All You Need to Know About the HEC’s Commonwealth Scholarship Program in UK

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced a fully-funded Commonwealth Scholarship Program in the UK for Masters, Ph.D., and teaching faculty.

The scholarship program is a collaborative effort by the HEC and the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) of the UK aimed at facilitating bright students to study at top institutions while also contributing to Pakistan’s long-term development.

The CSC has funded around 30,000 individuals to study in the UK since 1960.

Here is all you need to know about the HEC’s Commonwealth Scholarships.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet the following requirements of the HEC and the CSC.

• HEC

The applicant must

• • Be a Pakistani/Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) national.
  • Not be a dual national.
  • Have a first-class degree in a relevant postgraduate qualification (16 years Bachelor’s/Master’s degree) for the Master’s scholarship by the deadline.
  • Have a first-class degree in a relevant postgraduate qualification (17/18 years Masters/MS/M.Phil. degree) for the Ph.D. scholarship by the deadline.
  • Not have second/third division in their last degree.
  • Not be awaiting results.
  • Provide their Higher Education Aptitude Test (HAT) test scores with a minimum of 60 out of 100. Those who have taken the test on or after 1 January 2022 may upload their results on HEC’s portal for consideration.​
  • Those who are yet to take the HAT can register for it on the HEC’s Education Testing Council (ETC) portal before 11 October 2022.

• CSC
  • The applicant must be a national of an eligible Commonwealth country.
  • The applicant must be available to start academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2023.
  • The CSC does not normally fund a second UK Master’s degree. If the applicant is applying for a second UK Master’s degree, they will need to justify their reasons for attempting to undertake this study.
  • The applicant must be unable to afford studying in the UK without this scholarship.
  • The applicant must provide complete transcripts detailing all their higher education qualifications, including their latest transcripts for any of their current qualifications (with certified translations if not in English), and upload them onto the online application system.
  • The applicant must provide references of at least two individuals.

• Ph.D. Criteria
  • The applicant must not be registered for a Ph.D. or an M.Phil. leading to a Ph.D. at a UK university or in Pakistan before September/October 2023.
  • The applicant must provide a supporting statement from a proposed supervisor in the UK from at least one of the institutions named on his/her application form.

How to Apply

Interested individuals are required to apply online through both the CSC’s and HEC’s portals, and applications sent through any other mode will not be considered.

In case a person fails to apply through both portals, their applications will be rejected.

• CSC Online Application
  • Master’s and Ph.D. applicants are required to apply on their respective application portals.
  • Master’s applicants can apply through the Master’s portal and Ph.D. applicants can apply via the Ph.D. portal.

• HEC Online Application
  • Interested individuals are to apply on the HEC’s website. After registering and filling out the profile section, they are to select ‘Learning Opportunities Abroad.’
  • The applicants are then required to sign a printed copy of the application.

Deadline

The HEC’s online application portal will close at 4 PM on 18 October 2022 (Pakistan Standard Time). The last date to apply for the program on both portals is 18 October 2022.

Other Details

• Applicants must use their latest email addresses, phone numbers, and updated information.
• Applicants are advised to save their applications after submitting them on the portals.
• They must also save hard copies of their submitted documents for their own records.
• The nomination ratio of males to females is 50:50.
• The HEC’s online portal will close as per the deadline and no candidate will be able to apply afterward. Also, incomplete applications (not submitted/saved) will not be accepted.
• Note here that the HEC has only a facilitatory role in the nomination process as the final selection will be made by the donor country. It also has no financial liability regarding this scholarship.
• In the case of applicants submitting false information at any stage, the HEC reserves the right to cancel and debar them from applying for all future scholarships.

Contact and More Information

Click here for more details on the Master’s scholarship, and here for the Ph.D. scholarship.

In case of any other queries or complaints, candidates are advised to call 051-111-119-432 or 0334-1119432, or visit the HEC’s help section.