Looking for fully funded PhD Scholarships for international students? You just found it. Have you been thinking of studying for a PhD at a reputable higher institution? Are your options few due to the high cost of PhD studies at prestigious universities? Finding PhD scholarships for international students is not that easy. They are not as common as scholarships for Master’s and Bachelor’s programs. However, it will interest you to know that tens of thousands of PhD scholarship positions exist especially for students from Africa and other developing regions.
Today, we have done the job of identifying 20 PhD scholarships for international students we believe to be among the best you can find. Here they are:
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Related: 20 Annual PhD Scholarships For Students In Africa/Developing Regions 2024
Table of Contents
1. K.U. Leuven University PhD Scholarships for Developing Countries
We are back to another PhD scholarship offered by KU Leuven. This time, the scholarship is for the student to do his or her whole research at KU Leuven. For this scholarship, you could choose any Doctoral or pre-doctoral program. It should be in the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, Engineering and Technology, or Biomedical Sciences. Tuition fees, Health and Life Insurance, partner and child allowances, monthly stipends, and travel are all covered in this scholarship. Even more PhD scholarships exist in Belgium that are not on this top 10 list.
2. University of Tokyo Masters and PhD Scholarships
Imagine a scholarship that not only pays for your tuition but also for other expenses. Like school expense exemptions, emergency loans, and student discounts. That is the University of Tokyo scholarship for international students. The purpose of this scholarship is twofold. First, to financially support Self-Supported International Students whose academic performance is outstanding. Also, to increase the number of students from abroad.
3. Nanyang President’s Graduate Scholarships
 The NPGS is a competitive and prestigious scholarship scheme in Singapore. It is designed to encourage outstanding international students whether graduate or final-year students, to pursue a leading research career by studying for a doctoral degree program (PhD) at the Nanyang Technological University. Funding is provided for up to 4 years for NPGS awardees. Up to 30 NPGS awards are made available in each Academic Year. Successful candidates are known as Nanyang President’s Graduate Scholars.
4. KAAD Germany Research Fellowship Programme
The KAAD scholarship is offered to postgraduates and academics living in developing countries who are Catholic Christian (or generally belong to a Christian denomination). So if you are a catholic, have already gained professional experience, and are interested in a master’s or PhD study (or research stay) in Germany, look out for this scholarship. The KAAD scholarship comes with visa modalities, return flights, German language training, tuition, living, accommodation, and many other expenses. You can apply for any course but the KAAD scholarship gives preference to development-related courses.
5. Japan Foundation United Nations University PhD Scholarships
This Scholarship is available to impressive applicants from developing countries who can demonstrate the need for financial assistance. The JFUNU scholarship covers the full tuition fees and provides a monthly allowance of 150,000 Japanese Yen. It is for living expenses for a maximum of 24 months. So if you are a PhD student from a developing country and you want to undertake a course in the field of Science in Sustainability, Development, and Peace at the United Nations University in Japan, then apply for this scholarship.
6. CARTA PhD Fellowships for African Researchers
The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) is an initiative of eight African universities, four African research institutes, and select northern partners. The fellowship, which runs for 4 years at an African university, includes the cost of fellows’ participation in the advanced seminars; a modest monthly stipend; small grants for research activities; a laptop loaded with relevant software; funds for travel to conferences, as well as costs for participating in joint program activities. Apply for this program at the beginning of April.
7. Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) PhD Scholarships for Developing Countries
The University of Louvain holds a competition for awarding PhD scholarships to citizens of developing countries. In this scholarship, you are awarded a UCL PhD scholarship that includes support for up to 36 months and, if necessary, one or more round-trip airline tickets between the international airport nearest to your country of residence and Brussels Airport.
8. Singapore International Graduate Award (SINGA) Fully-funded PhD Scholarships for International Students
Additionally, the SINGA award is offered twice a year to offer PhD training to international students to be carried out in English at your chosen lab at Singapore Research Institutes, National University of Singapore, or Nanyang Technology University. So for up to 4 years, you could be supported with Tuition fees, and a Monthly stipend, which will be increased after you pass the Qualifying Examination. A one-time airfare grant of up to S$1,500 and a One-time settling-in allowance will also be offered.
9.    Commonwealth PhD Scholarships in the UK for Developing Countries
The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan is one of the largest scholarship schemes for international students in the world. Since it was established, over 27,500 individuals have benefited. You will be in really good company to win this award. Here is something you should know about this scholarship. All subject areas are eligible, yet you’ll likely get this scholarship if your application bears strong relevance to development. Like the Split-site scholarship, everything is covered by this scholarship; all allowances and costs including that of your partner and kids.
