We list 7 fully Funded Masters 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. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
Written from the 7 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 7 fully funded masters scholarships in the United Kingdom that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is labelled fully funded by the provider, and every one of the 7 is at masters level. That is the whole list: no partially funded awards, no undergraduate awards, no PhD-only awards.
The same 7 awards also appear under other levels because some of them accept doctoral applicants too. Alongside the 7 masters awards, the collection carries 3 that list PhD as a level and 1 fellowship. If you are applying for a taught masters or a research masters, the 7 are your set.
The providers are concentrated. The University of Oxford accounts for 3 of the awards, and the remaining places go to the University of Cambridge, Queen Mary University of London, Durham University and Westminster university, one each. One award on the page sits in Business & Management; the rest are not tied to a single subject in the way this page records them.
Yes, to all 7. Of the 7, 2 name Nigeria or the African region in their eligibility text, and 5 carry no nationality restriction at all. Those two figures add up to the total, so there is no third group of awards sitting outside them. None of the 7 leaves eligibility unstated on the award itself.
That distinction matters when you are reading the fine print. An award that names Nigeria or the region has already told you that you qualify on nationality. An award with no nationality restriction is open on paper, but the competition is global and the selection criteria may still be shaped by the course, the department or the donor's intent. Read each award's own page before you spend money on a courier.
The scale of the Nigerian presence in UK higher education is worth knowing. UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 71,756 Nigerian students in the United Kingdom in 2023, the largest group from any single country. You are not applying into an empty room.
Fully funded is a label, not a uniform package. What each award actually states in its own text varies, so treat these counts as what the awards say in writing rather than as a promise:
Only one award on the page states a number of awards available, and only one states a value in words, describing a full fee award. The rest do not publish an amount or a count here. Where an award does not state a figure, this page does not supply one.
Read the gap between tuition and living costs carefully. Tuition is the item most often covered; living costs appear in 4 of the 7. If an award you are targeting covers tuition but says nothing about maintenance, you need a plan for rent, food, transport and the NHS surcharge before you accept a place.
The requirements the awards state in writing are these:
Two things follow from that. First, references are the most common ask, and they are the slowest to obtain. A Nigerian referee — your project supervisor, your HOD, a former line manager — needs weeks of notice, and in many departments the letter has to be sent from an official email address rather than handed to you. Ask early, and ask in writing.
Second, the English test appears in the text of only one award. That does not mean the others waive it; it means the award page does not state it, and the university's own admissions requirements will govern. Many UK universities waive a test where your degree was taught and examined in English, but that decision belongs to the university, not to this page. Check it directly with the admissions office of the department you are applying to.
The single award that requires an admission offer first is the one to sequence carefully. You cannot win it without a place, and a place takes months. Start the university application before you start the scholarship application.
The route into these awards is a first degree or an HND. On a Nigerian transcript that means B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS or HND. These are masters awards, both taught and research, and the entry bar is normally expressed as a minimum class of degree.
Where an award asks for an upper second, that corresponds to Second Class Upper (2:1) on a Nigerian transcript. If you hold a 2:2, do not assume you are out — but do not assume you are in either. Some awards state a minimum class, some do not state one on the page at all, and the final call sits with the university. Whether an HND is accepted for a particular masters programme is decided by each university, not by this page. If you are applying with an HND, confirm eligibility with the department before you pay for anything.
Of the 7 awards, 3 carry a stated date, 3 are recorded as still open, and 4 are undated on this page. Three recur annually. The busiest months across the collection are October, March and January, one award each.
The three closing soonest are:
One award on the page, the Clarendon Fund – University of Oxford 2026-2027, runs on a December or January deadline that follows the course deadline you are applying to, so its date moves with your programme. The Gates Cambridge Scholarship 2026-2027 (Fully Funded) and the University of Westminster Scholarships 2026-2027 do not carry a single fixed date on this page; the Westminster award varies according to financial aid. Check each award's own page rather than relying on a remembered date.
Work backwards from the earliest deadline you can meet. If the 31 October closing date is realistic, that is your first application. If not, the 6 January and 31 March awards give you a longer runway, and the undated awards need a direct check before you plan around them.
In practical order: confirm the class of degree each award expects and whether your HND is accepted; request your transcripts from your Nigerian institution, since that queue is often longer than the scholarship queue; brief your referees; and start the university application for any award that requires an admission offer first. Budget for transcripts, courier fees and any English test before you commit, because those costs land on you whether or not the award comes through.
Then open each award page on this list and read the eligibility text yourself. Seven awards, five providers, and one country. The work is in the detail of each one.
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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