Scholarships to Study in Malta for International Students (2026)

Below: the honest picture of what is and isn’t open, why Malta works differently from Germany, and the realistic funding routes — with no false promises.

Scholarships to study in Malta: what is actually open

Here is the honest position. Malta is a small country with one globally ranked university, and it does not run a large inbound scholarship programme for African students the way some destinations do. The table below shows the main schemes and, crucially, who can really apply.

The 5th Call of Endeavour II ran 27 April – 5 June 2026, but the permanent-residence condition means it is realistically a scheme for people already living in Malta, not for students applying from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya or elsewhere. Treat every figure and date here as volatile and confirm on the official site before you apply.

The honest point: Malta is mostly self-funded

Unlike Germany — where public tuition is free and a scholarship just tops up living costs — Malta charges full tuition to non-EU students and offers very few inbound awards. So the funding maths is different, and you should plan for it honestly.

At the University of Malta, official non-EU annual tuition (SL 327.177) is roughly:

• Bachelor’s: about €8,500/year (arts/business) or €10,800/year (science).
• Master’s (taught): about €10,800/year (arts/business) or €13,400/year (science).

On top of tuition you must also prove living funds. Malta uses a two-stage rule: the entry D-visa needs about €746/month (≥75% of the national minimum wage), and the in-country e-Residence permit needs about €950/month excluding tuition — roughly €11,400/year. The University itself warns that this minimum is not enough to actually live on; realistic costs run nearer €1,400–1,600/month for shared housing.

That means a first year at UM (bachelor’s, arts/business) can total around €23,000 including living costs, before flights. With almost no inbound scholarships to offset it, most African students fund Malta through family support or self-funding. See the full breakdown on our cost of studying in Malta page.

Why there is no big “Malta scholarship” for Africans

It helps to understand why the options are thin, so you don’t waste weeks chasing awards that don’t exist:

• The government schemes are residence-linked. Endeavour II and similar programmes (Reaching High, Master it!, TESS) are built to upskill people already resident in Malta or to serve the local labour market — not to recruit students from abroad. The permanent-residence requirement is the deciding factor.
• The University of Malta funds research, not taught degrees. UM’s own scholarship list is essentially Master by Research and PhD awards plus the Islands & Small States Institute — there is no broad scholarship for taught bachelor’s or master’s international students.
• No DAAD-style national agency. Malta has no equivalent of Germany’s DAAD pumping stipends to developing-country students. It is a small system (one ranked university, ~2,800 international students) without that infrastructure.

This is the honest version many agents won’t tell you. If a “Malta scholarship” sounds too good — guaranteed, generous, open to anyone — verify it on an official .gov.mt or um.edu.mt page before you trust it.

Better funding routes: pan-EU and home-country options

Because Malta-specific awards are scarce, your strongest funding routes are usually not Malta-issued. Focus your energy here:

• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s. These EU-funded, fully-funded master’s programmes can include Maltese universities as partners and cover tuition, travel and a monthly stipend. They are competitive but genuinely open to African applicants — far more realistic than Endeavour II. Compare these on our scholarships to study in Europe hub.
• Home-country sponsorship. Government or employer sponsorship (e.g. national scholarship boards, PTDF-type schemes) often allows Malta as a destination if the course is recognised — check your home scheme’s approved-institution list.
• Research funding at master’s/PhD level. If you are aiming at a Master by Research or PhD, UM’s research awards and ISSI scholarships are the one area where Malta does fund students — apply directly per call.
• Course or department discounts. Some private MFHEA-licensed colleges advertise partial fee reductions. Confirm these in writing with the admissions office before counting on them, and only consider properly licensed providers.

For the full menu of awards open to African students across Europe — including the fully-funded ones — start with our scholarships pillar rather than relying on Malta alone.

Eligibility — what these awards actually look for

Where a Malta-linked award is open to you (mainly research funding or Erasmus Mundus), the patterns are predictable:

1. The right level. Malta’s real funding sits at postgraduate and research level (MQF 7–8). There is little to no scholarship money for taught bachelor’s degrees — plan to self-fund undergraduate study.
2. A recognised qualification. Your prior degree is assessed by MQRIC (Malta’s ENIC-NARIC centre, inside MFHEA) against the MQF/EQF. No APS is required — that is a Germany-only check; Malta uses MQRIC.
3. English evidence. UM does not auto-waive its English test for the six African origins. Most applicants need IELTS 6.0 (bachelor’s) or IELTS 6.5 (master’s), or UM’s on-campus ISET — unless they hold an accepted UK GCE/GCSE, MATSEC or IB English pass.
4. Residence, for government schemes. Endeavour II and most MEDE schemes require a Maltese permanent residence permit for foreign nationals — which new applicants from abroad won’t have.

How to apply

There is no Malta scholarship “portal” for international undergraduates, so the order of operations is admission-first, then narrow funding:

1. Apply for admission first. Apply directly to the University of Malta via eSIMS (no UCAS-style clearinghouse exists). The non-EU deadline for the October 2026 intake is 1 July 2026 — earlier than the general deadline.
2. Get your credentials recognised. Submit your degree/certificate to MQRIC through the MFHEA online system (fees about €15–65).
3. Apply to any award on its own site. Research applicants apply per UM call; Erasmus Mundus applicants apply through each consortium’s portal; government schemes apply via myscholarship.gov.mt (subject to the residence rule).
4. Prepare your funding proof regardless. Even mid-application, you’ll need the two-stage proof of funds (~€746/month for the visa, ~€950/month for the residence permit) for the student D-visa, which must be submitted at VFS at least 9 weeks before the course start.
5. Budget honestly. Assume self-funding as the base case and treat any award as a bonus, not a plan.

How we help

World Study gives you the honest version: which Malta-linked funding you realistically qualify for, and — just as important — which “scholarships” aren’t actually open to you so you don’t waste an application cycle on them. We help you build a competitive case for the routes that are viable (research awards, Erasmus Mundus, home-country sponsorship) and get your UM admission, MQRIC recognition and funding proof airtight.

We don’t promise Malta scholarships that don’t exist, and we never guarantee an award — no one credibly can. Our core university-application guidance is free. Start with our study in Malta hub for the full picture, or use our scholarship application service if you want hands-on help targeting the awards you can actually win.

Talk to an advisor on WhatsApp or take the free 2-minute eligibility check → to see which funding fits your level and goals.