What the Chevening Scholarship is and what it pays for
The Chevening Scholarship is the UK government's flagship award for international students. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) runs it with partner organisations, and it funds a one-year full-time taught master's degree at any university in the UK. You can study any subject you choose.
A Chevening Scholarship normally covers university tuition fees, a monthly living allowance, travel costs to and from the UK, an arrival allowance, a homeward departure allowance, the cost of one visa application and a travel grant to attend Chevening events in the UK. The full listing is on our British Chevening Scholarships in UK for International Students page.
Around 1,500 scholarships are offered globally. Awards go to scholars who show leadership potential, and the programme expects you to return home afterwards. If you want to compare it with other UK funding, see Scholarships in United Kingdom.
Chevening Scholarship 2026 key facts at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Host institution | Any university in the UK |
| Level and field | One year full-time taught master's, any subject |
| Number of awards | Around 1,500 globally |
| Who it targets | Citizens of Chevening-eligible countries |
| Application deadline | 6 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC (midday) |
| Course starts | September/October 2027 |
| Application route | Chevening online application system, via your country page |
The deadline is annual, so treat 6 October as the fixed point in your calendar. Use the course finder on the official site to check which master's degrees at UK universities are eligible.
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Who can apply: Chevening Scholarship requirements
Eligibility is checked against a short list of conditions. You must meet all of them, not most of them.
- Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country or territory.
- Commit to returning to your home country for at least two years after your scholarship ends.
- Hold an undergraduate degree that qualifies you for a UK master's programme, and have graduated at least two years before the application deadline.
- Have at least two years of work experience, equivalent to 2,800 hours.
- Apply to three different eligible UK university courses and receive an unconditional offer from one of them by the references and education documents deadline on the application timeline.
The list of Chevening-eligible countries is set by the FCO and published on the official website. Check your own country page there before you start writing anything.
Chevening deadline and application timeline
The application deadline is 6 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC (midday). Applications are submitted through the Chevening online application system, reached via the apply button on your country's page. Late submissions are not accepted, and the time is fixed in UTC, so convert it to your own clock carefully.
After the deadline, the process continues: you apply to three eligible UK courses, and you must hold an unconditional offer from one of them by the references and education documents deadline listed on the application timeline. Your course then starts in September or October 2027.
What happens after you submit
The official timeline sets out each stage, including when references and education documents are due. Read it on your country page before you apply, because the dates you must meet after October are as binding as the application deadline itself.
How to apply for the Chevening Scholarship, step by step
- Confirm you are a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country on the official website.
- Check that your undergraduate degree qualifies you for a UK master's and that you graduated at least two years before the deadline.
- Count your work experience. You need at least two years, equivalent to 2,800 hours.
- Choose three different eligible UK university courses using the course finder.
- Open your country page on the official site and start the Chevening online application system.
- Write your answers, including the Chevening essays, and prepare your references and education documents.
- Submit before 6 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC (midday).
- Apply to your three chosen courses and secure an unconditional offer from one by the references and education documents deadline.
Applications can only be submitted through the Chevening online application system. There is no other route.
Documents and the Chevening essays
The application asks for your education documents, references and written answers. Prepare these before you open the form so you are not rushing in the final week.
- Undergraduate degree documents that show you qualify for a UK master's.
- Evidence of your work experience, at least two years or 2,800 hours.
- References, submitted by the deadline on the official timeline.
- Your Chevening essays, written as part of the online application.
- Details of the three eligible UK courses you are applying to.
Why the essays carry weight
The Chevening essays are where you show leadership potential and a clear plan for returning home. Write them about your own record, not about what you think the reader wants. Specific examples of what you have done and what you intend to do next are stronger than general statements about ambition.
How Chevening selects scholars
Selection looks at leadership potential, your academic fit for the master's you propose, and your plan to return home and use the degree. The programme states that awards go to scholars from around the world who show leadership potential. Your three course choices and your unconditional offer matter because they show the plan is real and workable.
The two-year return commitment is part of eligibility, not a formality. Frame your essays around what you will do at home after the scholarship ends. The official site publishes the current selection details for your country.
Who Chevening suits and who should look elsewhere
It suits you if you are a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country, have at least two years of work experience, hold an undergraduate degree awarded at least two years before the deadline, and want a one-year taught master's in the UK in any subject. It also suits you if you are ready to commit to returning home for at least two years.
Look elsewhere if you want a research degree or a PhD, since Chevening funds a one-year taught master's. Look elsewhere too if you cannot commit to the return requirement, or if you have under two years of work experience. Browse the scholarship finder and all guides for other routes, or compare funding by country through scholarships by country.
Common mistakes that sink Chevening applications
- Missing the 12:00 UTC cutoff on 6 October 2026 because you worked to local time.
- Applying to fewer than three different eligible UK courses, or choosing courses that are not eligible.
- Failing to secure an unconditional offer from one of the three by the references and education documents deadline.
- Counting work experience loosely instead of against the two years or 2,800 hours requirement.
- Ignoring the two-year return commitment in the essays.
- Leaving references and education documents until after submission.
Each of these is a stated requirement, so treat them as pass or fail rather than as details to tidy up later.
Alternatives to Chevening and other places to study
If Chevening does not fit, the UK still has other funding routes, listed under Scholarships in United Kingdom. If you are open to studying outside the UK, compare Scholarships in United States, Scholarships in Canada, Scholarships in Germany, Scholarships in Australia and Scholarships in the Netherlands.
You can also filter by subject. Relevant lists include social sciences scholarships, law and public policy scholarships, development studies scholarships, economics and finance scholarships and any field of study scholarships. For application advice, read scholarship tips.
How to read the Chevening listings
Our filtered list for this page shows the current Chevening openings. Start with the deadline column, then check the level and the course start date against your own plans.
The full entry, British Chevening Scholarships in UK for International Students, carries the eligibility rules, the award inclusions and the official link. Use it as your checklist, and use your country page on the official site for the country-specific detail.