Graduate and master's scholarships for international students

Government scholarships for a master's abroad

Government programmes are one of the main sources of fully funded master's degrees for international students. Each has its own rules on nationality, field and experience, so treat this table as a starting point:

Some of these expect you to go home after the degree. Fulbright students, for example, usually have to spend two years in their home country after the programme before they can get an H or L work visa or a green card, unless they get a waiver.

University, foundation and employer funding

University scholarships. Many universities offer master's scholarships to international students, usually as a reduction of the higher fee they pay. Some are awarded automatically with the offer of a place; others need a separate application with its own deadline, often earlier than the course's. A few cover everything, such as the Gates Cambridge Scholarship at the University of Cambridge and Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford.

Foundations and international organisations. Foundations fund master's students in the fields they care about, from political foundations in Germany to development funders. The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (World Bank), for example, funds master's degrees in development-related subjects at partner universities for professionals from eligible developing countries.

Employers and assistantships. Some employers pay for a master's that serves the job, often in exchange for staying on afterwards. In the USA, some master's students get teaching or research assistantships, though these go more often to PhD students.

Fully funded master's: where to look

A fully funded master's pays tuition, living costs and usually travel and insurance. For international students, most fully funded master's places come from the government programmes above, Erasmus Mundus scholarships and a few large university awards. Funded master's are competitive everywhere, so add partial scholarships to your list: a tuition reduction in a country with low living costs can leave you better off than a full award you don't win. Our page on fully funded scholarships goes into more detail.

When to apply

Funding for a master's is usually decided long before the course starts:

1. About 18 months before: draw up a shortlist of courses and scholarships, and check each one's eligibility rules.
2. About 12 months before: government programmes and joint degrees open applications, and many of them close in the autumn and winter before the academic year they fund. Some, such as Fulbright, close earlier, often more than a year before the course starts.
3. About 9 months before: university applications and the university's own scholarships, often due with the application.
4. Before you accept an offer: compare what each award pays against the full cost of the year.

Check each scholarship's own deadline: they differ by programme, and sometimes by the country you apply from.

What graduate scholarship committees look for

• A clear reason for this degree. Why this subject, why this course, and what you'll do with it afterwards.
• A record that backs it up. Grades matter, but so do work experience, research and what you did outside class.
• Fit with the funder's aims. Leadership for Chevening, development impact for development funders, research potential for academic scholarships. Write to what each funder says it wants.
• Strong references from people who know your work well, not the most senior names you can find.

Our guide to scholarship applications covers each document, and MBA scholarships have a page of their own.

For Indian students

How do I get a master degree in abroad with scholarship? Indian students can apply to most of the international programmes above, from Chevening and DAAD to Erasmus Mundus. For the USA, the Fulbright-Nehru fellowships that USIEF currently offers Indian citizens are for doctoral students, researchers and professionals, not master's students, so a master's in the USA is usually funded by the university itself: see studying in the USA.

Scholarships for masters in abroad from India. Indian trusts and the government fund master's study abroad too: the Inlaks, JN Tata Endowment, KC Mahindra and Narotam Sekhsaria awards, some of them loan scholarships, and the government's National Overseas Scholarship for students from Scheduled Castes and some other groups. Our page on scholarships for Indian students covers them by destination.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a fully funded master's abroad?

Yes, mainly through government programmes such as Chevening, DAAD and Fulbright, through Erasmus Mundus scholarships and through a few large university awards. They are competitive, so apply to several and include partial scholarships too.

Are there graduate scholarships that don't require work experience?

Yes. Many university scholarships and most Erasmus Mundus programmes accept recent graduates. Others, including Chevening and several programmes for development professionals, ask for work experience, so check before you apply.

Do graduate scholarships also fund a PhD?

Some do. Gates Cambridge and Knight-Hennessy, for example, fund master's and doctoral degrees, and several government programmes do the same. See PhD scholarships for doctoral funding.

What grades do I need for a master's scholarship?

There's no single rule. Many scholarships don't publish a minimum; the most competitive ones mostly go to applicants near the top of their class, but they also weigh experience, motivation and references.