We list 7 fully Funded Masters Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Switzerland, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 5 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. 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 Switzerland open to Nigerian students. Every award here is tagged at masters level, and every one is tagged fully funded, so the funding label is not a mixed bag you have to sort through. The list draws on six providers: the Swiss Government and Swiss universities, ETH Zurich, EPFL, the University of Lausanne, IMD and the Geneva Academy.
Switzerland is a small country with a concentrated set of research universities, and the awards below reflect that. Some are university-wide, some sit inside a single institution, and one is a government scheme that also funds doctoral and postdoctoral study. If you are weighing Switzerland against other destinations, the practical question is not whether the money exists. It is whether your transcript, your English test and your documents can be assembled in time for the deadlines.
Of the 7 awards on this page, 5 are open to Nigerian applicants. None of those five names Nigeria or a region in its eligibility text; all five simply carry no nationality restriction. The remaining 2 do not state their eligibility on the award page at all, which means you have to check the provider's own requirements before you spend money on a courier.
That distinction matters. An award that does not mention nationality is not the same as an award that welcomes everyone, and an award that says nothing about eligibility is not an award you can assume is open. Read the full listing for each one before you commit to an application fee or a transcript request.
The qualification you are applying with is a first degree or an HND. In practice that means a B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS or HND. These are taught and research masters, and awards usually state 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. Whether an HND is accepted is decided by each university, not by this page, so confirm it directly with the institution before you apply.
For context on how small the Nigerian cohort in Switzerland is: the UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 110 Nigerian students in Switzerland in 2024, ranking the country 57th as a destination for Nigerian students. You would be joining a small group.
All 7 awards are labelled fully funded. What that label covers varies from award to award, and the counts below reflect what the awards say in their own text, not a promise about any individual application.
Read those numbers carefully. A fully funded award that names tuition but not living costs leaves you to cover rent and food in one of the more expensive countries in Europe. Before you accept an offer, work out which of the five categories above your award actually names, and budget the rest yourself. The individual listings carry the wording each provider uses.
The requirements stated on these awards are worth planning around, because two of them are the kind of thing Nigerian applicants often leave late.
Four awards asking for IELTS or TOEFL is the single most expensive line item for most applicants. Book the test early; seats fill and results take time to reach the institution. If you are applying to a programme taught in English and you studied your first degree in English, ask the university directly whether it grants a waiver — that decision belongs to the institution, not to this page.
Four awards also ask for letters of recommendation. Approach your lecturers and your former supervisor while they still remember your project work, and give them your CV and a draft of your statement so they are not writing from scratch. The one award asking for a research proposal will expect you to name a topic and a supervisor, so start that conversation with the department before the deadline, not after.
Two of the 7 awards carry a stated date. Two are still open. Five are undated on the listing, and two run on a recurring annual cycle. November is the busiest month on this page, with two deadlines falling in it.
The two closing soonest are:
Two more operate on a repeating cycle rather than a single date. The EPFL Excellence Fellowships run on 31 March or 15 December annually. The IMD MBA Scholarships are described as available throughout 2026 until allocated, which means the earlier you apply the more room there is.
The remaining awards carry no date on the listing. For those, go to the provider's page and find the current cycle. An undated listing is not an open door; it usually means the date sits on the university's own admissions page.
Beyond the two closing in November, the page includes the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2026–2027, which covers masters, PhD and postdoctoral study, and the EPFL Excellence Fellowships. The University of Geneva Excellence Masters Fellowships and the IMD MBA Scholarships 2026–2027 complete the set.
Fields are spread rather than clustered. Business and Management appears twice. Arts and Humanities, Computer Science and IT, Energy and Environment, Engineering, Law, Natural Sciences, Public Policy and Development, and Social Sciences each appear once. If your subject is not on that list, this particular page is unlikely to have a match, though the wider Switzerland listings may.
Start with the two November deadlines, because they are the ones that will pass while you are still gathering documents. Open the UNIL and ETH Zurich listings, read the eligibility text in full, and note exactly which documents each one asks for.
Then work backwards. A transcript request from a Nigerian university can take weeks, and courier delivery to Switzerland adds more. Recommendation letters depend on someone else's schedule. An IELTS or TOEFL booking depends on seat availability at your test centre. None of these can be compressed at the last minute.
If an award does not state its eligibility, treat that as an open question rather than a yes. Email the provider, ask whether Nigerian applicants with your class of degree qualify, and keep the reply. For awards that ask for a research proposal, contact a potential supervisor before you write it.
Finally, budget honestly. Fully funded does not automatically mean every cost is named. Check which of tuition, accommodation, living costs, travel and health insurance your award covers, and plan for the rest before you accept a place.
Looking to study in one of Europe’s most advanced and beautiful countries—without the burden of high tuition fees? Switzerland offers fully funded scholarships for Nigerian students in the academic year 2025-2026, making it an ideal destination for those seeking world-class education, cutting-edge research, and a high quality of life.
Known for its top-ranked universities like ETH Zurich, University of Geneva, EPFL, and University of Lausanne, Switzerland welcomes talented students from around the world through generous government-funded and university-specific scholarships. These prestigious awards cover full tuition fees, monthly living stipends, health insurance, housing, and travel costs—providing financial relief while allowing students to focus on academic excellence.
Whether you’re aiming for a master’s degree, PhD, or postdoctoral research, scholarships such as the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships, ETH Zurich Excellence Scholarships, and EPFL Fellowships offer a fully funded path to studying in Switzerland.
In this detailed guide, we’ll explore the top fully funded scholarships in Switzerland for international students 2025-2026, complete with benefits, application requirements, and step-by-step instructions to help you succeed.
Dreaming of studying in one of Europe’s most scenic, innovative, and academically renowned countries? Sw...
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
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