Commonwealth Shared and Masters Scholarship Essay Samples and Formats

Are you looking for tips and samples on how to write a winning commonwealth masters scholarship or commonwealth shared scholarship? If yes, this post is for you. In this article, you will get a comprehensive guide, tips and tricks on how to write the commonwealth scholarship essays.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Essay Samples and Commonwealth Masters Scholarship Essay Samples

This post contains sample essays that have won both the commonwealth shared scholarships and commonwealth masters scholarship.

The commonwealth shared and masters scholarships are among the most prestigious scholarships available for citizens from low and middle income countries (LMICs) to study a taught masters programme in the UK.

The scholarship program is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

This article will focus solely on the commonwealth scholarship essays as we believe that before you begin researching on how to write the essays you must have known about the requirements and eligibility for the commonwealth shared scholarship and masters scholarship.

Commonwealth Masters Scholarship Essay Samples

The commonwealth masters scholarship awardees are nominated through nominating agencies and recognised bodies. The essay for the commonwealth masters scholarship should be written in such a way that it impresses the nominating agencies and recognised bodies.

The essays should be based on problems that are of interest to the nominating agencies. As said earlier, this article contains useful tips, ideas and samples on how to write a winning and outstanding commonwealth masters scholarship essay.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Essay Samples

For the commonwealth shared scholarship, since UK universities are the ones nominating, they essay should focus on the areas of interest available in the university. This will increase the chances of the university nominating you.

Tips On Writing a Winning Commonwealth Masters or Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Essay

Focus on the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The overall aim of the commonwealth scholarship is to achieve the SDGs. The problem you want to solve by being awarded a commonwealth scholarship must be among the goals and targets of the SDGs.

Use relevant statistical data: Use relevant ad confirmed statistical data while writing your essay, this will show that you have in-depth understanding of the problem you want to solve.

Be very specific: While writing your essay, be very specific about the issue you want to solve. Don't make it generic. Focus on just one goal throughout your essay and build your interest around that.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Essay and Commonwealth Masters Scholarship Essay Samples and Tips

Let us get into the primary aim of this article which is about writing a winning commonwealth masters and commonwealth shared scholarship essay.

The commonwealth masters and shared scholarship essays are divided into 3 broad sections:

  • Development Impact Essay
  • Objective During The Award
  • Personal Statement

Commonwealth Scholarship Development Impact Essay

How your proposed study relates to
Development issues at the global, national and local level
Development issue connect to your chosen CSC theme and the wider sector.

What to write

Global/national trends: Discuss about the global and national trends of the problem you want to solve.

Add relevant statistics from credible sources to back-up your claim.

You can also add quotes from credible sources if necessary.

Personal experience: You can a brief personal experience as part of the problem statement.

Link the problem statement to a skill or knowledge gap.

Connect your need for a masters degree as a necessity to be able to gain knowledge to solve the problem you stated in your problem statement.

Connect the masters degree program to a CSC theme.

Sample

"It is no longer news that energy demand worldwide is expected to double by 2050 and a considerable proportion of that energy will have to be generated from renewable resources. Nigeria is blessed with many natural resources although oil has become the most important source of revenue. Despite the large energy resources in Nigeria, energy consumption is relatively low compared with other African countries with comparable energy resources. This low energy consumption is due to the recurrent scarcity of petroleum products at vehicle petrol stations, while frequent electricity “black-outs” have resulted in a high reliance by the Nigerian populace on personal electricity generators. Concerns about the environment and the supply of fossil fuel have driven researchers to explore technological solutions seeking alternative means of energy supply and storage especially now that the issues of climate change and global warming are among the most critical issues discussed by the various governments of the world. New materials and material structures are at the very core of this research endeavor because the search for cleaner, cheaper, smaller and more ecient energy technologies is intimately connected to the discovery and the development of new materials. However, the development of renewable energy in Nigeria has so far been slow, and the desperate situation of the energy sector in the country can only be resolved if renewable energy is fully harnessed and favorable policies are implemented. This is the reason I am applying to be awarded a COMMONWEALTH SHARED SCHOLARSHIP to pursue a master's degree at University College, London. Therefore, a Master’s degree in Materials for Energy and Environment will provide me with the skills and knowledge needed to engineer materials to better meet the challenges of a fossil fuel based economy"

How you intend to apply your new skills and qualifications when you return home

What to write

Choose a sector, audience, place where you will want to work with your degree.