10. Commonwealth Split-site PhD Scholarship
Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships support one year’s study at a UK university as part of a PhD being undertaken in a candidate’s home country, under the joint supervision of a home country and UK supervisor. So if you are looking to spend up to 12 months studying at a UK university as part of a PhD that you have already begun in your home country, then apply for this scholarship. Through this scholarship, your 12-month study period in the UK can be divided into two or more periods, with not more than 12 months elapsing between each award term. As for coverage, everything is covered by this scholarship all allowances and costs including that of your partner and kids.
11. Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme for International Students
The Hong Kong Fellowship is a fully-funded award to bring the best and the brightest into Hong Kong. The Fellowship covers an annual stipend and a conference and research-related travel allowance per year for a period of up to three years. Guess what? About 230 of this PhD Fellowship are open every academic year. That’s not all. For awardees who need more than three years to complete their PhD degree, additional support may be provided.
12. Cambridge International PhD Scholarships
Also, the University of Cambridge has a number of scholarships open to international students every year. Ranging from the Schlumberger Cambridge Scholarships, and Gates Cambridge scholarships to the University of Cambridge graduate scholarship, up to 300 Cambridge Scholarships are awarded to International Students. For 3 years, each award will underwrite the full cost of fees and maintenance. The only factors taken into consideration list are academic qualifications, references, and research potential. Your financial situation does not affect the selection of scholarship winners. So get to impress the selection committee with your application to win this full scholarship.
13. Rotary Yoneyama Foundation Scholarships for International Students
The Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship is for international students to help them enroll in a Japanese University or Graduate School. The scholarship is supported by the contributions of Rotarians throughout Japan. The Foundation is Japan’s largest private scholarship organization, both in terms of program scale and number of scholarships awarded. To be awarded this scholarship, you have to find out and apply to a Japanese university or graduate school by yourself before applying for this 140,000 yen per month scholarship.
14. DAAD Scholarships in Germany
Year in and year out, the scholarships that the government body, German Academic Exchange Service offers are numerous. If you are looking for the most scholarships offered to students and young professionals from developing countries look no further than DAAD. The scholarships are actually in varieties ranging from undergraduate degrees to research visits and group visits. Through DAAD, a great number of students are funded to pursue different programs in their home countries as well as in German Universities. Could you be next?
Related: Top 10 Scholarships In The World To Study Abroad For Free (Fully Funded)
15. New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarships
Financial support opportunities for students in developing countries are just not as common in New Zealand compared to countries like the UK and even a sister country, Australia. However, there are scholarship programs international students can partake in. One of them is the New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship. Do you want to study for a Master’s or PhD in New Zealand? Then take advantage of this opportunity. The scholarship provides students from commonwealth countries financial support for tuition, living costs while in New Zealand, and airfares. The partners of students are eligible for a work visa that allows them to live and work in New Zealand for the duration of their partner’s study.
16. Fulbright Foreign Scholarships
Furthermore, the Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals, and artists from abroad to study and conduct research in the United States. The scholarships are for study towards a Master’s or PhD degree, and can also be awarded for non-degree postgraduate studies. The number of awards varies per country, but approximately 4,000 foreign students receive Fulbright scholarships each year. The grant funds tuition, textbooks, airfare, a living stipend, and health insurance for the duration of study.
17. Cambridge Trust International Scholarships
The Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust was established on 1 August 2013 from the merger of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and the Cambridge Overseas Trust. The Trust awards approximately 500 scholarships annually and supports between 1,100 and 1,400 students in residence each year from 85 countries across the world. The Trust has awarded a total of nearly 19,000 scholarships to international students. Awards are offered to specific students at PhD, Masters, and undergraduate levels, in all subjects.
18. Jiangsu Provincial Government Scholarships
This scholarship will be provided to excellent overseas students or scholars to undertake full-time study in universities and colleges of Jiangsu. It will also include non-degree programs and exchange students. The scholarship will cover a full fee waiver of tuition, registration, laboratory experiments, internship, and basic textbooks; Accommodation, Monthly stipend, Medical insurance, and more. There are also partial scholarships for CNY30000 for one year and the awardees will receive the scholarship half by half in two semesters. The scholarship is open for undergraduate, master’s, and PhD studies.
19. MOFCOM (Ministry of Commerce) Scholarships for Developing Countries
MOFCOM Scholarship is set up by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. It is set up to further strengthen the communication and cooperation between China and other countries as well as to develop talents for developing countries. The scholarship is for master’s and PhD programs, and covers tuition; teaching materials; research and survey; dissertation guidance; one-off resettlement fee: 3000RMB per master student, 3000RMB per PhD student; on-campus accommodation; stipend: medical insurance and one-time round-trip international airfare.
20. New Zealand Development Scholarships for African and Developing Countries’ Students
New Zealand Development Scholarships (NZDS) give candidates from selected developing countries an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills through study in specific subject areas which will assist in the development of their home country. Awardees are to return to their home country for at least two years after the completion of their scholarship. This is to enable them o apply these new skills and knowledge in government, civil society, or private business organizations.
Discover more PhD Scholarships for international students, including fully-funded programs.
