Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships (QECS) 2027-2028: Cycle 1 Opens 18 November 2026

Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships (QECS) 2027-2028: Cycle 1 Opens 18 November 2026

The previous student application round is closed, but the next round has been announced. The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), which administers the Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships, currently says on the scholarship page that applications for cycle 2 are closed. Its funding opportunities calendar now lists the next student round as QECS 2027-28: cycle 1 opens on 18 November 2026 and closes on 13 January 2027. The calendar also lists cycle 2 as opening on 3 March 2027 and closing on 27 April 2027.

The machine-readable deadline on this page is 2027-01-13, the closing date for cycle 1. That is the first upcoming student deadline in ACU’s calendar. Cycle 1 is marked “Opening soon,” so the application form is not open yet. The dates are announced, but the host-country and university list for the student application should be checked on the QECS homepage when ACU publishes the cycle’s details.

ACU describes QECS as an international scholarship for a two-year master’s degree at an ACU member university in a low- or middle-income Commonwealth country. It runs two student application cycles because Commonwealth academic years do not all begin at the same time. The calendar gives the dates for the 2027-28 round; the scholarship homepage remains the place to confirm which countries, universities and courses are available when each cycle opens.

If you are preparing to apply, use the period before the portal opens to check university admissions requirements, collect official records and arrange references. The sections below separate the confirmed funding package and eligibility rules from the cycle-specific information that ACU will publish for 2027-28.

What the Scholarship Covers

QECS funds a two-year Master’s degree at an ACU member university in a low or middle-income Commonwealth country. ACU lists the package as:

• Fully-funded tuition fees
• Living allowance (stipend) for the duration of the award
• Return economy flights to the host country
• A one-off arrival allowance
• A research support grant — on request only, and subject to approval

ACU does not publish a single headline figure, because the stipend varies with the host country’s cost of living. If you are selected, all allowances are stated in your award letter rather than announced in advance.

Two practical limits are worth knowing before you build a budget around this. First, the living allowance is calculated to cover the scholar’s costs only. ACU explicitly discourages scholars from bringing dependants, and makes clear that a scholar who does so is solely responsible for all welfare and financial arrangements for them. Second, accommodation is not pre-arranged. Your living allowance is meant to cover housing alongside everything else. Some universities will help you find somewhere to live, but you have to arrange that with the university directly.

Scholars may take on additional funding for things QECS does not cover, but ACU requires you to seek approval from the QECS team before accepting it.

The programme is funded through the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) endowment fund.

Key Details at a Glance

Who Can Apply

The eligibility rules are stricter and more specific than most summaries of this scholarship suggest, and several of them disqualify applicants on a technicality rather than on merit.

You must be a citizen of, or hold refugee status in, a Commonwealth country. ACU says refugees should apply as if they were citizens of the country that granted their refugee status. There is no age limit, but applicants must satisfy the academic, course and international-study conditions below.

You cannot apply for a scholarship in your country of citizenship. ACU is direct about this: it is an international programme. A Ghanaian citizen cannot hold a QECS in Ghana, but can apply for one in another participating country. If you try, you simply will not find your own country in the application form’s dropdown.

The campus rule catches people out. If a university you are interested in has a campus in your country of citizenship, you are not eligible to study at that university — even at a different campus in a different country. ACU gives two worked examples: applicants from Barbados, Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago cannot apply to the University of the West Indies, and applicants from Fiji, Samoa or Vanuatu cannot apply to the University of the South Pacific. If you are from one of those countries, plan around a different host institution from the start.

Host countries are always low- or middle-income. ACU states that QECS awards will not be hosted in high-income countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the UK. This is not a scholarship for studying in London or Toronto.

You need at least a 2:1 or equivalent at undergraduate level. This appears as step two of ACU’s own “how to apply” instructions.

You must already have graduated when you apply. ACU’s FAQ says final-year undergraduates are not eligible: applicants must have completed the degree and be able to provide a final transcript and degree certificate. QECS is for new students, so it cannot be used to pay tuition for a Master’s course that has already started.

The course must be a new, in-person Master’s programme of no more than two years. ACU does not fund undergraduate or PhD study through QECS, and its FAQ rules out part-time and remote or distance-learning Master’s courses. The exact entry standard, work experience, English-language evidence and other admissions requirements come from the host university.

Only listed courses qualify. Each cycle publishes a specific list of countries, universities and courses. ACU notes that only the courses listed are eligible for scholarship funding — you cannot nominate an arbitrary programme at an ACU member university.

You may submit more than one application as long as each is for a different host country or university. You can only submit one application per host university; if you submit two for the same institution, only the first will be considered. Results from previous years are not carried forward — awards are selected by an independent panel each cycle, so a past rejection does not count against you.

How the Application Works

Applications are submitted online through ACU’s myACU portal. ACU does not accept applications by any other route, and advises applicants with connectivity problems to find alternative local internet providers rather than asking for an exception.

