Applications Open for the King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme 2025
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) has officially launched the 2025 round of the King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP). This prestigious PhD initiative, supported by His Majesty King Charles III, is specifically designed for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) candidates who aim to complete their doctoral research in their home countries while remaining professionally active.
Under the 2025 programme structure, selected Fellows will enrol in a PhD programme offered by an ACU member university in a SIDS country. While pursuing their research locally, they will benefit from joint academic supervision with a partner university from another Commonwealth nation, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom. These partner institutions will also host the Fellows for short-term research visits or training sessions to strengthen their methodological and academic skills.
Programme Focus Areas
Fellows are expected to focus their PhD research on one of the following core development sectors:
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Climate Change and Environment
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Education
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Engineering
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Health
Fellowship Benefits
Each successful applicant will receive comprehensive support throughout the six-year fellowship. The package includes:
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GBP 30,000 research travel and support fund (£5,000 annually) for research and short-term visits to the partner university.
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GBP 12,000 research support grant (£2,000 per year) funds resources, equipment, or data collection.
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Tuition waiver for any international fees that would otherwise be charged during the visiting periods at the partner institution.
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Access to academic resources, such as libraries and databases, from the partner university (subject to availability).
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20% salary contribution to the Fellow’s current employer to ensure continuity of professional engagement.
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Dedicated supervision from both the home university and the partner university throughout the entire PhD duration.
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Professional development opportunities, including workshops and training on public engagement, research communication, policy outreach, entrepreneurship, and grant writing.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the following conditions to be considered:
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Hold a Master’s degree or equivalent professional experience relevant to the selected research area.
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Be already enrolled or planning to commence a PhD programme in the 2025/2026 academic year at an ACU SIDS member university.
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The PhD must align with one of the programme’s four focus areas: Climate change/environment, Education, Engineering, or Health.
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Must hold citizenship or refugee status in one of the eligible SIDS Commonwealth countries listed below.
Eligible Countries by Region:
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Africa: Mauritius, Seychelles
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Asia: The Maldives
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Caribbean and the Americas: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, S.t Vincent and the Grenadines, The Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago
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Pacific: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
While individuals from indigenous communities are strongly encouraged to apply, this is not a mandatory eligibility requirement.
Application Details
All applications must be submitted via the online portal.
The application deadline is 13:00 (UTC) on April 25, 2025.
Interested applicants are advised to begin preparations early, including confirming institutional support from both their home university and a prospective Commonwealth partner.
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For further details, visit the official King’s Commonwealth Fellowship page