Write the new skills you hope to acquire e.g. food security, food hygiene, environmental sanitation, water purification techniques, deep cleaning of water bodies, research techniques etc.

Write the precise ways you intend to use your new skills. eg. conduct research and experiments on major issues of community concern, write a press release for a local parliament on pressing issues in the community, join environmental cleanup teams, start an NGO, start a nationwide campaign and fundraising for girl-child education, advocate for gender equality.

What you expect will change in development terms following your studies including

  • The outcomes that you aim to achieve
  • The timeframe for the implementation
  • Who the beneficiaries will be
What to write

List clearly the outcomes you hope to achieve in your home country. Please list what you know is achievable, don't write impossible things like "I will build hospitals in all villages in the country", "I will build a space station in my village". 

The outcomes you want to achieve should align with your study objective. Examples of outcomes some people hope to achieve are:
  • Environmental cleanup after oil spillage to restore biodiversity.
  • Increase girl child enrollment in schools, quality of education and stop child marriage.
  • Help startups to FinTech roadmap to prove their impact, profit and opportunity to employ more hands.
Timeframe: The time frame can be short term, medium term or long term.

Short term: Immediately after studies what will you do? (1 to 3 months) eg, workshops, conferences, skill acquisitions, training, visits of affected communities and families. Etc.

Medium term: 6 months to a year. Eg. Join a team of experts, take up employment, begin an experiment or project, launch a campaign.

Beneficiaries:  List who the beneficiaries of all your activities will be. Eg. They can be rural communities, the whole country, girls in the community and it can be yourself.

Sample

"Following the study experience, I expect that my attitude to teaching and research will improve. Such will be an immediate outcome that I would want to achieve. Interestingly the exposure I will get will allow me to compare how things are done in the two countries and thus enable me to choose the better approach. To my students, it will allow them to be taught in the best possible manner. This will significantly improve their learning experience. The network I would build while in the UK will allow me to continue to have research collaboration for years. Subsequently, the outcome of my thesis will be implemented in the creation of policies that will foster efficient widespread diagnosis and management of HIV and increased accessibility to antiretroviral therapy. My research publication will contribute to scientific literature heralding new hypothesis for further research. Through conference paper/poster presentations and peer review articles, the need for more focus on HIV among disabled individuals will be highlighted. Through outreach programs in rural communities, the level of literacy will greatly improve and more people will be encouraged to get tested and take preventive measures against the infection. There will be an inclusion of modern epidemiologic methods in students’ existing curricula focusing on recent advances in statistical evaluation. These goals will take approximately two years immediately after my studies to be accomplished, and the beneficiaries will include rural communities, research institutes, students, professionals, physically challenged individuals, Abia state university community, and every Nigerian who prioritizes good health"

How the impact of your work could be measured

What to write

For this essay, you are to write about key indices and indicators that can be used to measure your progress. For example if you want to start a research institute, the number of research carried out by your research institute can be used as an indicator to measure the impact of your work.

Sample

"The impact of my research will be seen in the reduced number of incident HIV infections among disabled individuals. This will be seen in follow-up research publications and the quality publication in good peer-reviewed journals.. The impact of my teaching approach can be measured by the number of students who made excellent grades in courses that I handle, compared to previous years. There will be policies incorporating private organizations in taking antiretroviral therapies to rural communities"

Provide a detailed outline of your proposed study/research.

This should be written for an audience that does not have any prior knowledge of the subject and must not be overly technical.

Any abbreviations or special terms must be explained.

What to write

Title of the course you will be studying: Write the full title of the course you will be study exactly how it is on the school website.

Write the important modules which relates to the problem you intend to solve. You can get the information about the modules on the university website or brochure.

Explain preliminary debates, discussions, techniques in your selected modules. You can get this information on the school website too.

