We list 3 fully Funded Scholarships for Nigerian Students in France, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 2 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants.
United States
26
United Kingdom
25
China
12
Australia
11
Canada
10
Italy
9
Japan
8
Switzerland
8
Belgium
7
Germany
7
United Arab Emirates
7
Russia
6
Thailand
5
Brazil
4
Denmark
4
Saudi Arabia
4
Singapore
4
France
Netherlands
3
New Zealand
3
Norway
3
Sweden
3
Turkey
3
Austria
2
Qatar
2
Spain
2
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 France open to Nigerian students. Every award here is tagged fully funded, and every one is in France. Two of the three are open at both undergraduate and master's level; the third is master's only. That gives you 3 awards at master's level and 2 at bachelor's level across the list.
The providers are Sciences Po, listed twice under slightly different names, and Université Paris-Saclay. If you have been working from a shortlist of French institutions, this is a narrow list by design. It is not a directory of every funding route into France. It is three specific awards, and the useful work is in reading each one properly before you spend money on transcripts and courier fees.
Of the three awards, 2 are open to Nigerian applicants. Neither of those two names Nigeria or the West African region in its eligibility text; both are open because they carry no nationality restriction. For the third award, the brief does not state eligibility, so treat that one as unresolved until you read the award page itself.
That distinction matters. An award that names no nationality restriction is not the same as an award that names Nigeria. The first means you are not excluded on paper. The second means the funder has said, in writing, that Nigerians are eligible. On this list you have the first kind. Read the full eligibility wording on each award page before you commit to an application, because subject, degree class and language requirements can still narrow the field.
All three are labelled fully funded. Beyond that label, the award texts are specific in only a few places: 1 award names tuition among what it covers, and 1 award names travel. No award on this page states a cash value, and none states a number of awards available.
So do not assume the three are identical in what they hand over. A fully funded label can mean tuition only, tuition plus a monthly stipend, or a package that includes insurance and housing support. Where the brief does not record a benefit, this page will not claim it. Open each award and read its own list of what is covered, then compare that against what you will actually need to pay: tuition, living costs, the visa process, and the flight.
One practical point for Nigerian applicants. If an award names tuition but you cannot see a stipend, the funding may not be enough on its own. Budget the gap before you accept a place, not after.
Two of the three sit within the Sciences Po family, so their application systems and timelines will feel similar. The Paris-Saclay award is a separate institution with its own process. If you are applying to both institutions anyway, you can work the two application tracks in parallel. If you are only interested in one, ignore the other and put the time into the documents.
The brief records one stated requirement across the three awards: 1 award asks for letters of recommendation. That is the only application requirement captured here, which means the rest is not recorded on this page. Do not read the silence as "nothing else needed".
Expect the usual French postgraduate file regardless: academic transcripts, degree certificate, a statement of purpose or motivation letter, a CV, and proof of English or French proficiency where the programme requires it. For a Nigerian applicant, the transcript is usually the slow item. Many Nigerian universities take weeks to produce an official transcript, and the courier to France adds more time on top. Start that request before you start the essay.
Where an award asks for recommendation letters, approach your referees early and give them the award name, the deadline and a short note on what you are applying for. A generic letter written in a hurry reads like one.
None of the three awards carries a single clean closing date in the brief, and none is marked as still open. All three are recorded as undated at the level of the award page, though two carry month references inside their deadline text.
The Emile Boutmy award separates its two levels: master's applications point to December 1, and undergraduate applications to March 4. The Chalhoub award also points to December 1 for master's intake. The Université Paris-Saclay award records a candidate selection deadline of May 5, with the scholarship date following it.
Two things follow from that. First, the master's route through the Sciences Po awards clusters around early December, so if you are applying at master's level, your documents need to be ready well before then. Second, the undergraduate route runs later, into March. Confirm every date on the award page itself before you plan around it, because these are the dates recorded in the brief and not a live calendar.
The brief records durations for two of the three awards. One runs undergraduate 3 to 6 years and master's 1.5 to 2 years. The other runs undergraduate 3 years and master's 2 years. The third award's duration is not recorded here.
Funding length matters as much as funding amount. An award that covers a two-year master's is not the same commitment as one that covers a single year, and a bachelor's award that can stretch to six years needs a funding structure that stretches with it. Check whether the award covers the full registered duration of your programme or only the first year, and whether renewal depends on your results.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics records 772 Nigerian students in France in 2024, a rank of 22 among sending countries. That is a small number against the size of the Nigerian student population overall, and it tells you something useful: France is not the default destination, so the people who go tend to have prepared deliberately.
It also means you are unlikely to find a large informal network of Nigerian students already in your programme. Build your information from the award pages and the institution's own international office rather than from second-hand accounts.
Three awards is a short list, and that is the point. Read each one closely, match it against your degree class and your subject, and apply where you genuinely fit. A careful application to one award you qualify for is worth more than three rushed ones.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
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