We list 3 fully Funded Scholarships Open to Nigerian Students in Italy, 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 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 scholarships in Italy that are open to Nigerian students. Every award on it is labelled fully funded by the provider, and every one of the three is open to Nigerian applicants. Two of the three carry no nationality restriction at all, and one names Nigeria or the wider region directly in its eligibility text.
The three awards come from three different institutions: the University of Bologna, Bocconi University, and the University of Pavia together with EDiSU. They are not variations of one scheme. They sit at different study levels, they ask for different things, and they run on different calendars.
If you are working from a Nigerian transcript, a WAEC or NECO result, an HND, a B.Sc or an M.Sc, the point of this page is to let you see quickly which of these three fits your level and which ones you can realistically apply to this cycle.
All three are fully funded, but "fully funded" is a phrase each provider defines for itself, and the definitions differ here.
Two of the three name tuition in their own text. Two name accommodation. One names travel. One names health insurance. Read those counts as what the awards say in writing, not as a promise that every cost you will face is covered. Where an award does not name a benefit, treat it as something to confirm with the provider before you commit money to a visa file or a flight.
The CICOPS Research Scholarship at the University of Pavia is the most explicit of the three. It states 8 scholarships, with EUR 150 (gross) per week plus travel, accommodation, meals and insurance. That is a research visit rather than a degree, and it runs for 4 to 12 weeks in 2027.
The Bologna and Bocconi awards do not state a cash value on this page. What they do state is that they are fully funded, and both name tuition and accommodation among their benefits.
The three awards spread across levels as follows:
Those counts overlap. The University of Bologna award covers undergraduate and masters study. The Bocconi award covers undergraduate and master's study. The Pavia CICOPS award is a research visit for PhD holders and academic staff, which is why it appears under fellowship rather than under a taught degree level.
So if you are finishing secondary school or holding WAEC and NECO results, two of these three are built for your level. If you already hold a first degree and are looking at a master's, the same two apply. If you hold a PhD and are on academic staff, the Pavia award is the one written for you.
Yes, on all three. That is the filter this page was built on.
One of the three names Nigeria or the region in its eligibility text. The other two carry no nationality restriction. None of the three leaves eligibility unstated.
What that means in practice: for two of these awards, your nationality is not the question. Your degree class, your transcript, your English test position and your documents are the question. For the one that names Nigeria or the region, read the eligibility wording on the award page itself before you spend on courier fees, because a named region can mean a specific list of countries rather than a general welcome.
Italy is a real destination for Nigerian students. UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 625 Nigerian students in Italy in 2023, ranking the country 25th as a host. That is a modest number, which cuts both ways: the community is small, and the competition from Nigerian applicants for these particular awards is correspondingly thin.
University of Bologna Scholarship 2027 (Application Process) — University of Bologna. Undergraduate and masters level. Fully funded, with tuition and accommodation named. Deadline listed as May 2026.
Bocconi University Scholarships 2026-2027 — Bocconi University. Undergraduate and master's level. Fully funded, with tuition and accommodation named. Deadlines listed as Undergraduate — April 14 and Master's — April 21.
CICOPS Research Scholarships 2027, University of Pavia (Italy) — University of Pavia and EDiSU. A research visit for PhD holders and academic staff. Fully funded, with 8 scholarships, EUR 150 (gross) per week, plus travel, accommodation, meals and insurance. Duration of 4 to 12 weeks in 2027. Deadline listed as closed on 10 June 2026.
You can read each one in full here:
Of the three awards, one carries a dated deadline and two are undated on this page. None is currently marked as still open, and none is described as recurring.
The single dated deadline sits in June, and it belongs to the Pavia CICOPS award, listed as closed on 10 June 2026. The other two carry dates that fall outside the dated count on this page — Bologna in May 2026, Bocconi in April — so treat those as dates to verify on the award page rather than as confirmed closing dates.
The practical reading: this is not a list you can act on late in the year. The Bocconi dates land in April, Bologna in May, Pavia in June. If you are applying for a 2026 or 2027 intake, your document preparation needs to start well before those months, because Nigerian transcript requests, WAEC or NECO verification and courier delivery all take time you cannot compress at the end.
This page does not carry a breakdown of stated requirements across the three awards, so there is no honest count to give you of how many ask for an English test, a reference letter or a research proposal. What can be said is what the awards themselves show.
The two degree-level awards, Bologna and Bocconi, sit at undergraduate and master's level, which in the Italian system means an admissions file as well as a funding file. The Pavia CICOPS award is a research visit for PhD holders and academic staff, which means a research proposal and an academic host arrangement rather than a taught-programme application.
Two things are worth doing before you spend money. First, check whether the award or the university accepts a medium-of-instruction letter in place of an English test — many Italian institutions do, and that single check can save you a test fee. Second, confirm what the award actually covers against the costs you will carry, because tuition and accommodation being named does not automatically mean flights, visa fees and living costs are inside the package.
Start with the level you actually hold today, not the level you hope to hold later. If you have WAEC or NECO and are applying for a first degree, the Bologna and Bocconi awards are your two. If you hold a B.Sc or HND and are applying for a master's, the same two. If you hold a PhD and are on academic staff, the Pavia CICOPS award is the one written for your profile.
Then open the award page and read the eligibility wording line by line, particularly on the award that names Nigeria or the region. Confirm the deadline on the page itself rather than working from a summary, since two of the three dates here are undated.
Then work backwards from the deadline. Request your transcript early. Confirm whether an English test is required or whether a waiver is available. Budget for courier fees before you budget for anything else, because a file that arrives late is a file that was never read.
Three awards is a short list, and short lists reward precision. Pick the one or two that match your level, prepare the file properly, and submit before the month closes.
Italy is one of the most attractive destinations in Europe for international students who want to pursue higher education abroad. Known for its rich history, cultural diversity, and internationally recognized universities, Italy offers a wide range of fully funded scholarships for international students 2026–2027 at the bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD levels. These scholarships cover tuition fees, monthly living allowances, accommodation, health insurance, and in some cases, travel expenses, making it easier for talented students to study in prestigious Italian institutions like the University of Bologna, Sapienza University of Rome, and Politecnico di Milano. With these opportunities, international students can access high-quality education in fields such as engineering, medicine, business, arts, and social sciences while experiencing Europe’s unique lifestyle.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
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