We list 5 undergraduate Scholarships for Nigerian Students in New Zealand, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 3 of them are fully funded. 3 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
Written from the 5 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 5 undergraduate scholarships in New Zealand open to study at bachelor's level. Each one is hosted by a New Zealand university: the University of Waikato, the University of Otago, Lincoln University, the University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington. One award comes from each institution.
Three of the five are labelled fully funded by the provider. Two are labelled partially funded. That split matters when you are budgeting, because a partial award usually leaves a gap you have to close from family support, savings or another source.
New Zealand is a small destination for Nigerian students. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 129 Nigerian students there in 2024, placing Nigeria 51st among sending countries. That is a useful number to hold in your head: you will not be joining a large Nigerian community on campus, and the paperwork you handle will be largely your own.
Read what each award says in writing rather than what the label suggests. Of the five on this page, 4 name tuition among the costs they cover. 1 names living costs, and 1 names health insurance.
Tuition is the cost that most often decides whether a Nigerian family can proceed. New Zealand bachelor's programmes run for three years in most cases, and international fees are charged per year, so an award that names tuition is the one to read closely first. Check whether the wording covers the full degree or a single year. One award on this page is listed as running for 1 year.
Living costs and health insurance appear rarely here. Where an award does not name a benefit, treat that benefit as something you must fund yourself. Do not assume that a fully funded label covers flights, visa fees, settling-in costs or the transcript and courier charges you are already paying from Nigeria.
Of the five awards, 3 are open to Nigerian applicants. Within that group, none names Nigeria or the African region in its eligibility text, and 3 carry no nationality restriction at all. In other words, the route open to you is the general international route, not a Nigeria-specific or Africa-specific scheme.
For the remaining 2, eligibility is not stated on the award itself. That is not a refusal. It means the award page does not settle the question, and you would need to confirm directly with the provider before spending money on an application.
Two awards state a minimum degree class as a requirement. At undergraduate level that wording usually points to your secondary school results rather than a university class, but the award page quotes its own entry requirement, so read it there.
The pathway into this level is straightforward. You finished secondary school, and you hold WAEC, NECO, NABTEB or SSCE results. This is a first degree abroad, so the awards are aimed at applicants who have not yet completed a bachelor's programme.
Most awards at this level ask for your senior secondary results and an admission offer from the university. The admission offer is often the slower part. New Zealand universities assess Nigerian WAEC and NECO results individually, and some will ask for a foundation or bridging year depending on your grades and subjects. Start the admission process before you start the scholarship application, because several awards will not assess you without proof that you have been offered a place.
The demands here are administrative more than competitive. Expect to produce:
Budget for the document costs before you budget for anything else. Transcripts, certified copies and courier fees are paid in naira and out of pocket, and they are the part of this process that most applicants underestimate.
One award on this page carries a dated deadline: Lincoln University Scholarships 2026-2027, which closes 31 January. That is 115 days away. Lincoln University Scholarships 2026-2027 is the one to open first if you intend to apply this cycle.
One award is still open, one is recurring, and 4 are undated — meaning the listing does not carry a fixed closing date. January is the busiest month for deadlines in this set.
The undated awards are not open indefinitely. They are awards whose pages tell you to check the provider's own schedule. Treat that as a task, not a reprieve.
Five institutions, five awards, listed here with their funding label and deadline as given:
The same universities also appear elsewhere on this site at other study levels. Alongside these 5 bachelor's awards, the New Zealand listings carry 5 master's awards, 1 PhD award and 1 short course. If you are still deciding between finishing a first degree in Nigeria and starting one abroad, the master's route is worth comparing on cost and timing before you commit.
Open the Lincoln award first, because it has the only fixed date in this set and it is the nearest one. Confirm whether you meet its entry requirement and whether your secondary results are in the form it accepts.
Then open the Waikato award, which is open year-round, and the Otago award, which is fully funded and spans undergraduate through PhD. Between them they cover the two funding labels on this page.
For the two awards where eligibility is not stated, contact the provider before you pay for anything. Ask one direct question: is this award open to international applicants from Nigeria at bachelor's level? Get the answer in writing.
Finally, work backwards from the admission offer. The scholarship is the second step, not the first. Until a New Zealand university has assessed your WAEC or NECO results and made you an offer, most of these awards cannot assess you at all.
Are you planning to study abroad in 2026 and searching for fully funded opportunities? New Zealand is one of the most sought-after study destinations among international students, offering world-class education, globally ranked universities, and a safe, welcoming environment. The best part is that a number of fully funded and partially funded scholarshipsare now open for international students in New Zealand for the 2025–2026 academic year. These scholarships are available for undergraduate, master’s, and PhD degree programs and offer financial assistance in the form of tuition fee waivers, monthly stipends, accommodation support, travel allowances, and medical insurance.
Whether you’re aiming to pursue higher education in engineering, business, social sciences, life sciences, environmental sciences, or any other field, New Zealand provides generous funding opportunities through government-sponsored programs and university-specific scholarships. Below is a comprehensive guide to some of the top scholarships available for international students in New Zealand, along with their benefits and how to apply.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
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