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Scholarship providers for African students

The major government, foundation and university funders that sponsor African Bachelors, Masters and PhD students each year — each with a deep-dive guide and the live, currently-open opportunities from our database.

Looking for the six flagship awards (Chevening, Fulbright, DAAD, Mastercard, Commonwealth, Erasmus Mundus)? See the awards hub.

China

Chinese Government Scholarship

China's flagship CSC programme — fully funded Bachelors, Masters and PhD scholarships at 280+ Chinese universities.

Read the provider guide →

Japan

MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship

Japan's flagship MEXT scholarship — fully funded undergraduate, research and teacher-training awards at Japanese universities.

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South Korea

Global Korea Scholarship

South Korea's flagship GKS programme — fully funded undergraduate and graduate scholarships at top Korean universities.

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Australia

Australia Awards Scholarships

Australia's flagship development scholarship — fully funded Masters at Australian universities for emerging African leaders.

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France

Eiffel Excellence Scholarship

France's flagship Eiffel Excellence Scholarship — Masters and PhD funding for top international students at French institutions.

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Sweden

Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals

Sweden's flagship SISGP scholarship — fully funded one-year Masters at Swedish universities for emerging African leaders.

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United Kingdom

Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's flagship Cambridge scholarship — full Masters and PhD funding at the University of Cambridge.

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United Kingdom

Rhodes Scholarship

The world's oldest international scholarship — fully funded postgraduate study at the University of Oxford.

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China

Schwarzman Scholars

Tsinghua University's flagship one-year Masters in Global Affairs — fully funded for emerging global leaders.

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United States

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Stanford University's flagship multi-disciplinary graduate scholarship — full funding for any Stanford graduate degree.

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Canada

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Canada's flagship doctoral scholarship — CAD 50,000 per year for three years at any Canadian university.

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Netherlands

Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP)

Netherlands' flagship development scholarship — fully funded short courses and Masters at Dutch institutions.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a scholarship provider?

A provider — also called a sponsor or funder — is the organisation that pays for a scholarship. It can be a national government (CSC, MEXT, GKS), a foundation (Gates, Rhodes, Mastercard), a university (Stanford, Tsinghua, Oxford) or a regional body (European Commission, Commonwealth).

Why does the provider matter when applying?

Each provider sets its own eligibility, funding, deadline and selection process. Knowing the provider helps you understand what the scholarship will actually fund, who you'll be representing, and whether the application is run by an embassy, a university or a foundation.

Are these providers open to all African countries?

Most accept applicants from across Africa, but several (Australia Awards, Orange Knowledge, MEXT Embassy track, Commonwealth) restrict eligibility to a defined country list. Each provider page on this site states the current eligible countries.

How are these providers verified?

We track every provider against its official sponsor domain. If a programme moves, closes or changes terms, the change flows through to the listings on each provider page within 24 hours.