The 2027-28 round has closed, and the next one is not announced
Applications for the 2027-28 round opened on 4 August 2026 and closed on 6 October 2026 at 11:00 UTC. Chevening’s own country pages now say “Applications are closed” and tell visitors to watch its channels for when applications open again. It has not announced dates for the next round, so use this page to prepare rather than to count down. In the round that just ended the system locked at the deadline and there was no extension, so assume the same next time and work out what 11:00 UTC means where you live well before the last day. If you applied, the timeline is: sifting from October, reading committees from mid-October to January 2027, interview shortlists in mid-February, interviews in March and April, results from mid-June, and the unconditional-offer deadline on 8 July 2027.
Three course choices, and a separate clock running underneath
The requirement people underestimate is the three course choices. You apply to three different eligible UK master’s courses, and Chevening will not consider you without them. Those are separate applications to the universities themselves, with their own fees, forms and timelines. For the wider cost picture of studying in the UK beyond what Chevening covers, see the guide to studying in the UK. The unconditional offer is not needed until July 2027, well after the Chevening deadline, but universities take months to issue offers and the offer deadline is hard. Applicants who wait for interview results in June before contacting universities usually run out of time.
The work-experience math, and the clause that quietly disqualifies people
Two years of work experience means 2,800 hours, counted after your undergraduate degree, not before. Part-time and voluntary work can count towards that total. The rule that quietly disqualifies people is the ineligibility of current and recent employees of government departments, the British Council and partner UK universities, along with their immediate relatives. Read that clause before you spend six weeks on essays.
A live visa restriction worth checking before you apply
One more check is worth doing before you invest time, specifically if you’re a national of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan. Since 26 March 2026, the UK government’s “visa brake” policy refuses Student visa applications made from outside the UK by nationals of those four countries, regardless of any offer, sponsorship or scholarship already secured, a restriction reviewed periodically rather than permanent but with no announced end date. Confirm both your own country’s current Chevening eligibility page and the live status of this restriction on gov.uk directly, since being accepted for Chevening would not, on its own, get you a visa to actually take it up. A network this large matters here too: joining Chevening means joining a 60,000-strong global alumni community, part of what the scholarship is explicitly designed to build beyond the degree itself.