We list 3 fully Funded PhD Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Denmark, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 1 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 PhD scholarships in Denmark that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is labelled fully funded by the body offering it, and every award here is at doctoral level. The list is short, and that is the honest starting point: Denmark does not run a large catalogue of standalone PhD scholarships for international students. What it runs, mostly, is funded doctoral positions attached to a university department or a research group, and those are advertised as jobs as much as they are advertised as scholarships.
Two of the three awards sit inside Danish universities. The third is a European programme that includes Danish partner institutions. If you have been searching for a long list of Danish awards to apply to one by one, this page will not give you that. It will give you a small set of routes, and the rest of this page explains what each one asks of you.
The three entries are:
One of the three names a provider in the brief: the University of Copenhagen. The other two are listed without a single named provider in the brief, so treat the institution named in each title as your starting point and confirm the rest on the award page itself.
Because all three awards are labelled fully funded, the question is not whether money is attached but what the money is attached to. The brief records what the awards say in their own text, and the pattern is uneven.
That gap matters for a Nigerian applicant doing the arithmetic on a move to Europe. An award that covers tuition and nothing else still leaves you to find rent, food and winter clothing in a country where both are expensive. The Aalborg entry describes its funding as a salary plus a tuition waiver plus benefits, and the Erasmus+ entry describes tuition, a stipend, travel and insurance. Where an award does not spell out a benefit in its own text, do not assume it is included. Read the award page and, if it is still unclear, write to the contact named there before you spend money on a courier.
One entry also states a duration: the position is available for 3 years. Danish PhD positions commonly run on a fixed contract of that kind, which is a different arrangement from a scholarship paid in instalments against a thesis.
Of the 3 awards on this page, 1 states that Nigerians may apply. Within that one award, the brief records that no nationality restriction is named — the award is open on its face rather than reserved for a particular country or region. No award on this page names Nigeria or the West African region as a target group.
For the other 2 awards, the eligibility wording is not stated on the award as recorded here. That is not a refusal. It means the page does not tell you either way, and you have to open the award and read the eligibility section yourself. Do not read silence as a yes, and do not read it as a no.
The qualification that leads into this level is a master's degree: an M.Sc, M.A, MBA or M.Phil. If you are finishing a master's in Nigeria now, or you hold one and have been working, you are in the right band. Danish doctoral admission is normally tied to a supervisor or a research group, so the programme application and the funding decision often share one deadline rather than running as two separate competitions.
The requirements recorded across these awards are practical and document-heavy. Across the 3 awards:
The recommendation letters are the item that catches Nigerian applicants out, because they are the one thing you cannot produce alone. Ask your M.Sc supervisor and one other academic early, give them your CV and a short summary of the project you are proposing, and give them a date. A generic letter that says you were a good student will not carry a doctoral application.
The English test is the second cost. Two of these awards state a test requirement in writing. Before you book IELTS or TOEFL, check whether the specific award accepts a waiver — a degree taught and examined in English is accepted by some institutions and not others, and the award page is the only place that answer counts. Do not pay for a test on the assumption that a waiver exists.
The research proposal is the document that decides most doctoral applications. If you are applying to a named position, your proposal has to speak to the project the supervisor has already advertised, not to a topic you would prefer to work on.
None of the 3 awards on this page carries a fixed closing date in the brief. All 3 are recorded as undated, with the deadline shown as "see details". There is no busiest month to plan around and no next deadline to circle.
That changes how you work. With no date to anchor to, the risk is drift. Danish doctoral positions are advertised when a department has funding for them, and they close when the department has enough applications — sometimes weeks after posting. The Erasmus+ entry notes that deadlines vary by programme and generally fall between October and January, which is the only seasonal guidance on this page. Treat it as a prompt to have your documents ready before that window, not as a date you can rely on.
Practically: check the award pages on a schedule, not once. Once a fortnight is enough. When a position appears that fits your field, you want to be sending a finished application that week, not starting your transcripts.
Start with the documents, because they are the slow part and they cost money you will not get back. Order your transcripts from your Nigerian university now — the process can take weeks, and courier fees to Denmark are paid by you. Request your recommendation letters in the same week. If you need an English test, book it only after you have confirmed the requirement on the specific award.
Then work through the three awards on this page in order of fit. Read each one for its eligibility wording, since 2 of the 3 do not state it here. Check what each award says it covers, and note that only 1 names living costs, travel and health insurance together.
If you want a wider view of what is available at this study level and in this country, the same collection covers other funding types and other levels, including master's and short-course awards in Denmark. The three doctoral awards here are the fully funded ones. They are few, and each one will ask you for a complete application. That is the work.
Looking to study in Europe on a fully funded scholarship? Great news for Nigerian students! Denmark offers a range of fully funded scholarships for the academic year 2026–2027, covering tuition fees, living costs, and more. Known for its world-class education system, innovative research environment, and student-friendly cities, Denmark is quickly becoming a top destination for international students. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the best fully funded scholarships in Denmark specifically for international students. Whether you’re aiming for a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD degree, these opportunities can help you achieve your academic dreams without financial stress.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
A browser notification when a scholarship you can apply for is added or about to close. No account needed.
