We list 3 fully Funded Scholarships Open to Nigerian Students in Turkey, 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. 6 min read.
This page collects 3 fully funded scholarships in Turkey that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is labelled fully funded by the body offering it, and every one of the three is open to you on nationality grounds: none of them names Nigeria or a region as a condition, and none of them carries a nationality restriction at all. That is the plain position across all three.
The awards come from three providers: Koc University, Bilkent University, and a third route offered across various Turkish universities. Two are university scholarships with a named institution behind them. The third is the government route, which places successful applicants across a range of Turkish universities rather than at a single campus.
Turkey sits inside the top five destinations for Nigerian students internationally. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 3,669 Nigerian students in Turkey in 2023, the fifth-largest Nigerian student population in any country. That figure is worth holding on to, because it tells you the paperwork, the transcript routes and the visa steps are well trodden by Nigerians before you.
All three awards state that they cover tuition, living costs, travel, accommodation and health insurance. That is the full set, named in writing by each of the three. One of the three also names research or training costs.
Read that as what the awards say they provide, not as a promise about the size of any monthly stipend. The brief behind this page does not carry award values, and this page will not invent them. What you can rely on is the structure: tuition handled, a living allowance, a flight, a place to stay, and health cover. For a Nigerian applicant paying transcript fees and courier charges out of pocket before you even submit, knowing that the flight and the accommodation are inside the award matters.
Where an award does not label its funding, this page says nothing about what it covers. Here, that situation does not arise: all three are labelled fully funded.
The list splits across three study levels, and the groups overlap — an award open to master's and doctoral applicants is counted at both levels.
So the master's and doctoral routes are the wide ones. If you are finishing a B.Sc or HND and looking at a taught or thesis master's, all three awards are in play. If you are coming out of an M.Sc and looking at a doctorate, the same three are open. Undergraduate entry is narrower: one award, the government route, takes bachelor's applicants alongside master's and doctoral ones.
On duration, the brief records two structures. One award describes a master's with thesis as two years of courses and thesis, and a PhD as four years. Another describes a master's as six semesters, three years, and a PhD as four years. The two do not agree on the master's length, which is normal — Turkish universities differ on whether a thesis master's runs two years or three. Check the specific award before you plan around a timeline.
Yes, on the nationality test. All three awards are open to Nigerian students. None of the three names Nigeria or a region as a requirement, and none of the three carries a nationality restriction. That is the cleanest possible position: you are not competing for a quota reserved for a particular country or bloc, and you are not excluded by where you were born.
Nationality is only the first gate. The academic gates are separate, and they are set out below.
This is where the work sits. Across the three awards, the requirements stated in writing are:
The English test is the one to plan around. All three awards state it, so there is no award on this page you can reach without it. If you have a recent IELTS or TOEFL score, or you are about to sit one, you are aligned with the list. Book early: test slots in Lagos and Abuja fill, and the score has to be valid at the point you submit, not at the point you start thinking about it.
Two awards state a minimum degree class. Nigerian applicants should read this carefully against their own transcript. A 2:1 or better is the usual threshold where a class is specified, but the brief does not name the class for these awards, so check the individual award page rather than assuming. If you hold a Second Class Lower, do not write yourself off before you have read the specific requirement — but do read it.
Two awards ask for a research proposal. That points at the thesis master's and doctoral routes rather than taught programmes. A proposal is not a personal statement. It needs a question, a method, and a reason the work belongs at that institution. Start it early; it takes longer than most applicants expect.
Two awards ask for letters of recommendation. Approach your referees with at least a month in hand. Nigerian academics are asked constantly and a rushed referee writes a thin letter.
One award requires an admission offer first. That is the sequencing trap on this page: you cannot apply for the funding until the university has admitted you, which means the university application deadline comes before the funding deadline. Work backwards from that.
None of the three awards carries a single fixed date in the brief. All three are undated at the level this page records, which means the deadline sits inside the award's own details and you have to open it to find it. Two of the three do give a shape:
Two things follow. First, the government route runs a single window, January 10 to February 20, 2026. That is one shot in the year, and it opens and closes inside six weeks. Second, Bilkent runs three separate dates — March 18, June 6 and November 4 — which means more than one chance in the cycle, but also that the earliest of the three is the one to aim at if you want the strongest position. Koc does not publish a date at this level, so open the award and read it.
Because the dates differ, there is no single month to circle. Treat the government window as your fixed point and build the university applications around it.
Start with the English test, because all three awards require it and nothing else you do matters until it exists. Book a date, sit it, and keep the score safe.
Then decide your level. If you are applying for a master's or a doctorate, all three awards are open to you. If you are applying as an undergraduate, the government route is the one that takes you.
Then work the documents in the order the awards demand them. If you are going for a research-based place, draft the proposal before you ask anyone for a letter — your referees will write better when they can see what you are proposing. Request transcripts from your Nigerian institution early; the processing and courier time is real and it is on you.
Finally, open each award and read its own deadline. Two of the three give dates here; one does not. Read all three anyway, because the eligibility wording, the degree class and the sequencing sit inside the award, not on this page.
Read the three listings in full before you commit to any single one:
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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