Best Scholarships for African Students in 2026

The tier-1 fully-funded scholarships every African student should know

For UK study

• [Chevening](/scholarships/for-nigerian-students) — UK government, 1-year Master's, fully funded. Open to citizens of 40+ African countries.
• [Commonwealth Master's](/scholarships/for-kenyan-students) — UK FCDO, 1-year Master's for LMIC Commonwealth citizens.
• Rhodes Scholarship — 2-3 years at Oxford, fully funded. Highly selective; Africa-specific streams.

For Germany

• [DAAD EPOS](/scholarships/in-germany) — 1-2 year Master's or PhD; fully funded; requires 2+ years relevant work experience.
• DAAD Leadership for Africa — Master's for Sub-Saharan African nationals in peace, governance, and sustainable development.
• DAAD In-Region Programme — Master's/PhD *within* African universities, fully funded.

For USA

• Fulbright Foreign Student Program — Master's/PhD, fully funded; country-specific commissions in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, etc.
• MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program — Africa-focused; runs at 30+ partner universities globally.
• Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme — for East African nationals.

For Africa-based study

• African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scholarships — study at partner African universities.
• DAFI (UNHCR) — for refugees studying at universities in Africa.
• Mastercard Foundation Scholars @ African universities — at University of Cape Town, University of Pretoria, Kwame Nkrumah, AIMS, Ashesi, etc.

Country-specific "hidden gems"

Nigeria

• PTDF Overseas Scholarship — fully funded UK/German Master's in petroleum/energy fields.
• Bank of Industry Graduate Programme — MBA scholarships.

Kenya

• Australian Awards Africa — Master's in Australia for Kenyan public-sector workers.
• Kenya Government Scholarship Programme — for Kenyan citizens.

Ghana

• GNPC Foundation Scholarship — undergraduate & Master's in petroleum/energy.
• Ghana Government Scholarship Secretariat — undergraduate scholarships abroad.

South Africa

• NRF Free-Standing Scholarships — Master's/PhD funding for SA nationals.
• DHET Bursary — for undergraduates.

Ethiopia

• Ethiopia Ministry of Education Overseas Programme — competitive fully-funded scholarships abroad.

What separates winning African applicants

1. Applying to 12+ scholarships — not 2-3.
2. A crystal-clear development-impact story anchored in their home country.
3. Numbers — every achievement has a measurable outcome.
4. Strong references from senior academics at their home university.

Next step

Run the match quiz — filter shows every scholarship in our database open to your nationality, ranked by fit.