Write about academic or research interest: If you have any academic or research interest, state it here.

Provide a detailed plan of your proposed study.

The selection panel will want to understand why you have selected your proposed courses and universities.

Describe clearly
  • Why you have chosen your proposed courses and universities and why you want to undertake this study in the UK.
  • What is it that you are looking for in a course and how your chosen courses relates to your objective.
  • Any dissertation topic you have in mind
What to write

Write about the ranking of UK universities in general. Example, UK universities are highly ranked, among top 10, top 20, top 50, top 100. Make sure you cite your sources as evidence like QS ranking and times higher education rankings.

Write about the university you are applying to. Particular university and course ranking, cite evidence and source. You can get all these information from the university website. Please do not copy and paste as you can be penalized.

Write about the skills you intend to learn from the course, example research techniques, programming, publishing, exposure to global best practices, environmental assessment, food security and data analysis.

Write how the chosen course relates to the problem you intend to solve. Example MSc gender, education and development to solve the problem of girls education, MSc environmental engineering to solve the problem of environmental pollution.

Include key professors in that department whose areas of specialisation aligns with your interest. This will show that you have done an in-depth research about the course and university. You can get the list of professors in that department on the university website.

Discuss your tentative dissertation topic. Your dissertation topic should focus on your problem, country or immediate community.

Describe the skills that you expect to gain from this scholarship and your career plans once you return home afterwards.


Objectives during the award


What to write

Highlight the skills you intend to acquire. Give examples of research skills, experiment techniques, methods of research and analysis, international best practices, internships, cooperation and interaction with staffs and fellow students.

Sample

Some specic objectives which I hope to achieve during the award period are;

1. Develop experience in the scientic method, techniques for reporting science and research activities spanning the whole spectrum of energy-related research from the development of batteries and fuel cells to the prediction of the structure of new water-splitting catalytic materials.
 
2. Acquire soft skills such as teambuilding, networking, leadership, entrepreneurship and intercultural communication, all fueled by interesting conversations with professionals and students from the department, energy industry, consultancy firms and municipalities.

3. Visit at least one international smart cities event, two energy companies, and one energy research institute.

Career plans in the 5 years following the award

What to write

Long term: Write what you want to achieve five years after the scholarship program. For example getting a PhD, teaching in a university, work in an international organisation as partner, country director or secretary general and expansion of private practice.

Discuss about the communities and organisations you intend to collaborate and work with.

Write about big project you will carryout to solve your intended problem.

Sample

"Five years after my postgraduate study, I would like to return to my Alma Mater, the Federal University of Technology, Akure and be deeply engaged in writing and publication of journals, periodicals, conference proceeding both local and international, particularly in the eld of metallurgical and materials engineering for energy applications. I will also, at this stage, organize a seminar on novel materials for energy applications in my school. I will also take advantage of global partnerships, such as the Residential Energy Eciency Project initiative of UK, to create a synergy of joint research with two or more energy research institute in Nigeria which will bring about the execution and implantation of research results into practice especially on renewable energy. Being a student of knowledge who derives much pleasure, fulllment and satisfaction from helping others grow academically, I desire to, actively engage in live counseling service, particularly to students in materials science-related eld so as to help them identify their areas of interest and to sensitize them about the career prospect and challenges within the eld."

Long term career plans

What to write

Discuss your plans for the long term. Your plans should be bold, ambitious but realistic plans.

You can write about your intention to run for a political office and what you want to achieve from such political office.

Write about your intention to work in an international organisation as secretary general and what you set to achieve.

Talk about your goals for your country, continent and the world.

Sample

"My long term career goal is to further earn my PhD in related materials science subdiscipline. This will further give me the opportunity to interact with professors in the UK and around the globe in order to broaden my horizon, keep me abreast with the latest and emerging technology. In addition, I shall become a professor who will make continuous contributions to solving national environmental issues through groundbreaking researches. I will establish a testing and standards laboratory for the development of materials for renewable energy technologies in Nigeria leveraging on my collaborations with international bodies, relevant NGO’s and other stakeholders."

