We list 8 fully Funded Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Switzerland, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 6 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
United States
26
United Kingdom
25
China
12
Australia
11
Canada
10
Italy
9
Japan
8
Switzerland
Belgium
7
Germany
7
United Arab Emirates
7
Russia
6
Thailand
5
Brazil
4
Denmark
4
Saudi Arabia
4
Singapore
4
France
3
Netherlands
3
New Zealand
3
Norway
3
Sweden
3
Turkey
3
Austria
2
Qatar
2
Spain
2
Written from the 8 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 6 min read.
This page collects 8 fully funded scholarships in Switzerland open to Nigerian students. Every award here is labelled fully funded by the body offering it, and every one of the eight is based in Switzerland. None of them is a partial award you would have to top up from your own pocket, though what "fully funded" covers varies from award to award, and the sections below set out exactly what each one states in writing.
The list leans heavily towards master's study. 7 of the 8 are master's awards. Two are fellowships, one is a PhD award and one is postdoctoral. Some awards appear under more than one level, which is why those figures add up to more than eight.
The providers are a mix of Swiss federal bodies and individual institutions. The Swiss Government, through its universities, appears once. ETH Zurich, EPFL, the University of Lausanne and IMD each appear once, and IRP appears once. That spread matters: it means you are not looking at eight variations of the same programme, but at separate competitions with separate forms, separate referees and separate selection panels.
Those are the awards with the clearest detail on file. The remaining entries on the page follow the same pattern: a Swiss institution, a full funding label, and an application you submit directly.
Read the funding line on each award rather than the collection heading. Of the eight, 3 name tuition in their own text, 2 name accommodation, and 1 each name living costs, travel and health insurance. Those are the benefits the awards state in writing, not a promise that every award covers every line. Where an award does not name a benefit, treat it as unknown until you read the award page itself.
For a Nigerian applicant this is the part that decides whether an offer is workable. Tuition is the visible cost. The invisible ones are the flight, the residence permit fees, the deposit a landlord asks for before you have a Swiss bank account, and the first month or two of living before any stipend lands. An award that names accommodation and living costs removes more of that pressure than one that names tuition alone, even if both are described as fully funded.
For 6 of the 8 awards, Nigerians may apply. Within those six, none names Nigeria or the West African region as a required nationality, and all six carry no nationality restriction at all. Those two figures describe the same six awards from different angles, not two separate groups. For the remaining 2 awards, the eligibility is not stated on the award itself, so you would need to confirm directly with the provider before spending money on a transcript or a courier.
This is a better position than many country collections. A named-country award usually means a quota, a nomination route through a ministry, or a bilateral agreement, and those routes are slow and often closed to self-funded applicants. An award with no nationality restriction is judged on your file: your degree, your references, your statement and, where required, your test score.
One number worth holding in view: UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 110 Nigerian students in Switzerland in 2024, a rank of 57 by country. Switzerland is not a large destination for Nigerian students. That cuts both ways. There is no large alumni network to lean on, but you are also not competing against a crowded pool of applicants from your own country.
The requirements stated across these awards are ordinary and predictable, which is useful, because it means you can prepare once and reuse most of the material.
The English test is the line item that costs Nigerian applicants the most, both in naira and in weeks. Book early. Test centres in Lagos and Abuja fill up, results take time to reach you, and some providers want the score sent directly from the testing body rather than uploaded by you. If an award does not state a test requirement, do not assume one is waived; check the award page.
Letters of recommendation are the second bottleneck. Four awards ask for them. Approach your lecturers or your line manager at least a month before the deadline, give them your CV, your transcript and a short note on what you are applying for, and tell them the exact date the letter must be submitted. A generic letter written in a hurry reads like one.
Three awards on this page carry a dated deadline, three are still open, and five are undated, meaning the closing date is not stated on the award itself. Three run on a recurring annual cycle. November is the busiest month with 2 deadlines, followed by October with 1.
The three closing soonest are:
Two awards run on a recurring cycle rather than a single date. The EPFL Excellence Fellowships close on 31 March or 15 December annually. That recurring pattern is common in Switzerland and it is easy to misread: a date that has passed this year is usually the same date next year, so a missed cycle costs you twelve months, not the opportunity.
The durations stated across these awards are 3 or 4 semesters, a 1.5-year or 2-year master's programme depending on the award, 2 years for students undertaking a master's, and 2 years in one further case. In practice you are planning for roughly eighteen months to two years in Switzerland.
Plan your documents for that whole span, not just for admission. A transcript you order now may be needed again at the end of the programme. Keep scanned copies of everything, and keep the originals somewhere you can reach them without flying home.
Start with the three dated awards, because they force a decision. Open the IRP Research Grant first if 21 October is close, then Lausanne, then ETH Zurich. Read the eligibility section on each award page before you pay for anything.
Then work backwards from the deadline. If an award asks for an English test, the test date comes before the application date, and the preparation comes before the test date. If it asks for references, your referees need at least a month. If it asks for a research proposal, that is weeks of reading, not an evening.
For the two awards where eligibility is not stated, email the provider before you spend money on transcripts or courier fees. A short, plain email asking whether Nigerian applicants with your qualification are eligible costs nothing and can save you a great deal.
Finally, treat the funding line as a starting point, not a conclusion. Three awards name tuition, two name accommodation, and one each name living costs, travel and health insurance. Build your own budget around what your chosen award actually states, and keep a margin for the first two months, which are always the most expensive.
Looking to study in one of Europe’s most advanced and beautiful countries—without the burden of high tuition fees? Switzerland offers fully funded scholarships for Nigerian students in the academic year 2025-2026, making it an ideal destination for those seeking world-class education, cutting-edge research, and a high quality of life.
Known for its top-ranked universities like ETH Zurich, University of Geneva, EPFL, and University of Lausanne, Switzerland welcomes talented students from around the world through generous government-funded and university-specific scholarships. These prestigious awards cover full tuition fees, monthly living stipends, health insurance, housing, and travel costs—providing financial relief while allowing students to focus on academic excellence.
Whether you’re aiming for a master’s degree, PhD, or postdoctoral research, scholarships such as the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships, ETH Zurich Excellence Scholarships, and EPFL Fellowships offer a fully funded path to studying in Switzerland.
In this detailed guide, we’ll explore the top fully funded scholarships in Switzerland for international students 2025-2026, complete with benefits, application requirements, and step-by-step instructions to help you succeed.
Dreaming of studying in one of Europe’s most scenic, innovative, and academically renowned countries? Sw...
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
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