Fully Funded Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Turkey 2026-2027

What this page lists

This page lists 3 fully funded scholarships in Turkey open to Nigerian students. Every award here is labelled fully funded by the provider, and every one of the three is based in Turkey. There is no partial funding, no tuition-only award and no self-sponsored option on this page. If you are looking for a Turkish award that covers only fees, this is not the list for you.

The three awards come from three different providers: Koc University, Bilkent University, and a group listed as Various Universities, which is the Turkey Government Scholarship. Two of the three are university-specific awards. The third is the government scheme, which places students across a range of Turkish institutions rather than at a single campus.

Nigeria is not named as a restricted or preferred nationality on any of the three. All three carry no nationality restriction at all. That matters: it means a Nigerian passport is not a barrier on any award on this page, and you are competing in the same pool as every other international applicant.

What the awards pay for

All three awards state that they cover tuition, living costs, travel, accommodation and health insurance. That is the full package — the things that usually break a Nigerian applicant's budget are named in writing by every provider on this list.

• Tuition — stated by all 3
• Living costs — stated by all 3
• Travel — stated by all 3
• Accommodation — stated by all 3
• Health insurance — stated by all 3
• Research or training costs — stated by 1

Read those as what the awards say in their own text, not as a promise about how much lands in your account each month. Stipends and allowances are set by the provider and can change between cycles. What you can rely on is that the five main cost lines are named.

The research and training line is the one to watch if you are applying at PhD level. Only one of the three names it, so if your work needs lab time, fieldwork or conference travel, check that award's own page before you build your plan around it.

Which levels you can apply at

All three awards are open at Masters level and all three are open at PhD level. One of the three is also open at Bachelors level. That single undergraduate route is the Turkey Government Scholarship, which is listed as covering undergraduate, Masters and PhD study.

So the shape of this page is straightforward. If you already hold a B.Sc or HND and want a Master's, you have three options. If you hold a Master's and want a PhD, you have the same three. If you are coming straight from WAEC or NECO with no degree yet, you have one option, and it is the government scheme.

Two of the awards — Koc University and Bilkent University — are listed at Master's and PhD only. Neither takes undergraduate applicants.

Do you qualify as a Nigerian applicant?

On nationality, yes, on all three. None of the three names Nigeria specifically, and none of the three carries a nationality restriction. That is the cleanest eligibility position you will find on a country page.

The requirements that will actually decide your application are academic and documentary, not national. Two of the three state a minimum degree class. Two ask for a research proposal. Two ask for letters of recommendation. One requires that you hold an admission offer before you apply for the funding.

That last one changes your sequencing completely. If the award you are targeting is the one that wants an admission offer first, you cannot treat the scholarship application as the first step — you must be admitted to the programme before the funding application becomes possible. Start on the admission side early.

On English tests: all three ask for an IELTS or TOEFL score. This is the requirement Nigerian applicants most often try to sidestep, and on this page there is no stated waiver. Budget for the test, book it early, and treat the score as a hard document rather than a negotiable one.

What the applications demand

• English test score (IELTS or TOEFL) — required by 3
• Minimum degree class — required by 2
• Research proposal — required by 2
• Letters of recommendation — required by 2
• Admission offer first — required by 1

Two documents on that list cost you real time in Nigeria. A research proposal is not something you write in a weekend if you want it to hold up at PhD level — it needs a clear question, a method and a reason the work belongs at that institution. Letters of recommendation mean approaching your former supervisor or Head of Department early, and giving them something to work from rather than a blank request.

Degree class matters on two of the three. If your transcript is still with your university, start the transcript request now. Transcripts and courier fees come out of your own pocket, and the queue at most Nigerian registry offices does not move quickly.

How the deadlines fall

None of the three awards on this page carries a single fixed closing date in the way a typical scholarship listing does. All three are undated in that sense, so there is no month-by-month calendar to plan around and no award here closing within the next few weeks.

What the listings do give you is a window or a set of dates to work from:

• Turkey Government Scholarship 2026-2027 — listed as January 10 to February 20, 2026
• Bilkent University Scholarship 2026-2027 — listed as March 18, June 6 and November 4
• Koc University Scholarship 2026-2027 — no date given in the listing

The Bilkent entry is worth reading carefully. Three dates in one listing usually means three separate application rounds, and each round has its own funding decision. Applying in the earlier round is generally the safer choice where rounds exist, because later rounds are decided against whatever places remain.

The Koc listing gives no date at all. That does not mean there is no deadline — it means the date is not stated on the award as we have it. Go to the provider's own page and confirm before you plan anything around it.

What Turkey looks like for Nigerian students

Turkey is not a fringe destination for Nigerian students. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 3,669 Nigerian students were studying in Turkey in 2023, which places Nigeria fifth among the countries sending students there. You would be joining an established group, not arriving alone.

Two of the awards on this page state their duration. One describes a Master's with thesis as two years of courses and thesis, with a PhD of four years. The other describes a Master's as six semesters — three years — and a PhD as four years. The PhD length agrees across both. The Master's length does not, so check the specific programme you are applying to rather than assuming.

What to do next

Start with the English test. All three awards require it, no waiver is stated, and the score takes time to arrive. Nothing else on your application can be finished without it.

Then decide which of the three you are actually targeting, because the preparation differs. If you are going for the award that requires an admission offer first, your first task is the university application, not the scholarship form. If you are going for one of the two that want a research proposal, your first task is drafting it and lining up your referees.

Then get your documents moving through your Nigerian institution. Transcripts, degree certificates and reference letters all pass through offices with their own timelines, and none of them speed up because your deadline is close.

Read each award's own page in full before you submit anything. The three listings are:

• Koc University Scholarship 2026-2027 (Fully Funded)
• Bilkent University Scholarship 2026-2027 Fully Funded
• Turkey Government Scholarship 2026-2027 - Fully Funded

Three awards is a short list, and a short list is an advantage. You can read every one of them properly, check every stated requirement against your own documents, and apply to all three where you qualify rather than spreading yourself across a dozen half-read listings.