—mainly from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the UK. This model ensures access to top-tier mentorship, premier research infrastructure, and expert training, guaranteeing that fellows develop profound insight and specialization while staying grounded in their local environment.
A notable aspect of the KCFP PhD Fellowship is that recipients will have the chance to spend designated intervals at their partner university abroad for research methodology instruction or targeted academic sessions. This hybrid educational model provides them with exposure to international best practices while keeping their investigations tailored to domestic needs and priorities.
To qualify, applicants must hold a Master’s qualification or equivalent professional background and show a strong dedication to generating meaningful transformation in their respective disciplines.
The programme supports PhD study in four main disciplines:
- Climate change & environment
- Education
- Engineering
- Health
By encouraging global cooperation and the sharing of knowledge, the King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme serves a crucial purpose in establishing sustainable research capacity, empowering practitioners to champion innovation and resilience in their home nations.
Benefits
Advantages of this fellowship include:
- A total award of GBP 30,000 over six years (GBP 5,000 annually) to fund research activities and visits to an affiliated international partner institution (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom).
- Exemption from international tuition charges, where applicable, during overseas visits.
- Conditional access to institutional assets such as libraries or databases, evaluated case by case.
- A GBP 12,000 research support grant (GBP 2,000 per year).
- A 20% salary supplement to the employer of the PhD participant over the six-year duration.
- Assigned joint PhD supervisors from both the home university in SIDS and the overseas partner university throughout the fellowship.
- Inclusion in the ‘King’s Fellows cohort’, with opportunities for ongoing career development and training in areas such as communication, policymaker engagement, innovation, public oration, and research funding applications.
Eligibilities
To be considered eligible, all of the following criteria must be fulfilled:
- Possession of a Master’s degree or corresponding experience.
- Either beginning or already enrolled in a PhD research programme at an ACU SIDS member institution in the 2025/26 academic year, with the intention to complete the degree.
- Research topic must align with one of the four designated KCFP fields (Climate change/environment, Education, Engineering, or Health).
- Must hold citizenship or have refugee status in a Commonwealth SIDS.
Eligible Territories:
Mauritius, Seychelles, The Maldives, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, The Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Application Process
Applications for the PhD Fellowship must be completed and submitted electronically through the provided link.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to thoroughly review the application instructions.
Application Deadline: April 25, 2025 (9 Days Remaining)
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