We list 9 undergraduate Scholarships Open to Nigerian Students in the United Kingdom, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 1 of them are fully funded. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
Written from the 9 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 9 undergraduate scholarships in the United Kingdom that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is at bachelors level, every one is at a UK institution, and not one of them shuts Nigerians out. That last point is worth stating plainly, because it is the question most people ask first.
Of the 9, 8 carry no nationality restriction at all. The remaining 1 names Nigeria or the wider region in its own eligibility text. So the split is simple: eight awards where your passport is not a factor, and one where being Nigerian is written into the criteria. There are no awards on this page where eligibility is left unstated — all 9 say something about who may apply.
Six providers appear: Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Stirling, Kingston University, the University of Exeter, the University of Brighton and the University of Dundee. Each contributes one award to the list.
Funding is where you need to read carefully. 7 of the 9 are partially funded and 1 is fully funded. The remaining award does not label its funding either way, so nothing can be assumed about what it covers.
Only a small number spell out the benefit in their own text. 2 name tuition as something they cover. 1 names research or training costs. That is the honest picture: most of these awards describe themselves as partial and leave the exact figure to the award page. A partial scholarship in the UK commonly means a reduction on tuition rather than a full ride, but the amount differs by award and you should treat each page as the authority.
Where funding is partial, budget the gap yourself. Tuition for an international undergraduate in the UK runs well beyond what most Nigerian families can raise from savings, and a partial award does not close that distance on its own. Plan the shortfall before you plan the application.
The 9 awards spread across five subject areas:
Business and Management is the largest group, which suits a common Nigerian undergraduate profile. Medicine and Health Sciences follows. The single-award fields are narrower, so if your intended course sits in Arts, Natural Sciences or Social Sciences, you are working with one option on this page rather than several. Check the individual award pages against your course title before you spend money on a transcript.
The pathway into this level is straightforward. You finished secondary school, and your qualifications are WAEC, NECO, NABTEB or SSCE. These awards fund a first degree abroad. Most ask for your senior secondary results and an admission offer, and each award page quotes its own entry requirement.
Only 1 award states a minimum degree class and only 1 asks for work experience. If you are coming straight from secondary school with no work history, that is not a barrier across the list — it affects one award, not nine. Similarly, only 1 award asks for an English test score such as IELTS or TOEFL. That does not mean the others waive English testing; it means the requirement is not written into their scholarship criteria. Your university offer will still carry its own English condition, and you should confirm that with the admissions office rather than with the scholarship page.
One requirement recurs in a way worth planning for: 1 award asks for an admission offer first. Where that applies, the scholarship clock starts after the university clock, and university decisions take weeks. Apply to the institution early enough that an offer can exist before the funding deadline arrives.
Beyond the requirements already noted, expect the usual documentary load. Secondary school results, a valid international passport, transcripts where you have post-secondary study, and a personal statement or supporting essay. Reference letters are common. Each award sets its own list, and the award page is where you confirm it.
Two practical notes for Nigerian applicants. First, WAEC and NECO result verification and transcript requests take time and cost money, and courier fees to the UK are paid in foreign currency. Start those requests the moment you shortlist an award, not after you finish the essay. Second, name consistency matters. If your WAEC certificate, passport and application form spell your name differently, fix it before submission rather than explaining it later.
Deadlines on this list are unevenly documented. 2 awards carry a stated date, 2 are still open, and 7 are undated on the listing. 2 recur, meaning they come round again rather than closing permanently. The busiest months among the dated awards are May and June, with one award falling in each.
The two closing soonest are:
Both are partial awards, and the Kingston award covers undergraduate and master's study while the Stirling GEMS award is undergraduate only. Because 7 of the 9 awards are undated here, do not treat this page as a calendar. Open the award page, find the date in the provider's own words, and work backwards from it.
Durations vary. 3 awards run for 1 year, 1 runs for 4 years, and 1 runs for up to 5 years at undergraduate level and 1 year at master's. The rest do not state a duration on the listing.
This is not a small detail. A one-year award on a three-year degree leaves two years unfunded, and you need a plan for those two years before you accept a place. A four-year award tracks a full undergraduate course more closely. Read the duration alongside the funding label — a partial award spread over one year and a partial award spread over four are very different propositions.
The United Kingdom is the top destination for Nigerian students abroad, with 71,756 Nigerian students recorded there in 2023, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. That ranking reflects a long-established route: UK universities recognise WAEC and NECO, the academic calendar is familiar, and Nigerian communities exist on and around most campuses.
It also means competition. A large Nigerian applicant pool sits behind these 9 awards, and the six providers named here each offer a single place on this list.
What to do now, in order. Shortlist two or three awards whose subject area matches your intended course. Open each award page and read the eligibility text yourself — confirm whether it is one of the 8 with no nationality restriction or the 1 that names Nigeria or the region. Note the deadline and whether it is dated or recurring. Then begin your document requests, because transcripts and verification take longer than the writing does.
For awards that require an admission offer first, apply to the university before you apply for the money. For the two dated awards above, treat 10 May and 30 June as fixed points and build your timeline backwards from them. Everything else on this page is a starting point, not a substitute for the provider's own wording.
Studying in the UK is a dream for many international students, offering world-class education, global exposure, and prestigious degrees. But the cost can be a major barrier. Thankfully, numerous scholarships are available specifically for Nigerian students that can fund tuition, living expenses, and even travel. In this post, we’ll explore the Top UK scholarships for international students in 2025–2026, including eligibility, benefits, deadlines, and how to apply.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
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