12 Scholarships for African Students in 2026 — Live Deadlines, Eligibility, and How to Apply

Scholarship deadlines, award amounts, eligibility rules and partner lists change every cycle. Every detail below is indicative, drawn from the awarding body’s published page on the date noted at the foot of this article — confirm the current cycle’s deadline, eligibility, and award value on the official link before applying. Where we mark a scholarship’s realism, that is Study Now’s editorial judgement based on publicly-available historical applicant-to-award ratios; it is not a published statistic from the awarding body and should be read as guidance, not a probability.

Why this list is different

Many "scholarships for African students" articles online are filler — long lists of awards where some have closed in prior cycles, some are restricted to one country with no flag, and some have very low award rates listed without context. We’ve focused this list on twelve scholarships that, as of 1 May 2026, publish current cycle pages and are open to African undergraduate or postgraduate applicants from Nigeria, Ghana, or Kenya. Always verify each cycle’s deadline on the awarding body’s own page before relying on a date below.

For each scholarship we mark a realism rating — Study Now’s editorial judgement on how achievable a given scholarship is for a strong-but-typical applicant from Nigeria, Ghana, or Kenya, based on historical applicant-to-award ratios published or reported by the awarding body. High = competitive but achievable with a strong application. Medium = competitive; profile fit matters. Low = highly selective, exceptional profile required. Treat these as guidance, not probabilities.

Fully funded master’s scholarships

1. Chevening Scholarship (UK Government) — fully-funded master’s at any UK university; current award covers tuition, living costs and travel as published on the official site. The application window opens annually (typically in the second half of the year) and closes in early November for the following year’s start; confirm the current cycle’s exact dates and award details on chevening.org. Strong work experience and a clearly-articulated leadership profile are central to selection. Realism: Medium (Study Now editorial).

2. Commonwealth Shared Scholarship — full master’s tuition + stipend at participating UK universities for low-and-middle-income Commonwealth students. Eligibility lists countries by income band — Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya are typically eligible, but confirm in the current cycle on cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk. Application windows are set by each participating UK university; check the deadline on the university’s CSC page rather than relying on a single global date. Realism: Medium-High (Study Now editorial).

3. Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program — full tuition + living + travel + technology support for African undergraduates and postgraduates at participating partner universities. The partner network has expanded over time and includes universities in the UK, USA, Canada, and across Africa; the current partner list, application routes and deadlines are published on mastercardfdn.org/scholars. Application is via the partner university, so deadlines and processes vary. Realism: High for committed applicants whose profile aligns with the programme’s scholar profile (Study Now editorial).

4. Rhodes Scholarship — two years of fully-funded postgraduate study at Oxford. Sub-Saharan Africa constituency application windows are published on rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk — confirm the current year. Selection prioritises academic excellence and leadership. Realism: Low (Study Now editorial).

5. Gates Cambridge Scholarship — full funding for master’s or PhD study at Cambridge. The current cycle’s deadlines are set per round on gatescambridge.org and align with Cambridge’s postgraduate application timetable. Realism: Low (Study Now editorial).

Undergraduate scholarships

6. Coventry University Africa Merit Scholarship — partial tuition reduction for African undergraduates; published amount and eligibility are on coventry.ac.uk scholarships. The application window is typically tied to receipt of a Coventry offer — confirm the current year’s process on the university’s page. Realism: High (Study Now editorial).

7. University of Sussex Africa Scholar — partial tuition reduction for selected African undergraduates; current value and deadline on sussex.ac.uk scholarships. Realism: Medium-High (Study Now editorial).

8. Bristol University Think Big Scholarship — undergraduate tuition reduction for international students. The current value range and deadline are published on the University of Bristol’s international scholarships page; confirm before applying as the structure has changed across cycles. Realism: Medium (Study Now editorial).

9. University of Westminster Full International Scholarship — full tuition + accommodation + a stipend, for international undergraduates from low-income backgrounds. Eligibility, current value, and deadline are on the University of Westminster’s scholarships page. Realism: Medium-Low (Study Now editorial), but transformational if won.

Country-specific scholarships

10. Nigeria — Federal Government Scholarship Board (Bilateral Education Agreement) — full sponsorship to selected partner countries. The Board publishes annual eligibility, partner-country list and deadline; routinely reviewed each cycle, so verify on the official Federal Scholarship Board notice for the current year. Realism: Medium for postgraduate applicants (Study Now editorial).

11. Ghana — GETFund Scholarship — Government of Ghana sponsorship for postgraduate study abroad, typically tied to public-sector return-of-service obligations. Current eligibility and deadline on getfund.gov.gh. Realism: Medium for sector-aligned applicants (Study Now editorial).

12. Kenya — Equity Group Foundation: Wings to Fly & Equity Leaders Program — long-running Kenyan-founded programmes supporting outstanding KCSE performers, including pathways into selective universities. Current eligibility and intake on equitygroupfoundation.com. Realism: Medium-High for top KCSE performers whose profile fits the published criteria (Study Now editorial).

The realistic application strategy

What we suggest to our students: apply to between four and seven scholarships, not fewer and not more. Below four, you’re concentrating risk on too few outcomes. Above seven, the quality of each individual application tends to fall below the threshold competitive selection requires. A reasonable stack might be: one full-tuition award where realism is High for your profile, two competitive master’s awards (Medium), one country-specific, one university-specific.

Each application is a meaningful body of work. Personal statements should not be recycled — selection committees recognise a generic essay quickly. Use one core narrative across applications, but rewrite the framing for each scholarship’s stated values. Our FAQ on writing scholarship personal statements walks through the structure we recommend.

What we can do for you

One thing, free, useful. Book a 15-minute scholarship-fit call: send us your profile and we’ll come back with the three scholarships from this list (or beyond) that we think you have the strongest realistic shot at. We aren’t able to guarantee outcomes — selection sits with each awarding body — but we can save you significant time by narrowing the field. We also review and mark up scholarship personal statements at no charge for applicants we work with; ask about that on the call.

For deeper context on funding, read our Nigeria funding guide (the principles apply across markets) and the FAQ on combining scholarships and education loans.