Work experience

Chevening Fellowship applicants must ensure that they meet the minimum work experience requirement for the fellowship programme that they are applying to before submitting their Chevening application:

• Minimum five years of work experience in a relevant related field. Some fellowship programmes have different/additional work experience requirements and you are advised to check all individual programme requirements before applying.

If you do not already have the level of work experience required for your chosen fellowship programme, you will be unable to submit your application.

Eligible types of work experience

The types of work experience that are eligible for Chevening can include:

• Full-time employment
• Part-time employment
• Voluntary work
• Paid or unpaid internships

You do not need to meet the work experience requirement in one period of employment. Applicants can submit up to fifteen different employment periods in order to meet the requirement. If you have held more than fifteen positions then please enter the periods which make up the greatest number of hours worked.

Please note: it is not a requirement of Chevening that you resign from your work position. You are advised to discuss your application with your employer and it is your responsibility to ensure that they will release you if you are selected for a Chevening Fellowship. The British embassy/high commission or the Chevening Secretariat cannot intervene in this.

How to calculate your work experience

Your entries will be calculated automatically by multiplying the number of weeks worked by the number of hours worked per week. For this calculation, a working week comprises 35-60 hours and a working year comprises 40-50 weeks. Anything that exceeds the upper limit for full-time employment will be deemed ineligible.

The minimum numbers of hours an applicant must have before applying for a Chevening Fellowship are as follows:

• Chevening Fellowships – five years’ work experience = 7,200 hours
• Chevening Fellowships – seven years’ work experience = 9,800 hours
• Chevening Fellowships – ten years’ work experience = 14,400 hours

If you have worked part-time, the minimum requirement will have been accumulated over a longer period.