ACU’s published sequence is:

1. Look through the list of countries and universities hosting scholarships in that cycle — only the listed courses are eligible.
2. Confirm you have at least a 2:1 or equivalent at undergraduate level.
3. Visit the relevant university website for details of your chosen course.
4. Complete and submit a QECS application for your chosen university and course through myACU. If you do not already have an account, you create one first.
5. Submit a separate application to your chosen university for admission to the course.

That fifth step is a genuinely separate piece of work. You do not need to hold an offer at the time you submit your QECS application — ACU acknowledges that some university admission cycles open after QECS applications close — but you are encouraged to apply for your course before or at the same time. Some universities charge an application fee; QECS will not pay it, and securing your university offer is your responsibility.

Two rules leave no room for error. No amendments are possible once your application is submitted — you cannot upload a forgotten document afterwards. And extensions will not be granted under any circumstances. Check everything before you press submit.

Documents and References

Your application must be written in English throughout, and every supporting document — transcripts, degree certificates, reference letters — must also be in English.

References: you need two. ACU advises that one should be academic, from someone who has taught you or worked with you during your academic career. If you genuinely cannot obtain an academic reference, ACU advises using professional referees for both. Referees should address their letters “Dear Sir or Madam” and write to the content points set out on the application form. Do not post hard copies to ACU’s London office — upload digital copies to the application form when prompted, in PDF, JPG or PNG format only.

Transcripts: include full details of the marks and grades you earned for your degrees. ACU strongly encourages applicants to provide complete supporting documentation, in the form of an official transcript, at the time of application.

Identity documents: you can submit an application without a valid passport, using a national ID or an expired passport instead. If you are selected, you will need a passport valid for the entire period of your stay in the host country.

English language testing: whether you need a test result depends entirely on the university you are applying to, not on QECS. Check your chosen university’s admissions website, and write to the university directly with any questions about its requirement.

What the Selection Panel Assesses

ACU publishes its four selection criteria, and they are a better guide to a strong application than any generic scholarship advice:

• Academic history and references
• Plan of study
• Development impact and post-study outreach
• Creating networks

ACU also lists what an application must do to be considered at all:

Write a personal statement a non-specialist can follow. ACU specifies that your statement should make clear what the aims of your research are and how they will be implemented, in language a non-specialist can understand. Reviewers are not necessarily in your field.

Tailor every answer to every institution. This is the sharpest warning ACU gives: you must clearly explain why you are applying to each course and institution listed on your form, and “if you write the same answer for each course/institution or copy and paste text from university websites, then your application will not be considered.” Applicants who apply to multiple host universities are exactly the ones at risk here.

Meet the university’s own eligibility requirements, including any required work experience. QECS eligibility and course eligibility are two separate hurdles.

Provide two detailed references covering the content outlined on the application form, and full degree marks with official documentation.

ACU does not provide individual feedback on unsuccessful applications, so it is worth reading these requirements as the feedback you would otherwise get.

When Results Are Announced

Outcome timing depends on which cycle you applied in, and follows the academic calendar of the host country:

• Cycle 1 applicants, whose courses start July–October: results in July of the year of award.
• Cycle 2 applicants, whose courses start January–February: results in October prior to the start of the award.

Academic years begin at different times across the Commonwealth, which is the reason for two cycles in the first place. The country you want to study in determines which cycle you apply in and when your deadline falls.

What to Do During the Gap

The next call has been announced but is not open yet. Use the preparation time on the parts of an application that do not depend on seeing the final 2027-28 host list.

Identify and brief your referees now. ACU wants detailed references written against specific points on the application form — that is not something to request with two weeks’ notice. Give your referees your draft materials and an explanation of what QECS assesses.

Gather official transcripts with full marks and grades. If your institution is slow at issuing these, starting in advance is the difference between a complete application and a rejected one.

Work out which host countries genuinely fit your goals, and check the campus rule against your citizenship before you get attached to an institution. Watch the ACU page for the 2027-28 list of participating countries and universities, since the list changes between cycles and only listed courses are fundable.

Draft a personal statement that explains your plan of study, your intended development impact, and your post-study outreach in plain language — and plan to rewrite the institution-specific sections from scratch for each university you apply to.

Where to Check for Updates

The authoritative source is ACU’s own QECS page: https://www.acu.ac.uk/funding-opportunities/for-students/scholarships/queen-elizabeth-commonwealth-scholarships/

ACU asks applicants to keep an eye on that page or follow its social media channels for news on which institutions and countries will feature in the next application cycle. Its application guidance and FAQ pages sit under the same section and are worth reading in full before an application opens — ACU strongly advises reading both before you start.

For questions ACU’s published material does not answer, the programme’s enquiries address is [email protected]. Questions about a specific course, its entry requirements, or its English language testing should go to the host university instead, since ACU defers to universities on all admissions matters.