Applying for a fully-funded scholarship is one of the best ways to study abroad as an intentional international student. Quite a number of governmental bodies offer fully-funded scholarships through their education ministries in conjunction with their embassies and some participating institutions. Usually, this is done to increase bilateral relationships between their countries and other countries whose citizens are eligible to apply for the scholarships.
Every year, a detailed number of applicants get lucky to be awarded fully-funded scholarships by the governments of other countries other than theirs. Who knows? you could be the next in line.
Usually, a fully-funded scholarship is expected to cover all expenses of the scholars during their studies. These expenses include accommodation, air trips, health insurance, stipends, tuition, books and stationaries, and all that might be necessary for the scholars to perform well in classes.
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Our writers have curated a list of government scholarships that they believe might benefit your search. Below is a compilation of our top-5 rated fully-funded government scholarships:
1. Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC Scholarship)
The Chinese Government are the biggest scholarship provider in the world to both its citizens and International students. The scholarships offered by the Chinese government are too numerous to mention. It is usually fully funded for international students. This scholarship is available for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies at more than 280 Chinese Universities. Chinese Government Scholarship covers accommodation, basic health insurance and a monthly allowance of up to thirty-five hundred (3500) Yuan.
The Chinese Scholarship Council is in charge of seeing to the selection of eligible candidates. Amidst all, the sole aim of these scholarships is to promote education, culture, cooperation and mutual understanding between China and other countries.
Eligibility for the Chinese Government Scholarship
- Applicants must be international students
- Age requirements must be met: 18-25 years for undergraduate applicants, 18-35 years for master’s applicants and 18-40 years for doctorate degree applicants.
- Applicants must possess good results
How to Apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship
Note: There are about 279 universities that can accept CSC scholarship students. You need to identify a university that offers the CSC scholarship. The CSC scholarship scheme has provisions for fully-funded and partially-funded scholarships, so you need to determine if you want fully funded or partially-funded scholarships
- You need to identify the agency number ( that is, the agency of the institution that is sponsoring you for your scholarship).
- Let your documents be ready
- Submit your documents to the right and relevant authorities before the deadline
- Best of Luck
2. Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme
This is a scholarship scheme by the United Kingdom Government aimed at students from across the Commonwealth who would not be able to afford to study in the UK. The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission ( CSC) is in charge of receiving applications and selecting eligible applicants.
Eligibility for the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme
- Applicants must be a citizen or a permanent residents of a Commonwealth country
- Applicant can be a refugee or British protected person
- Applicants must have graduated from a recognized university with a first-class degree or at least second class upper
- PhD applicants must have an appropriate master’s degree
- Applicants must be unable to afford to study in the UK
Note: The eligibility criteria for each type of scholarship and fellowship vary but the criteria above is the general criteria.
The following documents must also be made available while applying to the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme:
- Proof of citizenship/ refugee status
- Transcripts detailing all higher education qualifications
- University degree certificates
- Reference letter from two individuals to be submitted by the referee
- A supporting statement from a proposed supervisor in the UK from at least one of the institutions listed in the application form has to be directly submitted by the supervisor.
- Documents uploaded on the online application system must not exceed 5MB in size and must be in either PDF, DOC, DOCX, or JPG format.
How to Apply for the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme
- Apply through a National nominating agency of your country (Each country has its own nominating bodies, rules, eligibility and deadlines for candidates)
- Start your application by following the online process on your country page on the Commonwealth scholarship commission website.
- Your application will be sent to your country’s nominating agency.
3. DAAD Scholarship Programme in Germany
DAAD Scholarship is a fully-funded Government scholarship for international students to study in Germany. The program is between 12 and 36 months depending on the length of the chosen study program.
Year after year, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) supports over a hundred thousand (100,000) German and international students and researchers around the globe – making it the world’s largest funding organisation of its kind.
DAAD scholarships are aimed at graduates, doctoral students and postdoctoral students and are awarded for study and research visits to universities and non-university research institutions in Germany. In some programmes, internships are also funded.
DAAD awards Research Grants; Short-Term Grants for PhD students and One-Year Grants for Doctoral Candidates.
Eligibility for the DAAD Scholarship Programme in Germany
- For international programmes, an English Language certificate is required ( TOEFL or IELTS).
- For other programs, a German Language certificate is required ( DSH or TestDaF)
- Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree in an appropriate course.
- Applicants have at least two years of professional experience
- Applicants’ Motivation must be development-related and be responsible socially and on completing the course, He/she is expected to initiate and support processes of change in their personal and professional environment.
The following documents must also be made available while applying to the DAAD Scholarship Programme:
- Signed application form with the current date
- Personally signed Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Personally signed letter of motivation ( 2 pages maximum)
- Letter of recommendation from your current employer( letter must contain the letterhead, a signature and an official stamp and must be of current date)
- Certificate of employment from your employer with proof of minimum 2 years working experience ( after bachelor’s degree), a guarantee of reemployment from your employer upon returning home.
- Proof of language skills ( English- IELTS or TOEFL, German- Required for courses taught in German)
Note: institutional TOEFL is not allowed - Copies of Academic degrees
- Copies of Academic transcript
Note: some courses may require additional documents.
