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The Association of Commonwealth Universities | ACU
King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme Undergraduate

A unique opportunity for fellows from Small Island Developing States to undertake an undergraduate degree in their home country or immediate region.

Applications open: 21 September 2026 

Applications close: 24 October 2026

The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP) Undergraduate Fellowships aim to address significant capacity challenges in key education, healthcare and engineering sectors in Commonwealth Small Island States (SIDS) by incentivising participants to remain in country to help meet medium-term skills shortages.

  • Recipients will be encouraged to build careers serving their island communities via pre-award, on-award and alumni activities. 
  • Fellowships will provide full tuition fees and living costs.

The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship will support students enrolled in full-time undergraduate studies in the following subject areas:

  • Education
  • Engineering  
  • Health  
  • Sustainable Tourism

What does the fellowship include?  

  • Full tuition fees (if full tuition fees not covered by the government) 
  • Stipend to cover basic living costs 
  • One return ticket to home island for every year of study (if applicable) 

Who can apply?

All of the below must apply to be eligible.

  • Applicants with citizenship or refugee status in one of the following Commonwealth SIDS:
    • Caribbean and Americas
      Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago
    • Indian Ocean
      Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles
    • Pacific
      Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
  • Due to begin undergraduate studies between January and December 2027 in one of the eligible programmes (list to be released with application in September 2026).
  • Undergraduate subject area falls within one of the KCFP undergraduate pathway priority areas (Education, Engineering, Health, Sustainable Tourism). Please note, medical degrees (including MBBS, MD, etc) as well medical technology degrees are not eligible. Tourism degrees focused on ‘tourism management’ as well as ‘tourism and hospitality’ are also not eligible. 

This webpage will be updated with eligible host universities once confirmed.

How are fellowships allocated?

A total of 11 King's Commonwealth Fellowships are available under this pathway.

  • Seven fellowships are ringfenced for applicants who are citizens of, or hold recognised refugee status in, the following SIDS:
    • Dominica
    • Grenada
    • Kiribati
    • Nauru
    • Samoa
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu
  • Four fellowships are open to applicants from all 24 eligible Commonwealth Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Applicants from the seven ringfenced SIDS will be considered for both the ringfenced fellowships and the open competition, provided they meet all eligibility requirements. 

Those belonging to indigenous communities are especially encouraged to apply. However, this is not an eligibility criteria, meaning, those who do not belong to indigenous communities will also be eligible.  

Applications, along with the list of eligible courses for each SIDS will be launched on 21 September 2026.

We strongly advise applicants to read all the application guidance and FAQs carefully, before starting their application. These will be available once the application window is open.