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Scholarships for African Students in Europe (2027)

Reviewed by World Study Team Updated

Four schemes fund a whole degree in Europe for African students: Stipendium Hungaricum, Türkiye Bursları, Chevening and Erasmus Mundus. Each pays tuition plus a monthly allowance — €1,400 per month on Erasmus Mundus, TRY 4,500–9,000 per month in Türkiye. The catch is nationality: most schemes run a fixed country list, and Zambia and Zimbabwe are missing from several of them.

Top scholarships for African students

Stipendium Hungaricum pays tuition in full in Hungary and adds HUF 43,700–180,000 per month, health insurance and a dormitory place where the university has room. Türkiye Bursları (Türkiye Scholarships) is the largest of the schemes that publish a figure, at about 5,000 awards a year: tuition, a state dormitory, flights both ways and TRY 4,500–9,000 per month. Both place you at a university as part of the award, so one application does two jobs. Our Stipendium Hungaricum guide covers the nomination step.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters funds a master’s split across at least two European countries: tuition in full and €1,400 per month for the whole programme. You apply to the consortium, not to Brussels. DAAD Scholarships solves a different problem: German public tuition is free already, so DAAD funds living costs at €992–1,400 per month, mainly at master’s and doctoral level.

For the UK, Chevening Scholarships covers tuition in full for a one-year taught master’s, with return economy flights and a living allowance, and Commonwealth Scholarships (UK) pays tuition, airfare and £1,712–2,000 per month across about 800 awards a year. Poland’s Banach NAWA Scholarship Programme pays master’s tuition and PLN 2,500 per month, but only to citizens named in its call.

Pan-African vs country-specific awards

Not every award advertised as a scholarship for Africans is open to every African. Four schemes set no country list at all. Türkiye Bursları takes citizens of any country except Türkiye. Erasmus Mundus is open worldwide, subject only to a cap on how many places in one programme go to a single nationality. Austria’s OeAD / Ernst Mach Grants admit every nationality but Austrian, and France’s Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Programme applies no country quota.

The rest run fixed lists, and the gaps are where applications are wasted. Stipendium Hungaricum works through national sending partners: thirty-three African countries have one, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Uganda and Morocco — Zambia and Zimbabwe do not. Commonwealth Scholarships are closed to Egypt and Morocco, which are not Commonwealth members, and Zimbabwe is not on the 2027/28 eligible-country list. Of our nine origin countries, only Nigeria and Kenya appear on the Banach list, as our Banach NAWA guide explains.

Scholarships by destination country

Hungary is the most accessible fully funded route. Public tuition is €3,000–8,000 per year without a scholarship; Stipendium Hungaricum removes it at bachelor, master and doctoral level.

Germany funds the other half of the problem: public universities charge free tuition, so DAAD money goes on living costs. The bar is high — a first degree no more than six years old, two years of relevant work, a result in your cohort’s top third.

The UK is the most expensive and the most competitive. Public tuition runs £11,400–38,000 per year, which is why Chevening and Commonwealth matter — and why Chevening interviews you at the British embassy at home while Commonwealth needs a national agency to nominate you.

Poland charges €2,000–6,500 per year and Banach covers it for the few eligible nationalities. Türkiye’s public fees start low, US$1,600–2,400 per year, and Türkiye Bursları removes them.

France, Italy, Spain and Austria each run one national scheme, and each has a limit. Eiffel pays €1,200–2,100 per month but no tuition, and only a French institution can file it. Italy’s MAECI grant pays €1,200 per month for nine months. Spain’s MAEC-AECID Scholarships takes public-sector employees only. Austria’s Ernst Mach grants fund research stays of one to nine months at €1,300 per month, not a degree.

Who’s eligible for scholarships for Africans?

Most fully funded awards test the same five things.

  • Nationality. Your country must be on the scheme’s list, or have a sending partner to nominate you. This is the first filter and the one most often missed.
  • Grades. Commonwealth’s bar is Upper second-class (2:1) honours, or lower second-class with a relevant postgraduate qualification; a contextualised route exists for disabled applicants nominated through the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum. Türkiye Bursları sets a floor of 70%, and DAAD wants a result in the top third of the cohort.
  • Admission. Banach and Eiffel need a university place before you apply; Chevening, Commonwealth, DAAD, Stipendium Hungaricum and Türkiye Bursları do not.
  • Language. Chevening removed its English requirement in 2020 and Commonwealth never had one; you meet the university’s rule instead. Türkiye Bursları asks for no certificate, then adds a compulsory year of Turkish.
  • Age and work history. Eiffel and Ernst Mach cap entry at 35, MAECI at 40. Chevening and DAAD’s EPOS courses both want about two years of work after your first degree.

We do not promise anyone a scholarship. What we do is stop you applying where you were never eligible.

Building a winning application

The students who win work backwards from the deadline and apply narrowly.

  1. Fix the dates first. Stipendium Hungaricum closed 15 January 2026 last round and Türkiye Bursları ran 10 January 2026 to 20 February 2026. The 2027/28 dates are not published yet, but the windows repeat. Our scholarships hub tracks each call.
  2. Enter two or three schemes you clearly qualify for, not ten. Ineligible applications are rejected before anyone reads the essay.
  3. Certify documents early. Transcripts, certificates and translations take weeks; Stipendium Hungaricum also wants a medical certificate on its own template.
  4. Write one motivation letter per programme. Name the course, the modules and the problem you intend to work on at home.
  5. Prepare for an interview where there is one. Chevening, Stipendium Hungaricum, Türkiye Bursları and MAECI all interview; DAAD, Eiffel, Banach and Ernst Mach do not.
  6. Budget for the wait. Chevening results run from Mid-June 2027 onwards and Commonwealth’s By July 2027, weeks before term starts.

