International scholarships for African students to study free abroad

Students from African countries can get a wide range of scholarships to study abroad, such as government scholarships, scholarships from the Commonwealth, and university scholarships. Please check the list below for some top options.

Please note that this page is updated yearly, and because the sponsors or institutions that open these scholarships may often change the period in which they accept applications, we may not keep up with these updates due to the volume of scholarships we publish here. Therefore, this page is basically intended to show you the endless opportunities you have to get a scholarship to study anywhere in the world. Simply click on the link to the scholarship you want to check the deadline for on the official website. Or click here to access our list of current scholarships. 

To study anywhere:

• Africa London Nagasaki (ALN) Fund – Graduate scholarships for African scientists to gain funding for a master’s degree in an area related to disease control in Africa. Scholarship winners can choose to study at London’s Institute of Tropical Medicine, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, or Nagasaki University in Japan.
• Aga Khan Foundation Scholarship Program – Needs-based graduate scholarships for African students at master’s and Ph.D. levels to study anywhere in the world.
• Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarships – International scholarships for African students within the Commonwealth* to study a part-time master’s degree by distance learning from select universities in the UK and worldwide.
• The Beit Trust Scholarships – International master’s degree and Ph.D. scholarships for African students from Malawi, Zambia, or Zimbabwe to study in the UK, Ireland, or South Africa at a leading university. Applicants need to have been accepted into the university to be eligible for the Beit Trust scholarship.
• Wells Mountain Foundation Scholarships – Needs-based scholarships for students from developing countries (including African nations) to gain funding for university at home or in a country in the developing world. Candidates must be planning to work and live in their own country after graduation and will be enrolled in a program of study that will either benefit the community or contribute to the country’s growth.
• Women Techmakers Scholars Program – Scholarships for women from Africa (as well as Europe and the Middle East) to study computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related technical field at any study level at a university in one of the aforementioned regions.
• Rotary Peace Fellowships – Fully-funded academic fellowships covering tuition fees, accommodation, transportation, and field-study expenses for master’s degree applicants. Applications are open to students from any African country and successful applicants will be able to study at a selection of top universities around the world.

To study in Africa:

• ACCESS Kenya – Partial scholarships for students from Kenya to gain funding to study at the undergraduate level at an accredited university in Kenya.
• Mandela Rhodes Scholarships – Scholarships for Africans with strong leadership skills to study for an honors or master’s degree at a recognized university in South Africa.
• Jim Ovia Scholarship – Scholarships for Nigerian students to gain funding to study at the undergraduate level in Nigeria. The award includes tuition and maintenance allowance.
• The Graduate Institute Geneva – A number list of unique masters and Ph.D. scholarships for academically talented students from Africa. Financial aid packages may include cost-of-living scholarships, tuition reduction, and/or a paid position, and are awarded based on the individual’s financial needs as well as academic merit.
• WAAW Foundation Scholarships – Need-based scholarships for female African students looking to pursue a STEM-focused undergraduate program (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) at a recognized African university.

To study in Asia-Pacific:

• Master’s Degree ABE Initiative – Scholarship for Africans to study in Japan in a development-related master’s degree program at an accredited university.
• Australia Awards Africa – Australian government scholarships for Africans to gain funding to study in Australia on a professional training course or master’s degree.

To study in Europe:

To study in Belgium:

• VLIR-UOS Awards Scholarships – Graduate scholarships for international students from Africa, Asia,d Latin America to study in Belgium on a development-related master’s degree or training program.

To study in Germany:

• DRD-DAAD Merit Scholarships – Scholarships for Sub-Saharan** Africans to study a development-related master’s or Ph.D. program in Germany. Scholarships will be awarded based on academic merit.

To study in Ireland:

• Irish Aid Scholarship Program – Scholarships for Tanzanian students to study for a master’s degree in Ireland.

To study in the Netherlands:

• Orange Knowledge Program – A range of scholarships open to individuals and organizations in the field of higher and vocational education. Individual scholarships are open to mid-career professionals who are nationals of and living and working in the listed countries.
• Sub-Saharan Africa Excellence Scholarships @ TU Delft – Four scholarships are available for excellent students from Sub-Saharan Africa to study for an MSc degree at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).

To study in the UK: 

• African Excellence Fee Waiver @ The University of Glasgow – International scholarships for African students worth the full tuition fee of a master’s degree at the University of Glasgow. Applicants will automatically be considered based on academic merit.
• African Graduate scholarships @ UCL – Needs-based scholarships for Africans with strong academic merit to study in the UK at UCL (University College London) in a master’s program within the Institute for Global Health.
• African Postgraduate Scholarships @ Edinburgh Napier University – Merit-based scholarships for Africans to gain partial funding to study in the UK at Edinburgh Napier University.
• Commonwealth Scholarships @ SOAS – Commonwealth scholarships are open to students from African commonwealth countries to study in the UK at SOAS (London) for a development-related master’s degree.
• Ruth First Scholarship @ Durham University – Scholarships for Africans from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to undertake postgraduate study in the UK at Durham University.
• Oppenheimer Fund Scholarships @ Oxford University – Scholarships for Africans who have previously studied at South African universities to study in the UK at Oxford University. Students should be applying to study a full-time master’s or DPhil course.
• African Scholarships @ The University of Edinburgh – Merit-based graduate scholarships to study in the UK at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) in a master’s or Ph.D. program.
• The Centre of African Studies Visiting Fellowship @ The University of Cambridge – Two visiting fellowships for African students to conduct research and writing at the University of Cambridge. Candidates must hold a teaching or research position at an African university.
• The Ibrahim Scholarship Program– Master’s degree and Ph.D. scholarships for aspiring African leaders to study in the UK at London Business School, SOAS, or the University of Birmingham.
• Africa Graduate Scholarships at UCL – Open to African national master’s students with a high-quality academic and professional background, who would not be able to afford to study at UCL without assistance.

To study in the US:

• Fulbright Foreign Student Program – International scholarships for graduate students, young professionals, and artists across the globe to study in the US for a year or more.
• Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders – Scholarships for African students from Sub-Saharan Africa to study in the US and gain leadership and business skills.
• MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program – Scholarships for African students to study in the US and Africa. The scholarship includes tuition fees, accommodation, and books.
• MSFS Full-Tuition Scholarship @ Georgetown University – Scholarships for Africans from sub-Saharan Africa to study in the US on the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program at Georgetown University in Washington DC.
• Stanford GSB Need-Based Fellowship at Stanford University – Scholarships for students wishing to study at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in the MBA program. Fellowships are awarded based on demonstrated financial need and on average award $80,000 in total.
• Zawadi Africa Education Fund for Young African Women – Scholarships for female students from disadvantaged backgrounds from Africa to study in other African countries or the US.
• 7UP Harvard Business School Scholarship – Open to Nigerian students who have successfully gained admission into a two-year program at Harvard Business School. The scholarship covers tuition, housing, a plane ticket to the US, and a ticket back.

Note that the list above is NOT exhaustive – there are lots of other scholarships open to African students. To find more opportunities, check the website of your chosen university and research funding offered via government schemes or external organizations (e.g. the IET offers funds for engineering students).

* African Commonwealth countries: Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.

** Sub-Saharan African countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.