UK Masters & PhD Scholarships for Pakistanis Announced

UK Scholarship, The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan is now accepting applications for the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme 2025–26.

The program provides fully funded Masters and PhD scholarships at the best universities in the United Kingdom.

The awards are being provided in association with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC), engaged in international education since 1960.

Total Scholarships offered for Pakistan and AJK

HEC will nominate:

• 26 students for Master’s programs
• 30 students for PhD programs

These opportunities are open to candidates from Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) for UK Scholarship

The scholarships are a part of the UK Government’s development-oriented initiative for empowering scholars across the world.

Eligibility Criteria for Applicants

Applicants should be nationals and permanent residents of Pakistan or AJK.
Dual nationals are not eligible.

Read About: Switzerland Offers Fully-Funded Scholarships to Students from Pakistan

For Master’s Programmes:

Candidates require first division in 16 years of education (Bachelor’s or Master’s) in a related discipline.

For PhD Programmes:

Candidates require first division in 17–18 years of education (MS/MPhil) in the relevant field.

Second or third division candidates in the terminal degree are not eligible for a scholarship.

Result-awaiting candidates may apply and will be considered provisionally.

HAT Test Requirement

Candidates must appear in the Higher Education Aptitude Test (HAT) and obtain at least 60 marks out of 100 marks.

General HAT categories (HAT-I to HAT-IV) only will be accepted by HEC.

Tests taken solely for FATA or Balochistan are not applicable for this scholarship.

Applicants who appeared for HAT on or after October 16, 2023, are able to upload their score to the HEC portal.

Others may apply for the HAT test on the Education Testing Council website: https://etc.hec.gov.pk

Application Process and Deadline

HEC will create the final merit list solely on the basis of HAT scores, making the process transparent.

Yet, HEC reserves the right to change the selection criteria if needed.

Last Date of Submission: October 14, 2025, 4:00 PM (Pakistan Standard Time)

Apply through the HEC Scholarship Portal before the specified cutoff date to be eligible.

Why This Scholarship Matters

Since 1960, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission has assisted 30,000+ scholars from developing nations across the globe.

HEC feels that this program provides Pakistani students with a worthwhile opportunity to learn in the UK’s leading universities.

They are expected to come back and help Pakistan develop in terms of education, research, and development.