How to Apply for the DAAD Scholarship Programme
- Choose a course of interest (maximum of three courses arranged in order of priority)
- Apply to a university offering that course
- Send your complete application with documents to the universities directly
- A selection committee suggests potential candidates for a DAAD Scholarship
- Suggested candidates will be contacted by DAAD to upload their complete application to the DAAD portal (link will be provided through email)
- Selected candidates will be informed accordingly.
4. The Fulbright Scholarship Programme
The Fulbright Scholarship Programme is an international exchange body sponsored and funded by the United States (US) Government that aids both US students to study abroad, and foreign students to study in the United States.
The Fulbright Foreign Student Programme is administered/supervised/conducted by Binational Fulbright Commissions or U.S. Embassies. All Foreign Student Program applications are processed by these offices.
Eligibility for the Fulbright Scholarship Programme
Program qualification/eligibility and selection process varies widely by country. Check our freshers’ guide if you are a prospect of the Fulbright Scholarship Programme.
How to Apply for the DAAD Scholarship Programme
- Submit a research or study proposal to convince Fulbright why they should sponsor your academic pursuits.
- Remember that application requirements vary between programmes and your country of origin.
- Submit additional documentation such as proof of identification documents, relevant academic transcripts and letters of reference.
- In most cases, apply directly to Fulbright, but in some, you may be required to submit an additional application to your host institution directly.
- Research all the application requirements for your program thoroughly (Entry into Fulbright programmes is competitive)and begin preparing your proposal well in advance.
5. Australia Awards Scholarship
Australia Awards Scholarships are long-term awards administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
They aim to contribute to the development needs of Australia’s partner countries in line with bilateral and regional agreements.
They provide opportunities for people from developing countries, particularly those countries located in the Indo-Pacific region, to undertake full-time undergraduate or postgraduate study at participating Australian universities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions.
The study and research opportunities made available by Australia Awards Scholarships develop the skills and knowledge of individuals to drive change and contribute to development in their own countries.
The Australia Awards Scholarship generally covers tuition fees, Economy class tickets from and to Australia, establishment allowance, introductory academic program, Student Health Insurance, and initial visa expenses. Also, it offers a contribution to the applicant’s choice of accommodation in Australia.
Eligibility for the Australia Awards Scholarships
The following are essential to be eligible for the Australia Awards Scholarships:
- The age requirement of applicants is a minimum of 18 years of age on 1 February of the year of commencing the scholarship;
- Applicants must be a citizen of a participating country (as listed on the Australia Awards website) and be residing in and applying for the scholarship from their country of citizenship;
- He/she must not be a citizen of Australia, hold permanent residency in Australia or be applying for a visa to live in Australia permanently;
- He/she must not be married to, engaged to, or a de facto of a person who holds, or is eligible to hold, Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency, at any time during the application, selection or mobilisation phases (note: residents of Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau with New Zealand citizenship are eligible but must apply for a Student visa [subclass 500]);
- He/she must not be current serving military personnel;
- Applicants must not have previously received a long-term Australia Award unless they have resided outside of Australia for twice the length of the total time that they were in Australia
- Recipients under the Pacific Secondary School Scholarship Program (PSSSP) who have completed their secondary school education in Australia in the year prior are eligible to apply for a long-term Australia Award;
- Applicants must have satisfied any specific criteria established by the Program Area or the government of the applicant’s country of citizenship (e.g. having worked a certain number of years in an appropriate
sector); - Applicants must be able to satisfy the admission requirements of the institution at which the award is to be undertaken.
- Applicants must be able to satisfy all requirements of the Department of Home Affairs to hold a Student Visa.
- Applicants must not be applying for a scholarship for a course of study at an academic level lower than already achieved (e.g. be applying for a Master’s scholarship when they already hold a PhD);
- Applicants must inform the Program Area of any connection or relationship to staff employed at Program Areas (including locally engaged staff at post) or with managing contractors so that the application may be properly and transparently managed.
The following documents must also be made available while applying to the Australia Awards Scholarships:
- graduation degree certificate
- Formal academic transcripts
- Birth certificate
- National Identity card / National passport
- Resume concisely detailing work history, responsibilities and research experience.
- At least one academic referee report and one other referee report are required.
- PhD or research-based master’s degree applicants must provide two academic referee reports.
- Copy of English language test (TOEFL, PTE or IELTS) result.
- The certificate must be valid till January 1 of the scholarship’s commencement year.
- For PhD candidates: Evidence (e-mail or letter communication) that a potential supervisor has granted in-principle support for the research topic
How to Apply for the DAAD Scholarship Programme
- Choose your home country and award type to check whether you are eligible for the award.
- Once eligibility is established, review the course eligibility criteria.
- Register and complete the online application form for the Australian Awards.
Note: Applications can be done online or by mail (if unable to apply online).
However, unlike the other scholarship listed, the Australia scholarship award has its conditions when offering scholarships to its scholars. Applicants will need to sign a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia declaring that they will comply with the conditions of the scholarship.
Scholars are required to leave Australia for a minimum of two years after completing their scholarship. Failure to do so will result in the scholar incurring a debt for the total accrued cost of their scholarship.
Conclusion: Final Words on Fully-Funded Government Scholarships
Fully-funded Government scholarships have since time immemorial, given hope to students who are interested in furthering their studies abroad. Almost all countries’ governments offer fully-funded scholarships but these compilations are based on the one that’s vied the most. Many a time, Postgraduate applicants make use of these opportunities more than Undergraduate prospects.
