Nigerian students have access to a genuinely wide range of fully-funded scholarships across multiple destinations — the challenge is usually knowing which ones exist and which deadlines are actually current, rather than a shortage of real options.
Deadlines and figures reflect specific programs as published as of August 2026 and change annually — confirm current deadlines directly on each program’s official page before applying, and treat every date below as a starting reference, not a guarantee it hasn’t shifted.
United Kingdom
- SOAS Teaching Scholarship for PhD Students from Africa — full tuition plus a maintenance allowance around £20,622/year, specifically for African PhD applicants.
- Hyundai Motor Group Scholarship at SOAS — full tuition plus a living stipend, with 7 awards available per cycle.
- SEO London Africa Fellowship — an 8-week work experience program in London including flights, accommodation, and a living allowance (deadline around October 31, 2026 for the relevant cycle — verify current date).
- Chevening Scholarship — the UK government’s flagship fully-funded master’s award, open to Nigerian applicants with the standard eligibility criteria. Full guide: Chevening Scholarship.
United States
- Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship — comprehensive funding covering tuition, fees, books, living expenses, health insurance, and round-trip international airfare, for graduate study in the US.
Germany
- International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) PhD Fellowships — a stipend around €1,365/month for PhD research (deadline around December 31, 2026 — verify current date).
- EMBL International PhD Programme — full funding with a competitive salary for life-sciences PhD research (deadline around September 1, 2026 — verify current date).
- TWAS-DFG Cooperation Visits Programme — covers travel, accommodation, and a monthly stipend for shorter research visits rather than a full degree.
Germany’s appeal goes beyond scholarships too, since public university tuition is minimal regardless — see Studying in Germany for Free.
Australia
- UNSW International Research Scholarship — full tuition plus a living allowance around AU$38,000/year for research degrees (deadline around October 31, 2026 — verify current date).
Denmark
- Danish Government Scholarship — a full tuition waiver for master’s study (deadline around February 1, 2027 for that cycle — verify current date).
South Korea
- Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies International Scholarship — full tuition plus living expenses (deadline around December 31, 2026 — verify current date).
Netherlands
- Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) — covers tuition, travel, and a living allowance, aimed at students from a defined list of eligible countries that has included Nigeria — confirm current country eligibility directly, since OKP’s list is reviewed periodically.
Pan-African and multi-country options
- European Commission Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scholarship — fully funded master’s and PhD study across participating African universities.
- African Union Peace Fund Scholarship — full postgraduate funding for peace and security studies.
- AGRA Scholars Program — full scholarships for agricultural science degrees.
- Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program — full funding through partner universities across Africa and beyond, though you apply through the partner institution rather than centrally. Full guide: Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
Building a realistic application plan
With this many programs across this many destinations, the practical approach is to shortlist 4–6 that genuinely match your field, degree level, and target country, rather than applying broadly to everything — each of these has its own essays, recommendation letters, and requirements, and a focused, well-prepared application to fewer programs consistently outperforms a rushed application to many. See How to Write a Statement of Purpose and How to Get a Strong Recommendation Letter for the two components that matter most once you’ve picked your shortlist.