Scholarships by your country

Eligibility is national, so we keep a page for each origin.

Pages for Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Morocco are being written. Until then: Egypt and Morocco sit outside the Commonwealth, Zambia has no Hungarian sending partner, and neither Uganda nor Zambia is on Spain’s África-Med list.

  • The biggest schemes ignore nationality. Türkiye Bursları accepts citizens of any country but Türkiye, and Erasmus Mundus is open worldwide, with extra scholarships funded from the EU’s external budget specifically for African applicants.
  • The money covers the whole cost. Erasmus Mundus pays €1,400 per month with tuition covered, Commonwealth £1,712–2,000 per month plus airfare, and Türkiye Bursları adds a dormitory and both flights.
  • Two schemes need no prior offer. Stipendium Hungaricum and Türkiye Bursları place you at a university as part of the award, removing a second deadline and a set of application fees.
  • English is usually enough. Chevening dropped its English test in 2020, Commonwealth requires none, and Hungary, Türkiye, Germany, Poland and Italy all teach in English.
  • Volume favours Türkiye: about 5,000 awards a year, more than any other scheme here that publishes a count.
  • The country lists exclude real people. Zambia and Zimbabwe have no Stipendium Hungaricum sending partner, Egypt and Morocco fall outside Commonwealth eligibility, and seven of our nine origins are missing from Banach.
  • The odds are long. Eiffel made 433 awards across all nationalities in 2025 and Spain’s MAEC-AECID 41 — worldwide totals, not African.
  • Some awards cost you something back. Eiffel pays no tuition. Türkiye Bursları adds a compulsory preparatory year of Turkish and sends you home within a year of finishing. Chevening requires two years at home. Commonwealth bars switching to a Graduate visa.
  • Deadlines fall a year ahead. Chevening closed 6 October 2026 and Commonwealth 20 October 2026 for courses starting in autumn 2027. Miss one and you wait twelve months.
  • Several 2027/28 figures are not published. Stipendium Hungaricum, Banach, Türkiye Bursları and the Italian and Spanish calls still show last cycle’s numbers.
World Study

Our core guidance is free, paid for by commission from the universities we work with. We check which schemes your nationality actually qualifies for, match your grades, level and subject to two or three of them, and vet your documents, translations and motivation letters before you submit, not after. Premium Placement is an optional paid service for applicants who want the whole file handled. We do not sell guaranteed admission or guaranteed visas, because nobody can.

Talk to an advisor

Frequently asked questions

The main ones are Stipendium Hungaricum in Hungary, Türkiye Bursları, Erasmus Mundus across the EU, DAAD in Germany, Chevening and Commonwealth for the UK, and Banach NAWA in Poland. France, Italy, Spain and Austria each add one national scheme. Most pay tuition in full plus a monthly allowance — €1,400 per month on Erasmus Mundus.

Stipendium Hungaricum, Türkiye Bursları, Chevening, Commonwealth and Erasmus Mundus pay tuition in full and add a living allowance. Türkiye Bursları also gives a dormitory place and flights both ways; Commonwealth pays £1,712–2,000 per month plus airfare. DAAD funds living costs at German public universities, where tuition is free to begin with.

No, and this is the most common mistake. Stipendium Hungaricum needs a national sending partner, which Zambia and Zimbabwe do not have. Commonwealth is closed to Egypt and Morocco and does not list Zimbabwe for 2027/28. Banach lists only Nigeria and Kenya of our nine origins. Türkiye Bursları and Erasmus Mundus are the broad exceptions.

Three routes stay open to every nationality. Türkiye Bursları takes citizens of any country except Türkiye, Erasmus Mundus has no nationality restriction, and Austria's Ernst Mach grants admit everyone but Austrians. Germany is the fourth option without a scholarship at all: public tuition is free, so you fund living costs only.

Two schemes fund undergraduate study. Stipendium Hungaricum covers bachelor, one-tier master and doctoral programmes, and Türkiye Bursları funds a bachelor's on a school result of 70%. Chevening, Commonwealth, Erasmus Mundus, Eiffel and Banach are postgraduate only. DAAD lists bachelor level, but its Africa-relevant programmes are postgraduate.

Chevening closed 6 October 2026, Commonwealth 20 October 2026 and Austria's Ernst Mach 1 December 2026. Stipendium Hungaricum, Türkiye Bursları, Banach, Eiffel and the Italian and Spanish calls had not published 2027/28 dates as of September 2026; their last windows ran January to July 2026.

Not from the schemes themselves. Chevening removed its English requirement in 2020 and Commonwealth has never set one. Türkiye Bursları asks for no certificate at application. What you do need is the university's own English proof — often IELTS 6 — or a medium-of-instruction letter where your previous degree was taught in English.

Chevening's rule is this: At least 2,800 hours acquired after the undergraduate degree and over a minimum of two years — roughly two years of full-time work at 35 hours a week; full-time, part-time and voluntary work and paid or unpaid internships count, entered as up to 15 employment periods. Commonwealth sets no work-experience requirement, though a nominating agency may add its own.

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