Summarize the ways in which your personal background has encouraged you to want to make an impact in your home country.

You should indicate areas in which you have already contributed, such as having overcome any personal or community barriers to higher education.

What to write

Write about a moving story from your background that left a lasting impression on you and set you up for a particular career path.

Write about your academics and how you have succeeded in your academic life.

Briefly highlight community development programmes you have engaged in.

Discuss how you have funded your studies so far. Show financial constraints how you managed to get over them through part-time jobs, funding opportunities etc.

Sample

"Growing up in a small town, my experience as a teen in a rural environment was not dierent from other teens that grow up in under resourced communities. My mother works as a petty trader and also a tailor. She did her best to ensure that we were well cared for in spite of her illiteracy. She grew up in an environment where education seemed to be a taboo for girls as they are often married o to begin a new family elsewhere. My father, on the other hand, completed his secondary education, but his dream of going to the university was aborted at the demise of his father who happened to be the breadwinner of the family. He moved away from home in search of greener pastures and later got a job with Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. where he has risen over the years from the lowest ranking position to a Senior Laboratory Technician. This job of his allowed us to aord the basic needs of life but left us with no extra for extravagant living. I remembered after completing my elementary education, I took the common entrance examination where I performed excellently amidst thousands of other participants. I qualied to take the Young Brain Academy examination, where I was shortlisted as a beneciary of a scholarship to enjoy a one-year tuition fee waiver at my dream secondary school in an urban environment, King’s College, Lagos State. I became excited, but my expectations were dashed the moment I realized that my parent will not be able to aord the tuition fee and other associated expenses after the one-year tuition waiver expires. With a great willingness to learn, I had to settle down for one of the high school in my rural community, after which i gained admission into the Federal University of Technology, Akure for my bachelor's degree. Studying at the University came with a lot of nancial challenges since my parents were educationally deprived, they have vowed that all their children would be educated."

Voluntary and leadership experience

What to write

Discuss about all the voluntary activies you have participated in.

Discuss about any leadership position you have ever held.

Sample

"During my undergraduate days, I served as the academic coordinator in my fellowship, I organize academic symposium, tutorials and seminars to encourage and inspire freshmen and student to give their best in their studies. It was a way to reach out to the student on campus. Sometimes, because of the school time table, tutorials hold around 5 pm till dark, I had to volunteer to buy petrol out of my personal allowance to power the generating set so we can have a smooth tutorial session; this is due to the erratic power supply in the country. I also volunteered to help students who had omissions and errors in their result by encouraging them (some of them prefer to retake the course(s) aected), I usually would direct them to the appropriate senate chambers, this is done with the help of our sta adviser until such omissions are corrected. The many thanks gotten from the students were a fullment of my mandate to always use my position to help those in need. Those seeking admission into the university are not left out; I also volunteered to conduct a practice e-exam which mimics the actual admission examination they are to take before gaining admission into the university. I had to rally round to borrow laptops from my friends and installing the software, this is done as research has continued to show that many high school graduates are not familiar with the e-facility interface and has been one of the major factors that have dashed student dream of higher education. I was also opportune to serve as the President of my Community Development Service Group which is the National Emergency Management Agency during the compulsory one year service for graduates in my country. My major achievement was a signicant increase in attendance during my tenure as compared to past administration. This came through because I always make our community development service group active through a myriad of activities, ranging from group discussions on emergency related issues to emergency awareness campaign in our locality. Finally, despite the security challenge in the country, I also volunteered to participate as an ad-hoc sta of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the just concluded presidential, senate and house of representative elections. The quest to see a better Nigeria made me dele all odds to participate in the elections, I was in charge of handling the smart card reader to authenticate and verify the permanent voter’s card of the electorates. I believe the above listed summarizes my leadership and voluntary activities."

How To Write Commonwealth Shared Scholarship and Commonwealth Masters Scholarship Essays

Hope you now know how to write your commonwealth shared scholarship and masters scholarship essays.

Make sure you proof-read your essays before submitting to avoid grammatical errors.

You have any questions feel free to drop a comment and we will respond.