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

Fellow eligibility

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 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.

Completing the application form

Applications for the 2026 Professional Fellowship are now open. 

To apply for a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship you must complete the application form by clicking on the link below:

The form will close at 4pm BST Friday 22 August. 

In the application form, prospective Fellows are asked to:  

• List all undergraduate and postgraduate university qualifications obtained (where applicable)  
• List up to 10 publications and prizes (if applicable)  
• Provide details of your employment history and explain how each job is relevant to the programme you wish to undertake in the UK (up to 100 words per employment)  
• Provide a statement on the relevance of your previous work experience to the proposed fellowship (up to 300 words)  
• Provide at least two references from people who are qualified to comment on both your capacity to benefit from your proposed fellowship in the UK and your ability to deliver development impact afterwards. One of your references must be from your current employer, unless you are self employed. 

Provide a development impact statement in four parts.  

• Part 1: (up to 200 words) Explain how participation on your selected fellowship relates to:  
  • one of the six CSC development themes  
  • development issues at the global, national and local level  
• Part 2 (up to 100 words) Explain how you intend to apply your new skills once your Fellowship ends.  
• Part 3 (up to 250 words) Outline what you expect will change in development terms following your fellowship including:  
  • the outcomes that you aim to achieve  
  • the timeframe for their implementation  
  • who the beneficiaries will be  
• Part 4: (up to 100 words) Write about how the impact of your work could be best measured.  
• Confirm what your award objectives are and how each of them will be met by the fellowship programme  
• Confirm what your objectives are for the next two years and how each of them will be met by the fellowship programme  
• Confirm what your objectives are in the longer term and how each of them will be met by the fellowship programme  
• Provide a personal statement to summarise the ways in which your personal background has encouraged you to want to make an impact in your home country. You should indicate areas in which you have already contributed, such as having overcome any personal or community barriers to your chosen career (up to 500 words)  
• Summarise the ways in which you have engaged in voluntary activities and the opportunities you have had to demonstrate leadership (up to 500 words)  
• Provide a scan of your passport or national identity card