Top 10 Scholarship Opportunities You Need to Study Abroad

Quality education has been a bedrock for advancement in developed countries. Many Nigerians have come to this term.

Therefore, they seek opportunities to study abroad in developed countries.

In pursuing your dream of studying abroad, you can face the challenge of how to finance your studies.

Amongst the many funding options available to Nigerians for study abroad, scholarship has remained the most accessible.

Year in and year out, a good number of Nigerians keep travelling abroad to study using available local and international scholarship opportunities.

Are you a Nigerian passionate about studying abroad but lacks the finances to do so? I’m creating this article specifically with you in mind.

Before we discuss scholarships available for you, let’s understand what study abroad scholarships are all about.

What Are Study Abroad Scholarships?

The financial help given to students to aid them cater for their academic needs is a scholarship. A study abroad scholarship is funding that takes care of your study in a foreign country.

Do you know that accessing and using scholarship opportunities is a sure way to smash your academic goal of studying abroad?

Imagine your study expenses being taken care of for your study abroad without repaying a dime. This is the biggest advantage of studying abroad using a scholarship.

Instead of seeking study abroad loans, you can seek scholarship opportunities in your chosen school of study, country, and program.

The difference between a scholarship and a study loan is that you don’t need to repay the scholarship, but you must repay the study loans alongside its interest.

This is the reason it is more advisable to apply for a scholarship for your study abroad instead of seeking loans.

Without leaving the shores of Nigeria, you can seek and access scholarship opportunities from different schools, government, and scholarship bodies to begin your study abroad.

I’m sure you are curious to find out about scholarships that can help you pursue your dream of studying abroad.

So, let’s look at the ten overall best study abroad scholarships for Nigerians.

10 Overall Best Study Abroad Scholarships For Nigerian Students

As a Nigerian, you can access the following scholarships for your study abroad.

1. Chevening scholarship

This is one of the fully funded scholarships for Nigerian students to study abroad, provided by the UK government for international students.

Chevening Scholarships help outstanding leaders from all over the world get a master’s degree in the UK in just one year.

Chevening Scholars aren’t looking for ordinary applicants but the passionate, innovative, and influential ones who can lead the way towards a better future.

These scholarships cover all expenses (flights, accommodation, and course fees), so you can fully immerse yourself in your professional goals and make the most of this amazing experience.

You will be in the UK for a year, growing professionally and academically, making lots of connections, immersing in UK culture, and forming long-lasting relationships.

By the end of your program, you would have the skills and connections to bring your ideas to life.

To get this scholarship, you need to meet the requirements of at least two years of work experience, completion of a bachelor’s degree, and application to 3 different collaborating universities in the UK.

You need to get admission to one of the partnering UK universities to receive the scholarship award.

2. Government of Canada Scholarship

Are you an international student who wants to study in Canada or a Canadian scholar who needs funding for studies or research abroad? Look no further!

Among many scholarship opportunities in Canada, Nigerians are eligible to apply to this scholarship for both study and research purposes.

The Government of Canada scholarship covers either undergraduate or postgraduate study.

Also, it funds your travel expenses, visa, tuition fees, accommodation, health insurance, and stationeries.

At the end of your study in Canada, it is compulsory to return to your home country.

If you don’t mind travelling to an environment with cold climatic conditions, you can choose to go to Canada.

3. Radboud Scholarship Programme

You can apply for this scholarship, if you want to study in Europe, precisely in the Netherlands.

The University of Radboud offers this partial scholarship to its academically outstanding students to study an English-taught one-year master’s program in specific fields.

Radboud scholarship comes with a drastic reduction in your tuition fees.

Aside from your tuition, the scholarship covers your visa, health and liability insurance, and residence permit.

However, the scholarship does not cover living and studying expenses for your stay in the Netherlands.

Are you a Nigerian seeking to begin your master’s program in Europe?

You can apply for a Radboud study abroad scholarship as you are applying for admission to the University of Radboud.

Once you show in your admission application that you want to study with a scholarship, you will be required to upload certain documents for scholarship consideration.

4. MasterCard Foundation Scholarship

Partnering with universities across the globe, Mastercard Foundation provides scholarships for your undergraduate or graduate study.

You can only apply for the scholarship through any of the partnering universities. Some collaborating schools require that you pay an application fee.

The MasterCard Foundation Scholarship will pay you back the application fee, if you are finally awarded.

Remember that you can apply to many collaborating schools that liaise with the MasterCard Foundation.

To receive the MasterCard Foundation Scholarship Award, you must meet the partner university like providing Recommendation letters, English test scores, academic essays, and required documents and sending in the application before the stated deadline.

5. SBW Berlin Scholarship

The SBW Berlin Scholarship is for international students who have shown dedication to social causes and want to continue their impact back home.

