2025 King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs for Small Island Developing States

The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhD Fellowships, inspired by His Majesty King Charles III, offer a unique opportunity for fellows from Small Island Developing States to undertake a PhD in their home country alongside work.

In this KCFP Pathway, Fellows will enrol in a PhD programme in their home country in the SIDS alongside working, and receive joint supervision from a dedicated partner university elsewhere across the Commonwealth (mainly Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or United Kingdom), where they will attend periods of study and/or research methods training. 

The Fellowships are open to academic staff and professionals with Master’s level or equivalent experience, who are committed to advancing engineering, education, health or climate resilience in their communities.The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship will support PhD studies in the following subject areas: 

• Health
• Climate change/environment
• Education
• Engineering and

• Table of Content
• About Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
• King's Commonwealth King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs
• Aim and Benefits of King's Commonwealth King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs
• Requirements for King's Commonwealth King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)

The ACU is an international organisation dedicated to building a better world through higher education. We believe that international collaboration is central to this ambition. By bringing universities together from around the world – and crucially the people who study and work within them ? we help to advance knowledge, promote understanding, broaden minds, and improve lives. We champion higher education as a cornerstone of stronger societies, supporting our members, partners, and stakeholders. ... continue reading

King's Commonwealth King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs

Application Deadline	25 Apr 2025
Type	Fellowship
Sponsor	Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
Gender	Men and Women

Aim and Benefits of King's Commonwealth King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs

• The fellowship will support each successful recipient with the following:?GBP 30,000 over 6 years (GBP 5,000 per year) to support research and research visits to a dedicated partner university (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand or United Kingdom). Waiver of international tuition fees if they would be charged for the visiting period(s).
• Where available and applicable, access to resources such as the library of the partner university or databases on a case-by-case basis.
• GBP 12,000 research support grant? (GBP 2,000 per year).
• 20% salary contribution to the employer of the PhD candidate over the 6 years.
• Dedicated joint PhD supervisors from the partner university and SIDS home university for the whole duration of the 6-year long Fellowship.
• Access as a member of the ‘King’s Fellows cohort’ to training to support continued professional development and learn relevant skills, such as communication, engaging with policy makers, entrepreneurship, public speaking and applying for research funding.

Requirements for King's Commonwealth King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme PhDs Qualification

All of the below items must apply to be eligible:

• Applicants with a Master’s degree or equivalent experience.   
• Due to commence or already enrolled in a PhD research degree programme at a ACU SIDS member university in the 2025/26 academic year with an aim to complete the PhD degree (please see list of universities below).
• PhD subject area falls within one of the 4 KCFP research areas (Climate change/environment, Education, Engineering and Health). 
• Applicants with citizenship or refugee status in a Commonwealth SIDS. The following countries are eligible:  

Africa 
Mauritius, Seychelles? 

Asia? 
The Maldives? 

Caribbean and Americas 
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, The Cayman Islands andTrinidad and Tobago? 

Pacific 
Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu? 

Application Deadline

April 25, 2025

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) on crm.acu.ac.uk to apply

For more details, visit ACU Fellowship webpage