Scholarships Closing in September–October 2026 (Fully Funded Picks for African Students)
Ten verified scholarships, fellowships and bursaries open to African students with deadlines in September and October 2026 — Schwarzman, MSCA, ARES Belgium, Commonwealth Master's, IHE Delft and more. Exact deadlines and direct apply links.
Every opportunity below closes in September or October 2026, every entry links to its full verified record on this site, and every apply button goes to the official provider. Two of the ten close within days of publication — if one fits you, stop reading and start the application.
Want the live, always-current version of this list? The scholarship hub can be filtered by deadline window, and our quarterly closing-soon list updates continuously.
- 1
Schwarzman Scholars Program
ChinaMastersDeadline: 9 September 2026Why it's worth your time: One-year fully funded Master's in Global Affairs at Tsinghua — tuition, housing, travel, stipend and insurance. Closes almost immediately; submit this week.
Funding: Fully funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 2
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
Multiple (Europe)PostdocDeadline: 9 September 2026Why it's worth your time: The flagship EU postdoc award — salary, mobility and family allowances for 1–2 years of research in Europe, open to African PhD holders.
Funding: Fully funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 3
ARES Scholarships in Belgium for Developing Countries
BelgiumBachelors, MastersDeadline: 18 September 2026Why it's worth your time: Fully funded study and training grants in francophone Belgium, explicitly for nationals of developing countries — including many African states.
Funding: Fully funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 4
The Wellcome Prize 2026 for Mental Health Science
MultipleResearchersDeadline: 18 September 2026Why it's worth your time: Prestigious Wellcome funding for mental health science — open to African researchers; a strong CV-maker even beyond the prize money.
Funding: Fully funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 5
IOC Olympic Studies Centre Research Grant Programme 2027
MultiplePhD / early careerDeadline: 22 September 2026Why it's worth your time: Research grants for PhD students and early-career academics working on Olympic and sport studies — a niche with far fewer applicants than mainstream awards.
Funding: Fully funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 6
Toyota SA Motors Bursary
South AfricaUndergraduateDeadline: 30 September 2026Why it's worth your time: Corporate bursary for South African undergraduates via StudyTrust — engineering, IT and related fields, with a pipeline into graduate employment.
Funding: Bursary
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 7
IHE Delft Water Scholarships — Sahel, Horn of Africa, MENA & SIDS
NetherlandsMastersDeadline: 1 October 2026Why it's worth your time: Funded MSc places in water and sustainable development earmarked for candidates from the Sahel and Horn of Africa — including Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and neighbours.
Funding: Fully or partly funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 8
GIST Scholarships for International Graduate Students
South KoreaMasters, PhDDeadline: 7 October 2026Why it's worth your time: Full tuition plus a monthly stipend at one of Korea's top research institutes — all admitted international graduate students receive scholarship support.
Funding: Full tuition + stipend
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 9
Commonwealth Master's Scholarships
United KingdomMastersDeadline: 20 October 2026Why it's worth your time: The big one: full tuition, stipend and flights for a UK Master's, reserved for candidates from eligible Commonwealth countries — most of Anglophone Africa qualifies.
Funding: Fully funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link - 10
STIAS Iso Lomso Fellowships for Early-Career African Researchers
South AfricaFellowshipDeadline: 31 October 2026Why it's worth your time: A multi-year fellowship for early-career African researchers with residency periods at STIAS in Stellenbosch — one of the continent's premier research sabbaticals.
Funding: Fully funded
Full eligibility, documents and apply link
How to apply without missing the window
- Pick two, not ten. Choose the two opportunities where you already have most of the documents.
- Block 90 minutes per application. Two well-crafted applications beat ten rushed ones.
- Submit 48 hours early. Every year, portals collapse on the final day. Don't be there for it.
- Set one more reminder: our monthly deadline roundup publishes at the start of each month — bookmark the blog.
Hubs in this guide
Open the full scholarship pool for any topic referenced above.
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