Fully-funded UK scholarships for Nigerian students in 2026/27

Search “UK scholarships for Nigerian students” and you get pages of the same recycled lists. Fifty entries deep, most of them expired, some of them never really existed. We wanted the opposite. A short, honest list of what is actually open, funded, and worth your time to apply for.

Four scholarships below. Each one verified against its official source at the time of writing, with the coverage and timing pulled from the real pages, not from another blog.

One thing before you start reading. Scholarship rules change every year, and small print changes even more often. Everything here is current now, but before you apply, click through to the official page (each one is linked) and confirm the eligibility and deadline for your specific intake year. That single habit saves people from spending months on an application that was never open to them.

The four fully-funded UK scholarships worth prioritising

1. Chevening Scholarship

Level: Postgraduate taught master’s (one year) Where: Almost any UK university Covers: Full tuition, monthly living stipend, return airfares, arrival and departure allowances Applications: Open early August, close early November each year Website: chevening.org

The best-known UK scholarship for Nigerian applicants, and for good reason. Chevening is funded by the UK government (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) and has been running since 1983. Over 1,500 Nigerians have won a Chevening since it started, making it one of the largest cohorts in the world.

You apply directly to Chevening, list three UK master’s courses you want to be considered for, and if you are selected you go on to secure your unconditional offer for at least one of them. You do not need offers in hand before applying.

Do not underestimate the competition. Recent Chevening cycles have reported tens of thousands of applications against roughly 1,500 to 1,700 awards worldwide, so the acceptance rate sits in the low single digits. The application weighs leadership and career impact at least as much as your grades. The people who get through tend to have at least two years of work experience behind them and a clear, specific story about what they want to do when they finish and return home. “I want to help my country” without a concrete plan does not survive the interview.

2. Commonwealth Master’s Scholarship

Level: Postgraduate taught master’s Where: Selected UK universities that partner with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Covers: Full tuition, monthly stipend (currently £1,712, or £2,000 in the London area), return airfare, study travel grant, and child allowance for eligible scholars Applications: Open September, close mid to late October each year (Sep 8 to Oct 20 for the most recent cycle, for September 2027 entry) Website: cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk

Nigeria is on the eligible-country list, confirmed on the CSC’s own site. The scheme is aimed at applicants from lower and middle-income Commonwealth countries who otherwise could not afford to study in the UK, so financial need is part of what they weigh. If you have the money to self-fund, this one is not designed for you.

One thing to know: you cannot apply directly to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. Applications must go through a national nominating agency or an eligible non-governmental organisation. In Nigeria, this usually means applying through a Commonwealth-affiliated body that nominates candidates for the UK cycle. Check the CSC website for the current list of Nigerian nominating agencies before you start.

3. Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Level: PhD, MPhil, MSc, MLitt, LLM, MRes, MASt (postgraduate at Cambridge only) Where: University of Cambridge Covers: Fully-funded (tuition, stipend, and other allowances; check the Gates Cambridge site for the current package) Applications: Two rounds each year (a US round for US citizens, and a global round for everyone else, including Nigerians) Website: gatescambridge.org

Established in 2000 with a large endowment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Open to any postgraduate applicant to Cambridge who is not a UK citizen, which includes Nigeria.

You apply for Gates Cambridge as part of your normal Cambridge postgraduate admissions application. There is one form, and you tick the Gates Cambridge funding box on it. You cannot apply for Gates Cambridge without also applying to Cambridge, so the two run together as one process.

Gates Cambridge is competitive even by scholarship standards. The selection is looking for outstanding academic ability, a real commitment to using what you learn to improve other people’s lives, and clear leadership. Reading between the lines, they are trying to spot people they think will make something significant of their careers, and the whole application is designed to draw that out.

4. Rhodes Scholarship (West Africa constituency)

Level: Postgraduate at Oxford Where: University of Oxford Covers: Fully-funded (tuition, college fees, stipend and other allowances; check the Rhodes site for the current package) Applications: Annual cycle, usually opening in the summer and closing in early autumn; check current dates on the Rhodes site Website: rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk

The Rhodes Scholarship is Oxford’s flagship international scholarship, running since 1902 and considered one of the most prestigious academic awards in the world. There is a West Africa constituency with a small allocation of scholarships each year.

Before you apply, confirm on the Rhodes Trust website that the West Africa constituency is open for your intake year and check the current list of eligible countries, because constituencies can change.

The Rhodes is often called the hardest scholarship in the world to win, and that reputation is earned. Selection weighs academic excellence, leadership, service, and character in roughly equal parts. The people who make it through are usually first-class honours graduates with a serious record of extracurricular work behind them. If you have never held a leadership role of any kind, the Rhodes is probably not the one to build a plan around.

How to find university-specific scholarships that are not on any list

The four above are the big fully-funded ones. But most Nigerian students end up funded by university-specific scholarships that never appear on generic guides, because they change every year and each university runs its own.

The reliable way to find them:

1. Go to each university on your target list individually. Whether you are applying undergraduate through UCAS or postgraduate direct, search each university’s own website for “international scholarships” or “Nigerian scholarships” or “scholarships for developing countries.” Each university has its own list, and it changes annually.

2. Look for partial fee waivers, not just full scholarships. A 20 percent tuition discount over three years can be worth as much as a small full scholarship over one year, and the competition is often lighter.

3. Check the British Council Study UK website. They keep a rolling list of scholarships promoted through their network.

4. Look at private trusts and foundations. A number of independent trusts run smaller scholarships for international students, some specifically for African or Commonwealth applicants. Search on official education sites like Study UK, or the postgraduate funding search on the UK Council for International Student Affairs, rather than trusting blog aggregator lists which are often out of date.

5. Ask the university’s international admissions team directly. Send a polite email once you have your offer letter. Many universities have scholarships that are not advertised prominently, and admissions teams will point you at them if you ask.

What to know before you apply

Start twelve months out. Most scholarships close nine to twelve months before your intended start date. If you want to start a UK master’s in September 2027, you should be researching scholarships in mid to late 2026 at the latest.

One weak application beats a strong one submitted late. All the good ones close in autumn. Missing a deadline by a day is a rejection, no matter how strong the essay is.

Your personal statement will be rewritten more than you think. Scholarship personal statements are different from university admissions personal statements. They ask more about your motivations, your career plans, and what you will do with the money. Draft it, put it down, come back to it a week later, rewrite it. Five drafts is the minimum.

Get your reference sorted early. All these scholarships require academic or professional references. Approach your referees two months before the deadline, not two weeks. See our post on why Nigerian applicants get rejected from UK universities for more on this.

Rejections are the norm. With acceptance rates in the low single digits for the big fully-funded programmes, most strong candidates apply two or even three years running before one lands. If you get a no on your first try, that does not mean you were not good enough. It means the maths is against everybody. Reapply.

The whole thing in a sentence

For 2026/27, the four fully-funded UK scholarships that are currently open to Nigerian applicants are Chevening, Commonwealth Master’s, Gates Cambridge, and Rhodes (West Africa). Everything else is university-specific and you have to search individual university sites to find.

Or, tell us where you are in the process

If you want a real read on which of these you are competitive for, or help mapping the university-specific scholarships to your target list, that is exactly what we do. Tell us where you are and we will come back within one working day. First call is honest, no pressure.

If you are still choosing between the UK and other countries, our post on UK vs Ireland vs Canada for Nigerian students walks through the trade-offs of each destination.