Commonwealth Scholarship AI Rules: What Applies

Commonwealth Scholarship AI Rules: What Applies

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission's applicant pages we checked set no AI rule. Your nominating body can set one: the Canon Collins Trust, which nominates for Commonwealth PhD Scholarships, prohibits AI tools used "to generate, edit, or assist with any part of the application".

So the question "can I use AI for a Commonwealth Scholarship?" has more than one answer, because more than one body sets rules for the same essays. Our view: the binding rule is the strictest of three: the CSC's, your nominator's and each university's. For at least one nominator, that rule bans AI help with editing, the help a second-language writer may want most. A scholarship essay review reads your drafted answers against the Commonwealth Master's rubric.

Every page quoted below was checked on 31 October 2026. The CSC's 2027/28 Master's and PhD rounds closed at 16:00 BST on Tuesday 20 October 2026, but nominators set their own dates, so recheck your nominator's page before you write.

What the CSC itself says

The CSC's advice for applicants has authorship rules, but none about AI:

Study or research plans must be written by the applicant, and not by the intended supervisor.

Cutting and pasting text about a department, course, or institution from a website or brochure is insufficient and may be considered plagiarism.

For the PhD scheme, the CSC also asks your supervisor a question about authorship. Supporting statements are to be written by the proposed supervisor, who should be asked "to indicate how much of the applicant’s plan of study, if any, they wrote" (Commonwealth PhD Scholarships).

What we checked and did not find: an AI statement on the advice page, the Commonwealth Master's Scholarships page or the PhD Scholarships page. A search of the CSC site for "artificial intelligence" on 31 October 2026 returned events, news and course listings, not an applicant rule. That is a dated "not found", not a permission.

Nominating bodies can be stricter

The CSC does not run every selection itself. Its PhD Scholarships page says:

Each nominator oversees its own selection process and may have additional eligibility criteria. Applicants must check with the nominator for their specific advice and rules for applying, and their own eligibility criteria.

The Canon Collins Trust is one of those nominators. It says it nominates "14 individuals for fully-funded Commonwealth Scholarships for PhD study at any UK university", for applicants from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique or Zambia. Its page has a section headed "Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Prohibited":

All application materials must be entirely the applicant’s original work.

Using artificial intelligence tools (including but not limited to ChatGPT, … or similar software) to generate, edit, or assist with any part of the application is strictly prohibited.

Any application that includes content created or modified with the help of AI will be immediately disqualified and rejected without further consideration.

Two cautions about that page (Canon Collins Trust, checked 31 October 2026). Its application text names "the academic year 2026/27" and a deadline of 20 October 2026, which has passed, while the CSC's own page describes the 2027/28 round. And it is one nominator. We did not check the national nominating agencies, which the CSC calls "the main route of application". Your agency's page is the one that binds you.

What "edit, or assist" covers in practice

Read the Canon Collins wording against the uses applicants ask about:

Our recommendation: under a rule this wide, write and correct every answer yourself, and switch off AI suggestions in your word processor. The basis is the verb list: "generate, edit, or assist" leaves no use outside it. If you are unsure whether a tool counts, ask the nominator before you use it.

The countercase: if your nominator publishes no AI rule and your universities permit some uses, this approach costs you help the rules allow. Then the certification inside the application is what you sign, so read it there.

The university's rule applies as well

Your university application is separate, and its AI rule applies to it whatever your scholarship says. Cambridge's postgraduate page shows how the two can differ:

AI must not be used when writing personal statements and CVs. This prohibition covers the use of AI to help your use of English.

For research proposals, Cambridge says: "Appropriate use of AI tools to support the preparation of research proposals is permitted. Content generated by AI should be acknowledged." So a PhD applicant to Cambridge nominated by Canon Collins faces a proposal rule that permits declared AI support at the university and a scholarship rule that disqualifies any AI help. Where two rules you sign differ, the stricter one sets the limit. UK master's personal statement AI rules and AI rules for a PhD research proposal cover the university side.

Check your route before you write

1. Write down your route: the national nominating agency, university or other nominator you are applying through.
2. Open your nominator's page and copy its AI sentence, or write "none found" with the date.
3. Open each university's applicant AI page and copy its rule for each document you submit.
4. Apply the strictest rule to every answer. Pass: you can name the rule each answer was written under.
5. Write your answers from your own notes. The CSC's field guidance sets out what each answer needs; Commonwealth Scholarship essays: 12 fields, 2,925 words maps them.
6. If every page is silent, read the certification in the application before you submit.

Questions about AI in Commonwealth applications

Is Grammarly allowed for a Commonwealth Scholarship?

The CSC's pages we checked say nothing about it. Through Canon Collins, an AI tool used to "edit" any part of the application is prohibited, so any AI rewriting or correction feature falls under that rule. Other nominators may differ. For how grammar tools fare under university rules, see grammar tools and AI rules for an SOP.

Can I use ChatGPT for a Commonwealth Scholarship essay?

Not through Canon Collins, whose rule names it. The CSC's own pages set no AI rule; check your nominator and each university.

Can my supervisor write my research plan?

No. The CSC says plans "must be written by the applicant, and not by the intended supervisor", and asks PhD supervisors how much of the plan, "if any, they wrote".

Is this the same rule as Chevening?

They are separate schemes with separate rules. Chevening's website did not load for us on 31 October 2026, so this page does not compare the wording. Chevening AI rules quotes Chevening's own rule.

Is the Shared Scholarship covered?

We did not check the Shared Scholarship's pages for an AI rule. The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship personal statement guide covers its answers; apply the same three-rule check to it.

Get a free review of your Commonwealth Scholarship essays

Get a free Quick Review of your Commonwealth Scholarship essays against GradPilot's Commonwealth Master's Scholarship rubric. It reads whether your answers define a development need, show how you will apply what you learn after you return home, connect outcomes to beneficiaries and measurement, and explain your course choice and career steps. Paste each field with its word limit.

More scholarship guides:

• Chevening AI rules: own-work policy and attestation.
• All graduate school essay guides.

Sources

Retrieved 31 October 2026, except where noted.

• Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, Advice for applicants (no year stated): authorship and plagiarism lines.
• Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, Commonwealth Master's Scholarships (2027/28): closing date, nominators' own rules.
• Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, Commonwealth PhD Scholarships for Least Developed Countries and Vulnerable States (2027/28): closing date, supervisor statements.
• Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK, site search for "artificial intelligence": no applicant AI rule returned.
• Canon Collins Trust, Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (page names 2026/27): AI prohibition, eligibility, nominations.
• University of Cambridge, Using AI in your application (no year stated): personal statement and research proposal rules.