Getting accepted for Chevening scholarships is somehow feels impossible but applying for it does not have to be! With this guide compelled by Wazifa Group, you won’t have to worry about things like gathering your documents, getting to the actual application part and other related parts. This guide includes every single detail about applying for a Chevening scholarship. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!

Who is Eligible?

First things first, let’s check if you are eligible, or not.

To be eligible for a Chevening Scholarship you must:

• Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country or territory.
• Return to your country of citizenship for a minimum of two years after your award has ended.
• Have completed all components of an undergraduate degree that will enable you to gain entry onto a postgraduate programme at a UK university by the time you submit your application. This is typically equivalent to an upper second-class 2:1 honours degree in the UK but may be different depending on your course and university choice.
• Have at least two years (equivalent to 2,800 hours) of work experience.
• Apply to three different eligible UK university courses and have received an unconditional offer from one of these choices by the deadline listed on the application timeline.

You are not eligible for a Chevening Scholarship if you:

• Hold British or dual British citizenship (unless you are a citizen of a British Overseas Territory or hold BN(O) and are applying from Hong Kong).
• Hold refugee status in a non-Chevening eligible country. Applicants who are citizens of a Chevening-eligible country and who hold refugee status in a Chevening-eligible country are eligible for a scholarship.
• Are an employee, a former employee, or relative* of an employee of His Majesty’s Government, or have been within the last two years from the opening of Chevening applications  (including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, all British Embassies/High Commissions, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade and the UKVI), the British Council, a sponsoring UK university, or a staff member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
• Employees, former employees, or relatives* of an employee of Chevening Partner organisations are eligible to apply, but if the employment took place within the last two years, you cannot receive a Chevening Partner Award from the organisation from which you work, previously worked, or are affiliated with through relatives.
• Have previously studied in the UK with funding from a UK Government-funded scholarship.

Having a master’s degree does not prevent you from applying for a Chevening Award to study for a second master’s degree in the UK, as long as you can clearly explain why it will help you fulfil your career plan to influence positive change in your home country.

Once submitted, applications undergo an electronic sift against our eligibility criteria. Any applications deemed ineligible will be removed from the selection process. Please see the list of common errors here. If you make these errors in your application form, your application will be ineligible. Please note that once your application has been submitted, it is not possible to change it retrospectively.

Note: Ineligible applications will be rejected, so it is important that you check that you meet our eligibility criteria before you start your application.

Benefits of Chevening Scholarships:

As Chevening Scholarships are fully-funded, your award includes the following:

• university tuition fees
• a monthly stipend
• travel costs to and from the UK
• an arrival allowance
• a homeward departure allowance
• the cost of one visa application
• a travel grant to attend Chevening events in the UK

Required Documents for Chevening Scholarships:

• Completed education documents.
• English language qualification.
• Conditional offers for proposed courses of study (up to three).
• Unconditional offers for proposed courses of study (up to three) (You must upload at least one unconditional offer by July).
• References (If you are invited to interview you will be invited to upload two references).
• Passport / ID document.

How to Prepare Your Application for the Chevening Scholarships?

1. Make sure you meet each of the eligibility criteria

Did you know that last year we received over 10,000 ineligible applications? And that of those, 70% were ineligible because applicants did not meet Chevening’s 2-year work experience requirement?

Make sure that you don’t make the same mistake! Chevening applicants must:

• Be a citizen of one of 160+ Chevening-eligible countries or territories.
• Have completed an undergraduate degree that will enable you to apply for a postgraduate course at a UK university.
• Have at least two years of work experience. This page helps you to calculate whether you meet this requirement.
• Not have previously studied in the UK through a UK Government funded scholarship.
• Demonstrate outstanding future leadership potential.

Read the full list of Chevening eligibility requirements.

2. Build up your leadership portfolio

During the written application and interview stage, you will be asked to demonstrate how you have shown the potential to be a leader in your life and career to date. Start building a bank of examples now. When have you had to lead a team or a project? How did you succeed in that situation? What did you learn? How did you demonstrate your influencing skills?

These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself for every example that you come up with. Then choose the most robust examples that you think give the best impression of your leadership potential to write about in your application.

‘Describing in detail [one or two] examples will generally have a better impact than listing down everything without too much substance. In a nutshell, less is more.’ – Roshini Menon, 2020 Chevening Scholar, King’s College London

3. Think about where you want to be in 2, 5, and 10 years time

Develop a realistic plan for achieving your goals to create positive change in your home country. We know life doesn’t always go to plan, but we want to know that you have big ideas for creating a positive impact in your country and that you’ve put some serious thought into how you’re going to make your dreams a reality.

‘It’s not about putting the most beautiful words on the application; it’s about communicating what it is you really want to achieve in your life.’ – Syed Farradino Omar, 2018 Chevening Scholar, Royal Holloway, University of London

Show us how determined you are to get to where you want to be!

4. Start researching which UK university courses you want to apply for

You will have the opportunity to choose three courses at up to three UK universities on your Chevening Scholarship application. Start browsing the Chevening course finder now to find the course and university that will help you to achieve your career goals.

This article on choosing the right UK university for you may also help to slim down your options.

Please note that you will need to apply separately for your chosen courses via the universities that run those courses. Your Chevening application does not constitute an application to your chosen courses.

5. Develop a clear sense of how a Chevening Scholarship could help you achieve your goals

Why are you applying to Chevening? What could you achieve by joining our global community? Why do you want to study your chosen courses in the UK?

We don’t only need to see why you are right for Chevening, we also need to see why Chevening is right for you.

Asking yourself these big questions now, and discussing them with your friends and colleagues, will put you in a good position to write a first-class Chevening application when applications open this year.

How to Apply for a Chevening Scholarships?

1. Choose your country from here, then choose Chevening Scholarship.
2. Create an account.
3. Fill your profile with your personal information, save the data and validate your profile, then start your application.
4. Complete the quiz to assure your eligibility for the Scholarship.
5. Submit the application.

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