We list 3 masters Scholarships Open to Nigerian Students in the United Arab Emirates, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 3 of them are fully funded. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
Written from the 3 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 3 masters scholarships open to Nigerian students in the United Arab Emirates. Every award here is a postgraduate award, every one is based in the UAE, and none of the three restricts nationality — which is why they appear on a list built for Nigerian applicants. All 3 are labelled fully funded by the awarding institution.
The three providers are Khalifa University, the American University of Sharjah, and Muhammad Bin Zaid University. They are different institutions with different application systems, different documents and different closing dates, so treat this page as a starting point rather than a single application.
The entry qualification is a first degree or HND. The awards on this page sit at masters level, and the qualifications that feed into them are B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS and HND.
Two of the three awards state a minimum degree class in their own text. Where an award asks for an "upper second", that corresponds to Second Class Upper (2:1) on a Nigerian transcript. If your transcript reads Second Class Lower, read the individual award page carefully before you spend money on a courier — the requirement is set by the university, not by this page.
Whether an HND is accepted for a particular masters programme is decided by each university. The award text will not always say so directly, which means an email to the admissions office is worth sending before you pay for transcript copies.
None of the three awards names Nigeria or a region in its eligibility text, and none of them states a nationality restriction. That is the basis on which they are listed here.
All 3 are fully funded. Beyond that general label, the individual award texts name specific benefits, and the counts are as follows:
Read those as what the awards say in writing, not as a promise of what you will receive. A fully funded label does not automatically mean every line above is covered for every successful applicant, and an award that names tuition may or may not extend to anything else. Check the wording on the award page itself, and if a benefit matters to your budget, confirm it with the university before you accept an offer.
One award on this page states a duration in its own text: two years for a full-time masters.
The requirements below are counted from what the awards state. They are not uniform, so the practical approach is to build one document set that covers the heaviest requirement and reuse it.
Two of the three asking for IELTS or TOEFL means the waiver question matters. Some universities waive the English test where your previous degree was taught and examined in English, and a Nigerian B.Sc or HND often falls into that category — but the decision belongs to the university. Ask in writing, keep the reply, and only skip the test if the admissions office confirms the waiver for your case. Do not assume it because a friend was waived last year.
Where a research proposal is required, it is usually the slowest item to produce. Start it before you request transcripts, because transcripts and courier fees are the parts you pay for and you do not want them sitting unused while a proposal is still in draft.
One award on this page carries a fixed date, one is still open, two are undated in the listing, and one recurs. The busiest month across the set is April, with one closing date falling in it.
The award closing soonest is Khalifa University Scholarship 2027 | UAE | Fully Funded, which closes on 14 April. The other two are the American University of Sharjah Scholarship 2026-2027 | Fully Funded, whose listing says to see details for the deadline, and the Muhammad Bin Zaid University Scholarships 2026-2027 (Fully Funded), which lists 15 January 2027 as the regular deadline alongside a second date.
Because two of the three do not publish a clean single date on the listing, open the award page and confirm the current cycle before you plan around a month. A date that has passed on a listing does not always mean the programme is closed for the next intake — it may run again.
The awards on this page are spread across three subject areas, one award each:
That is a narrow spread, and it is worth being honest about it. If your intended masters sits outside these three areas, this particular list is unlikely to carry a match, and you should look at the wider UAE and masters collections rather than forcing an application into a programme that does not fit your background.
The same three universities also run awards at other levels. Across the providers on this page, 3 awards are at masters level, 3 are at PhD level, and 1 is at bachelors level. Those groups overlap — a single award can be open to more than one level — so do not read them as separate pots of funding.
This matters if you are considering a research path. An award listed as open to both masters and doctoral candidates may let you apply once and be considered at either level, or it may require you to state a level at application. Check the award page for which applies.
Work in this order, and do the cheap things before the expensive ones.
The Khalifa University award closes first, on 14 April, so if you intend to apply there, that is the deadline that should shape your calendar.
Looking for a fully funded opportunity to study in the Middle East’s most dynamic academic hub? The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as a top destination for Nigerian students, thanks to its world-class universities, cutting-edge research facilities, and generous scholarship programs.
For the academic year 2025-2026, several fully funded scholarships in UAE are available to outstanding international students pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. These scholarships typically cover tuition fees, monthly stipends, free accommodation, visa support, health insurance, and in some cases, travel expenses.
The UAE is home to prestigious universities such as United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Khalifa University, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), and American University of Sharjah, all of which offer generous funding for exceptional students.
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