We list 3 fully Funded Masters Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Turkey, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 3 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants.
Written from the 3 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 6 min read.
This page collects 3 fully funded masters scholarships in Turkey that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is tagged Fully Funded, every one is at masters level, and every one is in Turkey. The providers are Koc University, Bilkent University, and a third group of various Turkish universities.
Two of the three are university awards, run by Koc and Bilkent for their own graduate programmes. The third is the Turkey Government Scholarship, which places students across a range of Turkish universities rather than at a single institution. That difference matters when you are deciding where to send documents, because a university award is decided by that university's own graduate school, while the government award runs through a single national application.
Some of the awards on this page also carry PhD and bachelors tracks — the levels listed across the collection include 3 at masters, 3 at PhD and 1 at bachelors. If you are applying for a taught or research masters, you are looking at the masters strand of each award.
All 3 awards state that they cover tuition, living costs, travel, accommodation and health insurance. One of the three also names research or training costs in its own text. Read that as what the awards say in writing, not as a promise that every naira of your stay is covered — check the individual award page for how each benefit is actually paid, whether as a stipend, a fee waiver, or a reimbursement.
For a Nigerian applicant, the practical value of a full package is that it removes the two costs that usually end a Turkish application: tuition in hard currency and proof of funds for the visa stage. Living costs, accommodation and health insurance being named by all three awards means the monthly stipend question is at least addressed on paper. The one award that names research or training costs is the one to look at closely if your masters involves lab work, fieldwork or conference travel.
Yes, on the face of the listings. All 3 awards are open to Nigerian applicants: none of the three names Nigeria or a region as a restriction, and none of them carries a nationality restriction at all. That is the cleanest position you can be in — you are not competing for a country quota, and you are not excluded by a regional clause.
What you need in hand is a first degree or HND. The qualifications that lead into this level are B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS and HND. These are taught and research masters, and awards of this kind usually state a minimum class of degree. Where a Turkish university asks for an "upper second", that corresponds to Second Class Upper (2:1) on a Nigerian transcript. Two of the three awards on this page state a minimum degree class in their own text.
Whether an HND is accepted is decided by each university, not by this page. If you hold an HND, treat that as the first question to settle with the admissions office before you spend money on transcripts and courier fees.
Turkey is not a fringe destination for Nigerian students. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 3,669 Nigerian students in Turkey in 2023, ranking the country fifth as a host destination for Nigerian students. That is a settled pathway with an existing student community, not a gamble.
The requirements across the three awards are consistent enough to plan around. All 3 ask for an English test score — IELTS or TOEFL. Two ask for a minimum degree class. Two ask for a research proposal. Two ask for letters of recommendation. One asks you to hold an admission offer first before the scholarship application is considered.
The English test is the item that catches Nigerian applicants out, because many assume a Nigerian degree taught in English removes the requirement. On this page it does not: every award states the test. Budget for the test early, because the score has to be in hand before the scholarship deadline, not after.
The research proposal requirement on two awards tells you these are not purely coursework applications. Even where the award covers a taught masters, a proposal signals that the selection committee wants to see a defined area of study. Two awards also want recommendation letters, which means identifying referees — a supervisor, a head of department, a lecturer who knows your work — and giving them enough notice to write something specific rather than a generic letter.
The single award that requires an admission offer first changes your sequence entirely. For that one, the university application comes before the funding application. For the other two, you can often apply for admission and funding in the same cycle.
None of the three awards on this page carries a single fixed closing date that applies to everyone. All 3 are undated in the sense that no one date is stated as the deadline for the award as a whole. What the listings do give you is the shape of each cycle.
The Turkey Government Scholarship runs January 10 – February 20, 2026. That is a defined window, and it is the one date range on this page you can plan a calendar around.
Bilkent University's cycle shows March 18, June 6 and November 4 — three points in the year, which suggests more than one intake or more than one evaluation round. If you miss one, the next is not far off.
Koc University's listing points you to the details for its deadline rather than naming a date here. Open the award page and read the current cycle before you assume a date.
Because the dates are spread across the year rather than clustered, there is no single busy month for this collection. The practical consequence is that you can work backwards from whichever window fits your transcript and test timeline, instead of forcing everything into one season.
The two university awards are the more targeted route: you apply to a specific department, with a specific supervisor in view, and the funding decision sits with that institution. The government award is the broader route, placing you across a range of universities, and it is the one with the fixed national window.
Start with your documents, because they are the part with the longest lead time and the part you pay for yourself. Order your transcript from your Nigerian university early — the process is rarely quick, and courier costs add up if you have to send documents twice. Confirm your degree class wording on the transcript matches what the award asks for, and if you hold an HND, ask the university directly whether it is accepted before you commit to the application.
Book your IELTS or TOEFL date next. All 3 awards require a test score, so this is not optional on any of them. A test booked late is the most common reason a strong applicant misses a window.
Then decide your route. If you have a clear research area and a supervisor in mind, the Koc and Bilkent awards reward that specificity — two of the three awards ask for a research proposal, and two ask for recommendation letters, so line up your referees at the same time you draft the proposal. If you want the widest possible placement across Turkish universities, the Turkey Government Scholarship window of January 10 – February 20, 2026 is the one to build your calendar around.
Read each award page in full before you apply. The benefit lists and requirement lists on this page tell you what the awards state in writing; the award page tells you how to submit, what the current cycle requires, and what the deadline actually is for the year you are applying.
Are you a Nigerian student dreaming of pursuing higher education abroad without financial burden? Look no further! Turkey is emerging as a top destination for international students, and the Turkish Government and many universities offer fully funded scholarships specifically for international students, including internationals. These scholarships cover tuition fees, living expenses, airfare, health insurance, and more.
Why Study in Turkey?Turkey bridges Europe and Asia and offers a unique cultural, academic, and geographical environment. Some reasons to study in Turkey include:
High-quality education with globally ranked universities. Affordable living and tuition (even without a scholarship). Friendly visa policy and student-friendly atmosphere. Growing number of programs taught in English. Rich Islamic history and cultural familiarity for international students.*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
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