Finding a fully funded master's scholarship as an African student can feel overwhelming: there are dozens of programmes, each with different eligibility requirements, deadlines, and essay formats. This guide cuts through the noise and ranks the best fully funded master's scholarships for African students by three practical criteria: accessibility (minimum GPA and experience required), funding value (what the scholarship actually covers), and acceptance rate (your realistic probability of success).
All scholarships listed here are verified as fully funded: covering tuition, living expenses, and flights, and are currently accepting African applicants.
Most accessible (GPA 2.8–3.0): DAAD EPOS (2.8), Orange Knowledge Programme (2.8), Erasmus Mundus (3.0), Chevening (3.0), Commonwealth (3.3), Fulbright (3.0), VLIR-UOS Belgium (3.0), Ireland Fellows (3.0), MAEC-AECID Spain (3.0). Moderately competitive (GPA 3.3–3.5): Edinburgh Global Research (3.3), UCL Graduate Research (3.3), Eiffel Excellence France (3.3), Mo Ibrahim MSc Governance (3.5), McCall MacBain Canada (3.0 but highly competitive in practice). Highly competitive (GPA 3.5+): Gates Cambridge (3.7), Rhodes (3.7), Knight-Hennessy Stanford (3.5+).
Stipends vary significantly by country and programme. UK scholarships (Chevening, Gates Cambridge) offer among the highest nominal stipends, £1,108–£2,520/month, but London's cost of living absorbs much of this. Canadian scholarships (McCall MacBain) offer CAD$25,000/year living allowance. Australian Awards offer approximately AUD$32,500/year. DAAD offers €861/month. Erasmus Mundus offers €1,400/month. On a purchasing power basis (what you can actually buy with the stipend in the host country), Germany and Australia often come out ahead of the UK.
Erasmus Mundus and DAAD have relatively streamlined application processes. Erasmus Mundus requires a motivation letter and CV: no multiple essay questions. DAAD EPOS requires a project outline and motivation letter. Chevening is the most intensive, requiring four separate essays plus an interview. Commonwealth is similarly demanding. If you are applying for the first time, starting with DAAD or Erasmus Mundus gives you experience with the format before tackling Chevening.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program covers the most costs comprehensively, including personal development activities and leadership programmes beyond standard tuition and stipend. Gates Cambridge and Rhodes also include exceptional research support. For the broadest access across all African countries, Chevening and Commonwealth are the most established.
Yes. DAAD EPOS, Erasmus Mundus, the Australian Awards, and most university-specific scholarships cover STEM fields. Some scholarships, like the Commonwealth Master's Scholarship, explicitly encourage STEM applications. The Swedish Institute's Pioneering Women in STEM scholarship is specifically for women in technical fields.
In the US and Canada, PhD programmes are almost always fully funded with stipends. Master's funding is more competitive and limited. In Europe, both master's and PhD scholarships are common. If you eventually want a PhD, applying for a funded master's first and then the PhD is a longer route: but it gives you time to build research experience and a stronger PhD application. Some Erasmus Mundus programmes lead naturally into PhD opportunities at the partner universities.
Most advisors recommend applying for 5–8 scholarships simultaneously. This maximises your chances while keeping each application focused and high-quality. Applying to more than 10 risks spreading your attention too thin and reducing the quality of each application. Use StudiePoint's application tracker to manage multiple applications and their different deadlines.
Last updated: April 2026. Find scholarships on StudiePoint AI →