Scholarship Deadlines in Pakistan: Every HEC and Other Date Closing in October 2026
Dated list of scholarships closing in October 2026 for Pakistanis, from COMSATS Lahore on 15 October to Charles Wallace on 31 October, with what we checked.
Six scholarship deadlines fall between 15 and 31 October 2026 for Pakistani students: COMSATS Lahore on 15 October, the Commonwealth Scholarship on 20 October, two HEC awards on 30 October, and two awards on 31 October. We re-opened the official pages on 7 October. Where we could not, this list says so.
Scholarship dates travel badly. They get copied from last year, shifted by a day, or borrowed from a different country's programme. One Fulbright date doing the rounds this week belongs to American applicants, not Pakistanis.
So this list is built the other way round. Each date below carries a label showing what we checked and when. A date marked "not re-checked" is the date we found earlier, and you should confirm it on the official page before you plan around it.
The October 2026 scholarship deadlines in date order
The nearest deadline is 15 October at COMSATS Lahore, then 20 October for the Commonwealth Scholarship. Two HEC awards close on 30 October and the Charles Wallace bursary on 31 October. The Swiss scholarship also lists 31 October, which we did not re-check.
| Closing date | Scholarship | Who it is for | What we checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 October | HEC Need-Based Scholarship at COMSATS Lahore | BS students admitted on open merit | Campus notice read 7 October |
| 20 October | Commonwealth Scholarship through HEC | Master's and PhD applicants for the UK | HEC and CSC pages read 7 October |
| 30 October | Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fellowship | Full-time PhD students in Pakistan | HEC pages read 7 October |
| 30 October | HEC US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor, Spring or Summer 2027 intake | PhD admits at top 100 US universities | Advert read 1 October, HEC page still open 7 October |
| 31 October | Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust bursary | Pakistani PhD students already in the UK | Trust page read 7 October |
| 31 October | Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship | Pakistani researchers and PhD applicants | Not re-checked |
Dates are for the closing day. Most pages do not state a closing hour, so aim to finish a day early.
15 October: COMSATS Lahore takes need-based scholarship forms
COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus set Thursday 15 October 2026 for hard forms and documents, after an online data entry. It is for BS students of all batches admitted on open merit, with family income below the poverty threshold.
HEC does not set one national date for this scheme, so students at other universities should wait for their own notice. The campus details are in our COMSATS Lahore need-based scholarship report, and the full process is in the HEC Need-Based Scholarship explainer.
20 October: Commonwealth Scholarship needs two applications
HEC and the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission both close on 20 October 2026, HEC at 4:00 pm Pakistan time and the CSC at 16:00 British time. HEC has 26 nominations for Master's and 30 for PhD, and asks for a HAT score of at least 60.
On 20 October the UK is still on summer time, so the CSC's 16:00 is 8:00 pm in Pakistan by our conversion. Treat HEC's 4:00 pm as the one that governs your HEC form, and finish both early. Our Commonwealth Scholarship guide explains both portals.
30 October: two HEC awards close the same day
The Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fellowship takes applications from 6 to 30 October 2026 for full-time PhD students in Pakistan. The Knowledge Corridor round for a Spring or Summer 2027 US intake also closes on 30 October.
They are different things. The fellowship pays for a six month research visit abroad and is covered in our Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fellowship report. The Knowledge Corridor funds a full PhD in the United States and needs an admission letter first, as set out in the Knowledge Corridor PhD guide. A Fall 2027 US start has a later deadline of 30 March 2027.
31 October: Charles Wallace and the Swiss scholarship
The Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust takes doctoral bursary applications by email on the last day of April and the last day of October. For 2026 that is 31 October. Some reports say 30 October, but the trust's own page says "the last day of October".
Our Charles Wallace bursary page has the form and the supervisor letter. The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship is also reported to close on 31 October, per the Swiss embassy notice we read on 29 September. The Swiss federal page we opened on 7 October says applications opened on 20 August 2026 and that deadlines differ by country, but it did not show Pakistan's date. So confirm the Swiss date with the embassy. Our Swiss scholarship guide has the details.
Reported dates we could not confirm
Two more October dates appear online, and we have not been able to confirm either. The Dalda Foundation says its yearly window runs from 15 July to 30 October, which we have not re-checked. A 31 October date for the Alkhidmat scholarship is widely reported, but we did not find it on the portal on 1 October.
- Dalda Foundation: window "15 July to 30 October" per the foundation, not re-checked. See the Dalda Foundation scholarship page.
- Alkhidmat: 31 October reported, not confirmed. See the Alkhidmat scholarship page.
- Chevening: closed on 6 October 2026, per the date we recorded earlier, not re-checked today. See Chevening for Pakistanis.
The Chevening date is on this list as a warning, not an opportunity. If you missed it, the next useful dates are later: Yenching Academy closes on 30 November 2026 (not re-checked), and Gates Cambridge on 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on your course.
How to protect yourself from a wrong date
Find the official page, read the date there, and write it down with the page's name. Never rely on a screenshot in a group chat. If the page shows no closing hour, submit a day early and keep your confirmation.
Three habits help.
- Open the awarding body's own page, not a listing site.
- Check which country the date is for. A U.S. citizen date is not yours.
- Email the contact on the page if two dates disagree, and keep the reply.
For other dates through the year, see the Pakistan deadlines calendar.
Common questions
Which scholarship closes first in October 2026?
The COMSATS Lahore HEC Need-Based Scholarship, on Thursday 15 October 2026, for students at that campus.
What is the Commonwealth Scholarship deadline through HEC?
20 October 2026. HEC closes at 4:00 pm Pakistan time, and you must also apply to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
Which HEC scholarships close on 30 October 2026?
The Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fellowship and the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor round for Spring or Summer 2027 intake.
Is the Charles Wallace deadline 30 or 31 October?
31 October. The trust's page gives the deadlines as the last day of April and the last day of October.
Has Chevening closed for Pakistanis?
Yes, on 6 October 2026, according to the date we recorded earlier. We did not re-check it today.
Can I trust deadlines on scholarship listing sites?
No. Read the date on the awarding body's own page, because listing sites often copy last year's dates.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We last checked on 7 October 2026. We opened HEC's Commonwealth announcement, the Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fellowship pages and the Need-Based Scholarship pages on hec.gov.pk, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission's Master's page, the COMSATS Lahore announcement and the Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust page. The Knowledge Corridor date comes from HEC's advert, read on 1 October. The Swiss, Dalda, Alkhidmat, Chevening and Yenching dates were not re-checked.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
