International Development Scholarship

International Development Scholarships typically require that the scholarship awardees return to their home country after studies to implement the knowledge they have gained from the program.

Top International Development Scholarships

1. Government-funded International Scholarships

• Fulbright Scholarships (USA)

This scholarship program is an innovative of the United States Government and about a hundred and fifty-five (155) other countries across the globe. Annually, a total estimate of 1,800 Fulbright scholarship is awarded to international students to boost their morale in terms of excellence as well as support them for proper academic standings. The Fulbright Scholarship is awarded to students from all spheres of higher learning ranging from Bachelor’s to Master’s as well as to Doctoral degrees in the United States with full funding during their duration of stay in the United States. The funding includes textbooks, tuition, airfare, health insurance and also living stipend.

• Chevening Scholarships (UK)

The Chevening Scholarship is a scholarship program set up by the British Government to aid the education of students from less developed countries across the globe. Annually, the program provides opportunities for over 1000 willing applicants to study in the United Kingdom; the students are chosen from over 130 countries. All Chevening Scholarships are full funding just as that of the United States, they also cover areas like monthly stipend, tuition fees as well as diverse one-off allowances for international students travel to the United Kingdom.

• Australia Awards Scholarships

The Australia Awards Scholarships which is formerly known as the Australian Development Scholarships is a kind of long term development award that is owned and given to international students by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They provide good academic opportunities to people from less developed and developing countries most importantly those from the Indo-Pacific region. The purpose of this is to help them get into a full-time undergraduate cum postgraduate study at the eligible Australian universities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions. Also, the benefits that the Australia Awards Scholarship are air travel allowance, full tuition fees, monthly stipend, Health Insurance and many more.

• Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Programme (France)

France also goes by the trend of nations offering scholarship schemes with the formation of the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Programme which is named after the tower at Eiffel- a major symbol of identifying the country’s capital, Paris. The country uses the program to attract master’s and doctoral degrees students to study at French Universities. Successful candidates get benefits like tuition fees payment, monthly allowance, as well as other expenses, would be in the purse of the government and not the candidates.

• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (Switzerland)

With the aid of the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students, the Swiss Government has set up their own scholarship scheme as well, to awards and motivate the willingness of international students from developing countries towards education. The scholarship is for students, researchers and scholars alike, to aid them through diverse stages of degrees. They decide whichever recognized the institution of choice and offer them benefits like health insurance, airfare, tuition fees, accommodation and a monthly payment to the student’s purse.

2. University-funded International Scholarships

• Gates Cambridge Scholarships (UK)

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is obviously one of the best and highly prestigious international scholarships available to all diverse students from less developed and developing countries from across the world. The scholarship is a full award for both graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of Cambridge while also giving them the bonus of airfare, maintenance allowances, and a lot more benefits; the institution also offers about 100 scholarships to students annually.

• Clarendon Scholarships at University of Oxford (UK)

Clarendon Scholarship is a well known and highly recognized international postgraduate scholarship scheme which gives about 140 scholars the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford annually. The scholarship is awarded to boost the academic excellence of willing students and make them utilize their potentials to their greatest advantage with the available course of study at the University of Oxford. The Clarendon Scholarship Fund is fully funded and also covers the living expenses of students.

• Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University (China)

In a bid to promote Chinese relationships with other countries in the aspect of academic and educational progress, Schwarzman Scholars have set up their scholarship scheme which is the first in all China to give the most needed response to the geographical cum political landscape in this Century. The program, which is aimed at Master’s Degree students, will give successful candidates the opportunity to develop their professional and leadership skills at Tsinghua University. Aside from learning totally new Asian cultural values, students will have a travel tour to Beijing at the beginning and end of every academic year; their welfare like tuition, accommodation, health insurance, smartphone, and PC as well as a modest monthly allowance would also be covered as well.

3. Institute-funded International Scholarships

• Rotary Foundation Global Study Grants (Various Countries)

Through the Rotary Foundation Global Grant Scholarships, the Rotary Foundation offer their own academic contribution to the developing countries across the globe. The scholarship scheme funds students at the graduate level through their research work and course work as well for about four academic years with a minimum budget of $30,000.

• Joint Japan World Bank Scholarships

Just as the name implies, the scholarship scheme is an innovative of The Joint Japan World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) to support students from several developing countries pursue and attain diverse graduate and postgraduate studies at their preferred institution of higher learning across the world. While the scheme offers a good monthly allowance, air travel fare and payment of tuition fees; the scheme expects the successful candidates to return home after completion of their degree programs.

General Eligibility for International Development Scholarships

Eligibility criteria are usually based on the organization or institution offering the scholarship. However, generally, the most important and mutual amidst all is:

• Candidate must be from a developing country; mostly Africans and Asians
• Candidates must be willing to leave their country to study in a different nation
• Candidates must not be able to afford the cost of education on their own
• Candidates must have applied for the scholarship scheme as the selection is based on merit