We list 5 masters Scholarships Open to Nigerian Students in Canada, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 3 of them are fully funded.
Written from the 5 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 7 min read.
This page collects 5 master's scholarships in Canada that Nigerian students can apply for. Every award here is at master's level, every one is in Canada, and every one is open to Nigerian applicants. That last point matters more than it sounds. A great many Canadian awards are restricted by citizenship, by province of residence, or by the country in which you did your first degree. None of the five listed here carries that kind of restriction.
Three of the five are labelled fully funded by the awarding body. Two do not state their funding level in the award text, so this page does not claim anything about what those two cover. Where an award names a benefit in its own words, we report it as written, not as a promise.
The list is drawn from five institutions: McGill University, the University of Waterloo, Université de Montréal, Humber College in Toronto, and University Canada West. Four are universities and one is a college, which matters when you compare what each programme actually is.
Note that most of these awards are open across more than one study level. McGill, Waterloo and Université de Montréal each appear at bachelor's, master's and PhD level. Humber and University Canada West cover bachelor's and master's. If you are applying for a master's, you are competing inside a pool that also contains undergraduate and doctoral applicants at the same institution, so read the individual award page for how the money is split by level.
Three of the five are described as fully funded in their own listing. One award names tuition specifically as a benefit it covers. Two awards do not state a funding level at all, and this page makes no claim about them either way.
Because the brief does not carry award values or award counts for these listings, there are no naira or dollar figures here. That is deliberate. Funding amounts on Canadian awards are usually set per faculty, per programme or per year of study, and a headline number copied onto a listing page is frequently wrong by the time you apply. Go to the award page, then to the university's own funding page, and confirm the amount for your specific programme and intake.
What you should confirm for each one:
All five awards are open to Nigerian students. None of the five names Nigeria or a region as a restriction, and none of the five states a nationality restriction of any kind. That is the clearest thing this page can tell you: there is no citizenship barrier on this list.
The qualification you bring is a first degree or an HND. In practice that means a B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS or HND. These are taught and research master's programmes, so the usual entry requirement is a completed bachelor's degree from a recognised institution.
Canadian departments often express the minimum as an "upper second" or a "B average". On a Nigerian transcript, upper second corresponds to Second Class Upper, the 2:1. If you graduated with a 2:2, do not assume you are out — some programmes accept a 2:2 with relevant work experience or a strong statement, and some do not. The only way to know is to read the specific programme's entry requirements.
Whether an HND is accepted for master's entry is decided by each university, not by the scholarship. Some Canadian institutions treat a good HND plus years of work as equivalent to a bachelor's; others do not. Ask the graduate admissions office directly, in writing, before you spend money on transcripts and courier fees.
The requirements recorded across these five awards are light, and that is worth understanding properly. One award asks for letters of recommendation. One requires that you hold an admission offer first. The rest do not state a requirement in their award text.
That does not mean the applications are simple. It means the requirement is not written into the award description, and you will find it on the university's funding or graduate studies page instead. In practice, a Canadian master's application usually involves:
On English tests: many Canadian universities waive the IELTS or TOEFL requirement if your previous degree was taught entirely in English. Nigerian degrees usually are, but the waiver is granted by the individual university and often only if you studied in a country it recognises for this purpose. Do not assume the waiver. Check the graduate admissions page for your target programme and get the answer before you book a test date.
Note also that one award requires an admission offer before you can be considered for funding. That reverses the order many Nigerian applicants assume. You apply for admission first, get accepted, and then the funding follows. Build your timeline around that if this award is your target.
None of the five awards carries a fixed closing date on this page. All five are recorded as undated. That is not a gap in the list; it reflects how Canadian funding actually works. Awards are tied to admission rounds, and admission rounds are set by each university and each programme.
What the listings do say is instructive. McGill and University Canada West tie their awards to university admission deadlines. Waterloo points to its own details page. Humber says the deadline varies according to programme. Université de Montréal gives two dates: 1 September 2026 and 1 February 2027.
The practical consequence is that your real deadline is the admission deadline for the programme you want, and that date is usually months earlier than you expect. Canadian graduate programmes commonly close applications in December or January for a September start, and some close even earlier for international applicants because of study permit processing time. Treat the scholarship as attached to the admission round, not as a separate race with its own clock.
Canada is a common destination for Nigerian graduates, and the numbers support that. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 12,072 Nigerian students were studying in Canada in 2023, placing Nigeria third among source countries for that year. That figure covers all levels of study, not master's alone.
For a master's applicant, that matters in two ways. First, you are not doing something unusual; there is an established Nigerian presence on Canadian campuses, which helps with references, housing and settling in. Second, competition is real. Being one of many qualified Nigerian applicants means your statement of purpose, your referees and your transcript have to do the work. There is no shortcut around that.
The awards on this page span several disciplines. Arts and humanities accounts for one award, business and management for one, and social sciences for one. The remaining awards are not filed under a single field on this page, which usually means they are open across faculties rather than tied to one department.
If your target is a professional master's — engineering, public health, computer science, education — check each award page to see whether your faculty is included. A university-wide award is often administered faculty by faculty, and the money available in your department may be different from the headline.
Start with the award pages, then go to the university's own graduate funding page. Work in this order:
Five awards is a short list, and three of them are fully funded. Read each one properly rather than applying everywhere at once. One well-matched application, with the documents in order and the deadline met, is worth more than five rushed ones.
Looking to study in Canada without the burden of tuition fees? Great news for aspiring international students! Canada offers a wide range of fully funded scholarships for Nigerian students in 2026-2027, making world-class education accessible and affordable. These scholarships cover tuition, living expenses, health insurance, and even travel costs—opening doors to top-ranked Canadian universities. Whether you're applying for undergraduate, master's, or PhD programs, this guide lists the best funding opportunities available. Studying in Canada not only provides academic excellence but also a multicultural environment, permanent residency pathways, and globally recognized degrees. Read on to explore the top scholarship programs in Canada for international students and learn how to apply successfully.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
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