We list 3 fully Funded PhD Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Brazil, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms.
Written from the 3 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 3 fully funded PhD scholarships in Brazil that are open to Nigerian students. Each one is a doctoral-level award, and each one is listed as fully funded by the body running it. The awards are offered by Brazilian institutions and research institutes, and the three named on this page are the PEC-PG Scholarship, the CAPES Scholarships, and the CNPq Scholarships.
The list is narrow on purpose. It does not cover taught master's programmes in Brazil, summer schools, or self-funded doctoral places. It is the doctoral funding route, and nothing else.
Two of the three — CAPES and CNPq — also fund master's and postdoctoral study. If you are still at master's level, or already past your doctorate, those two are worth reading in full. PEC-PG is listed at master's and PhD level.
All three awards state that they cover tuition. All three state that they cover living costs. Two of the three state that they cover travel. One states that it covers research or training costs.
Those counts describe what each award says in its own text. They are not a promise that every naira of your costs disappears. Read the individual award page for the exact wording before you build a budget around it.
The PEC-PG listing states a monthly value for each level, and the CAPES and CNPq listings state approximate monthly values for each level. Where a figure is given, treat it as the award's own stated figure and check it against the current call, because stipend values are set by the funding body and can change between calls.
For all three awards on this page, the eligibility section does not state a nationality restriction. That is the honest position: the award text does not name Nigeria, does not name an African region, and does not rule anyone out on nationality grounds either. There is nothing in the listed eligibility that excludes a Nigerian applicant, and there is nothing that names Nigeria specifically.
What that means in practice is that you cannot assume you qualify, and you cannot assume you are excluded. You have to read the full call for each award and check the conditions it does state — the degree you hold, the institution you are applying to, and whether the programme requires you to be enrolled before the scholarship is confirmed.
The qualification that leads into this level is a master's degree. M.Sc, M.A, MBA and M.Phil are the qualifications named in the pathway for doctoral study. If your master's is from a Nigerian university, you will need your transcript and your certificate in a form the Brazilian institution accepts, and you should start that paperwork early because it moves slowly and costs money at every stage.
All three awards state that they require a research proposal. All three state that they require letters of recommendation.
Those two items are where most Nigerian applicants lose time. A research proposal for a Brazilian doctoral programme is not a statement of purpose. It is a document that names a problem, sets out what you intend to investigate, explains how you will investigate it, and shows that you have read the existing work in the area. It usually needs to align with what a supervisor at the host institution is already working on.
Letters of recommendation take just as long. Your referees need to be people who can speak to your research ability, not just your character. Give them your proposal, your transcript and a clear deadline, and give them more time than you think they need.
Doctoral places in Brazil are frequently tied to a supervisor or a research group. That means the programme application and the scholarship application often share a single deadline, and you cannot separate them. Approach a potential supervisor before you submit anything.
None of the three awards on this page carries a fixed closing date. All three are listed as undated, with deadlines that vary by call.
PEC-PG is described as generally opening mid-year, with the deadline varying by call. CAPES deadlines vary by programme and by call, and are announced annually on the CAPES portal. CNPq deadlines likewise vary by call and are announced annually on the CNPq website.
Because there is no single date to work towards, the practical approach is to check the awarding body's own portal on a regular schedule rather than waiting for an announcement to reach you. Calls open and close within a window, and a call you miss is a year gone.
Brazil is not the first country most Nigerian students think of for a PhD. The language barrier is real, and the application process runs on a different calendar from the UK or Canadian cycles most people are used to. But the funding is there, and it is listed as fully funded at doctoral level.
For context on how small this route currently is: the UNESCO Institute for Statistics records 187 Nigerian students in Brazil in 2024, ranking Brazil 45th as a destination for Nigerian students. That is a small number, and it tells you two things. The competition for these places is not the same crush you face for a UK or US award. And the information available to you is thinner, so you will have to do more of the reading yourself.
Start with the three award pages linked above and read each one in full. Note the level each one covers, since CAPES and CNPq reach into master's and postdoctoral study while PEC-PG is listed at master's and PhD level.
Then work backwards from the documents. A research proposal and letters of recommendation are required by all three, so those are the two items you can begin on today regardless of which award you eventually target. Your master's transcript and certificate come next, and they take longer than you expect.
Finally, identify a supervisor or research group whose work matches your proposal. For doctoral funding in Brazil, the supervisor is often the difference between a funded place and an unfunded one. Do that before the next call opens, not after.
Brazil is rapidly emerging as an attractive study destination for Nigerian students, including those from Pakistan. With its world-class universities, affordable living costs, and vibrant culture, Brazil offers a unique academic experience. What's even more exciting is the growing number of fully and partially funded scholarships available for international students at undergraduate, master’s, and PhD levels.
In this guide, we explore the Top 10 Best Scholarships in Brazil for international Students, including government-funded, university-specific, and international collaborative scholarships. Whether you’re interested in environmental sciences, public health, engineering, or social sciences, Brazil offers diverse opportunities for high-achieving students.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
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