Chevening Europe Defence and Security Fellowship 2027 Open: Are You Interested?
Applications are open for the 2027 Chevening Europe Defence and Security Fellowship, a six-week UK programme for experienced security and defence professionals. The first test is your passport and where you live: this award is restricted to citizens who also reside in its listed European countries when they apply. If you qualify, it covers programme fees, living expenses and return economy airfare. It is a professional fellowship, not a master’s degree.
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Who can move from security work into this UK fellowship?
You need a relevant mid-career role, at least five years of experience, and both citizenship and residence in an eligible country at application. The named countries are Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Residence in Europe by itself does not satisfy the citizenship rule. Residents of European overseas territories may use the relevant award scheme for their European country of citizenship.
Applicants must hold a postgraduate qualification or equivalent relevant professional training or experience. Eligible career paths span government, defence, intelligence, law enforcement, civil protection, academia, the private sector and international organizations, provided the applicant handles national or international security responsibilities and can influence policy, strategy or organizational effectiveness.
Show what you have led and how you will apply the fellowship afterwards. Chevening counts relevant full-time, part-time, voluntary and internship experience; its general guide equates five years to at least 7,200 hours.
General Chevening fellowship rules also apply: fellows must return to their country of award for at least one year afterwards, and British or dual British citizens are generally ineligible except for the stated British Overseas Territory exception. Recent UK-government scholarship funding and certain UK-government, British Council or sponsoring-university employment or family connections can also disqualify an applicant.
What happens during the 06 weeks, and what is paid?
The fellowship combines applied teaching with a policy or organizational research project. Its themes include leadership under complexity, institutional culture, cyber resilience, information threats, AI governance and decisions under pressure. Fellows attend workshops, simulations and UK institutional visits, then present their research findings to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London.
Cohort 1 runs from 25 January to 5 March 2027; cohort 2 runs from 15 March to 23 April 2027. The published package pays full programme fees, living expenses for the fellowship including pre-arranged accommodation close to Oxford, and return economy flights. Chevening does not state a cash stipend figure on this award page. Discuss six weeks of leave with your employer before applying; Chevening does not require you to resign.
How should you submit a credible fellowship application?
Apply through Chevening’s fellowship portal while this specific award remains open. The master’s scholarship has a separate application and deadline.
- Check the official fellowship page and general fellowship eligibility rules against your citizenship, residence and employment history.
- Prepare exact dates and hours for your relevant roles, evidence of your qualification or equivalent training, and concrete examples of leadership and influence. Shape a research idea around a security, governance, resilience or organizational challenge you know well; follow the portal’s actual document prompts.
- Open the Chevening application portal, select the Europe Defence and Security Fellowship, complete its eligibility questions and required fields, and submit before the deadline. Save your confirmation and follow Chevening’s subsequent instructions if shortlisted.
Application deadline: The last date to apply for the Chevening Europe Defence and Security Fellowship is 12 October 2026 at 11:00 UTC. Chevening does not publish a separate fee, financial-assistance or document deadline for this fellowship on its programme page; check any later requests and dates communicated through the portal.