It is an avenue for you to pursue your master’s or doctorate program in Germany.

The SBW Berlin scholarship takes care of tuition, accommodation, and all your living costs.

They expect you to carry on with your projects in your home country using the skills you gained here.

Who is qualified for these scholarships?

• Foreigners from countries that need extra support.

• If you have a student visa or residence permit for studying.

• Between the ages of 18 and 30

• Experience in non-profit/social work (with recommendation letters).

• You haven’t lived in Germany for over 18 months before applying and no immediate family is living in Germany

• Ready to work for at least 18 months after graduation or do charity work in Germany until you pay back.

It is better you apply before starting your studies or while you are in your first, second, or maximum third semester at a recognized university (in Germany or abroad).

You can also apply for a master’s degree shortly before or after getting your bachelor’s degree.

6. DAAD Scholarship

With a wide range of scholarship and grant options, the DAAD scholarship has a scholarship opportunity that matches your course and program type for your postgraduate study in Germany.

Notwithstanding that the DAAD scholarship does not cover tuition fees, it has financial coverage for many expenses.

This financial coverage includes accommodation, health insurance, a German language course allowance, TestDAF fee repayment, travel costs, a monthly stipend for your dependents, and a monthly scholarship payment.

The DAAD scholarship relieves you of these expenses. This is massive!

Awarding the DAAD scholarship depends on your excellent academic record, internship, relevant work experiences, participation in extracurricular activities, and motivation and prospects.

The scholarship covers a maximum of two years of study.

7. Fulbright Scholarship

As an international student from Nigeria, you are eligible to apply for a Fulbright scholarship.

With this scholarship, you can choose to research in the US. Fulbright scholarship is strictly for doctoral programs in various fields of study.

The grant covers a lot of expenses, including accommodation, settling-in allowance, stationery and computer allowance, travel fare, health insurance, and a monthly stipend.

With outstanding academic achievement, a sound proposal, and meeting the minimum requirements for English Tests, you can be considered for this scholarship.

More so, as a Nigerian who has not studied in the US before, the Fulbright scholarship gives significant consideration to someone like you.

8. Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship

Whether you are applying for bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral programs, the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship supports your academic journey.

This scholarship enables you to study English-taught programs at specific universities in Hungary, Europe.

Applying for a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship requires that you apply through their sending partner agencies at no cost.

The scholarship is fully funded. However, the scholarship does not cover all programs.

Stipendium Hungaricum is one of the undergraduate scholarships for Nigerian students to study abroad.

9. CIEE Scholarship

CIEE offers different scholarships and grants depending on need, academic achievement, and other funding needs. The sole aim of CIEE is to finance your study abroad.

You have to write an essay and complete your application for you to stand a chance to get the scholarship for your study.

CIEE also provides information on study abroad programs in different countries that are eligible for their scholarship.

10. International Cultural Service Program (ICSP) Scholarship

The University of Oregon (UO) USA provides ICSP scholarships for international students. Be it as a new or old international student, you can apply for this scholarship.

This partial scholarship involves the waiver of tuition fees. As a prospective student, you are expected to apply for admission and after a week apply for the scholarship.

As part of the eligibility criteria, you need admission into the University of Oregon, take part actively in cultural activities, have excellent academic records, and show the need for the scholarship.

How To Study Abroad With Scholarships

To apply and study abroad with a scholarship is not a walk in the park as it requires the investment of time and effort to get results.

To help you with a seamless journey on how to study abroad with a scholarship, I have compiled this list for you.

Research for schools that are partnering with scholarship bodies in your country of choice.

Research for programs in these schools. Streamline the scholarship partnering schools to those that are offering your program of interest.

Check out the school and program’s eligibility criteria and requirements.

Further streamline the schools, removing those schools that you couldn’t meet their criteria.

Apply for admission to the selected academic institutions through the application form on the website.

• Upload the necessary documents.

• Pay for the application fee (if there is any).

• Submit your application before the deadline.

From the application timeline, you can now wait for feedback on the next step to take.

If you are qualified for the scholarship, you will receive an email with an offer of a scholarship for your study after some time.

You are expected to either accept or reject the offer to become a scholar.

This way, you are ready to start your study abroad journey with a scholarship.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion On Top 10 Scholarships For Nigeria Students To Study Abroad

Before you apply for admission to schools abroad, ensure that the school has funding available.

If not, you can seek independent scholarship bodies in that country to apply for funding.

As a Nigerian student, there are many scholarship opportunities that you can use for your study abroad.

Scholarships like Chevening, Fullbright, ICSP, DAAD, SBW Berlin, CIEE, MasterCard Foundation, and Stipendium Hungaricum are available to make your study abroad dream a reality.