Scholarships to Study in Malta for African Students 2027

Best scholarships to study in Malta

Malta’s national scholarship list has one entry, and it is not Maltese money. Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters is paid by the European Commission through its agency EACEA. It covers tuition in full, pays €1,400 per month, and runs for 12, 18 or 24 months (60, 90 or 120 ECTS); the scholarship runs for the full programme duration. Consortia may charge scholarship holders neither an application fee nor tuition fees or other mandatory participation costs. It funds master study only, and you apply via-consortium: to a group of universities in several countries, not to Malta. Our Erasmus Mundus scholarship guide sets out that route.

We record no Maltese government scholarship that a student can apply for from Nigeria, Ghana or Kenya. What Malta has instead is college money, and it is partial. The American University of Malta in Cospicua runs a welcome award against first-semester tuition, a merit award tied to your grade average and reviewed each semester, a sibling award and an achievements award. GBSB Global Business School in Birkirkara runs merit and Future Leaders awards at bachelor and foundation level, and merit and diversity awards on its master’s and MBA programmes. MCAST in Paola waives final-year tuition for students who qualify for its Bachelor’s Scholarship Fund.

Two colleges, Global College Malta and St Martin’s Institute, point students at the Get Qualified scheme, which refunds part of your fees as a Maltese income-tax credit after you finish. Read that carefully: it is a rebate against tax you pay in Malta, not a discount at enrolment. St Martin’s also lists a financing scheme and a government stipend. The University of Malta’s own two awards are narrow: one is for Tunisian nationals, the other a postgraduate award from its Islands and Small States Institute. Amounts and conditions sit on our Malta university pages.

The honest point: what tuition really costs without a scholarship

Malta charges non-EU students the full fee, and there is no low public rate to fall back on. At the University of Malta a bachelor’s is €8,500–10,800 per year and a taught master’s €10,800–13,400 per year, the top of each range being the sciences. Private colleges run €5,750–19,500 per year at bachelor’s and €7,750–20,000 per year at master’s, so some cost less than the public university and some cost twice as much. Medicine is €26,000–39,500 per year. Living money is a separate test you cannot waive: the permit rule is €746–950 per month, while a real budget in Msida, where the university sits, is €1,360–1,630 per month. Health cover adds €150–400 per year. Our cost of studying in Malta page has the full arithmetic.

Who is eligible from our countries

All nine countries we work with are eligible for the one scheme on Malta’s list. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Morocco can each apply for Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters. None is restricted and none is excluded.

The rule is written to be open: Open worldwide with no nationality restriction. No more than 10 per cent of a project's scholarships may go to applicants of one nationality, a cap that excludes the targeted-region top-ups funded from NDICI and IPA III. African applicants are a targeted group for those top-ups, funded from the EU’s external instrument: Sub-Saharan Africa has a reserved share of that budget, and so does the Neighbourhood South region, which covers Egypt and Morocco. On this scheme your nationality works for you rather than against you.

College awards are decided by the college, not by your passport, and the academic condition is what filters applicants. The exception is the University of Malta, whose Tunisian-nationals award is closed to all nine of our countries; its Islands and Small States Institute award is postgraduate and narrow. Get Qualified is open to you on paper, but it pays through the Maltese tax system, so it is worth money only if you stay in Malta and pay tax there after you graduate. Treat it as a reason to stay, not as a way to afford the first year.

Fully funded vs partial — know what you are applying for

One route here is fully funded and the rest are discounts. Erasmus Mundus pays tuition in full and adds €1,400 per month; that single payment is meant to cover travel, the visa, settling in and living, so there is no separate flight grant on top.

A college award works the other way round. It cuts a percentage off tuition and leaves everything else with you: the fee balance, rent, the €100–150 visa fee, the €50 residence-permit fee and insurance. A tuition reduction does not satisfy the proof-of-funds test — the visa file asks for money in an account, through Bank statements (last 3 months) / sponsor bank statement + signed declaration letter, at €746–950 per month. And a large discount at an expensive private college can still leave you paying more than the undiscounted public fee, so compare totals, not percentages. Our Malta student visa guide lists the money documents.

Eligibility — grades, age, degree level, language

Erasmus Mundus publishes no age limit and no single grade bar; each consortium ranks its own applicants. What is fixed is the degree you hold: A first higher education degree or a recognised equivalent; final-year bachelor students may apply where the consortium allows it. You do not need a Maltese admission letter first, because the consortium admits and funds you in one decision. One bar catches repeat applicants: A student who has already held an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master scholarship may not receive a second one. On language, Set by each consortium: the teaching language, the accepted certificate and the minimum score are published by the individual programme.

For a place in Malta itself the floors are the university’s. The English requirement is IELTS 6 at bachelor’s and 6.5 at master’s, and the University of Malta grants no nationality-based exemption to any of the nine origins — see studying in Malta without IELTS. Your qualification is judged by MQRIC, Malta’s recognition centre, not by the university alone: MQRIC (€10 already on database / €20 Maltese qualification / €50 foreign qualification + €2 postage). Documents need an apostille. Malta does not use the German-style APS check.

How to apply

1. Autumn 2026 — decide the level. Erasmus Mundus funds master’s study only, so a bachelor’s in Malta means self-funding plus a college award.
2. October 2026 to January 2027 — search the EACEA Erasmus Mundus catalogue by field, country and duration, open each programme’s own site, and confirm it still offers EU scholarships for the 2027 intake.
3. Prepare the file: Bachelor degree certificate or proof of final-year enrolment, Transcript of records, Proof of language proficiency, Curriculum vitae, Motivation letter, Copy of the passport, Reference letters where the consortium requires them
4. Submit one application per consortium inside its own window, marking the scholarship request, then sit any interview or test it runs and wait for its ranked selection and reserve list.
5. In parallel, apply for admission Direct to university. Intakes are October, February (some). The 2027/28 closing date is not published yet; the last confirmed one was 1 July 2026, 14:00 (confirmed, Oct 2026 intake; 2027/28 date not yet published).
6. At the same time, send your qualification to MQRIC and ask each college in writing which of its awards you will be assessed for, and when.
7. Spring to summer 2027 — assemble the money file at €746–950 per month and insurance at €150–400 per year.
8. Summer 2027 — apply for the National long-stay (D) visa at VFS Global (Lagos, Accra/Kumasi, Nairobi, Cairo, SA ×4); Zimbabwe/Zambia via VFS South Africa or Premium, paying €100–150. Book early: processing runs 3 to 9 weeks.