We list 11 masters Scholarships for Nigerian Students in the United States, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 9 of them are fully funded. 7 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
United Kingdom
30
Australia
20
China
11
United States
Canada
8
Sweden
8
Belgium
7
Italy
7
Japan
7
Switzerland
7
United Arab Emirates
7
Netherlands
6
Russia
6
Germany
5
New Zealand
5
Saudi Arabia
5
Thailand
5
Brazil
4
Ireland
4
Turkey
4
Denmark
3
France
3
Singapore
3
Austria
2
Norway
2
Qatar
2
Written from the 11 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 6 min read.
This page collects 11 masters scholarships in the United States open to Nigerian students. Nine of the eleven are labelled fully funded by the awarding body. The remaining two do not state their funding either way, so treat them as unknown until you read the award page itself.
Every award here sits at masters level, and all 11 are in the United States. Some also accept applicants at other levels, which is worth knowing if you are weighing a PhD later: five of the awards on this page also cover bachelors study, five also cover PhD, four also cover fellowships, two also cover postdoctoral positions, and one also covers high school. That overlap matters because a single application portal may serve more than one level.
Of the 11 awards, 7 are open to Nigerian applicants. None of those seven names Nigeria or the African region in its eligibility text; all seven simply carry no nationality restriction. The other four awards do not state their eligibility on the award page at all, which means you cannot tell from the listing alone whether you qualify. You will have to open those pages and read the fine print.
Nigerian students are a visible presence in the United States. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 16,632 Nigerian students in the country in 2023, the second-largest national group. That figure is context, not a promise. It tells you the pipeline exists and the paperwork is familiar to admissions offices.
The pathway into these awards is a first degree or an HND. In practice that means a B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS or HND. Both taught and research masters are represented on this page.
Four of the 11 awards state a minimum degree class in writing. Where an award says "upper second", that corresponds to Second Class Upper (2:1) on a Nigerian transcript. If your transcript reads 2:2 or below, check each award page individually rather than assuming you are out — but do not assume you are in either. Whether an HND is accepted in place of a degree is decided by each university, not by this page.
Funding language varies, and the counts below describe what the awards say in their own text. They are not a guarantee of what you will receive.
Notice the gap. Tuition is the most commonly named benefit, but living costs and travel appear in fewer than half the listings. A "fully funded" label does not automatically mean flights and rent are covered. Read the award text for the specific line items before you build a budget around it.
Two awards state no funding information at all. Nothing can be said about what those cover.
The requirements below are what the awards state in writing. Where an award is silent, the requirement may still exist at university level.
The English test is the single most common requirement, appearing in eight of eleven listings. That is the item to sort out first, because booking a test date, sitting it and waiting for the score to reach a university takes weeks you may not have close to a deadline. Some universities waive the test where your degree was taught in English, but that decision belongs to the university, not to this page. Ask before you pay for a test you may not need.
Letters of recommendation are the second most common ask. Approach your referees early, give them your CV and a clear statement of what you are applying for, and expect to follow up more than once.
Five of the 11 awards carry a stated date. Five are still open at the time of writing. Six are undated, and five recur annually. The busiest months for deadlines on this page are October, November and December, with one award closing in each.
These are the awards closing soonest, with their listed deadlines:
The spread is useful. If you have missed the October and November dates, the June and July deadlines give you a full cycle to prepare transcripts, test scores and references properly rather than rushing.
The awards on this page are spread thinly across disciplines rather than concentrated in one. Each of the following fields appears once: Arts & Humanities, Business & Management, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine & Health Sciences, and Social Sciences.
That means there is no field with a cluster of awards to choose between. If your subject is listed, you are looking at a small number of options and should read each one closely. If your subject is not listed, this particular page is unlikely to serve you, and you should look at the wider masters listings.
The providers behind these 11 awards include Stanford University, the American Association of University Women, the ACI Foundation, Marconi International University, Auburn University at Montgomery, and a general grouping of USA universities and academic institutions. One award, the Fulbright, is administered through USA universities and academic institutions rather than a single campus.
Two of the named awards illustrate how differently these programmes are structured. The Fulbright Scholarship 2026-2027 USA (Fully Funded) covers masters and PhD study and routes applicants through universities rather than one host institution. The Onsi Sawiris Scholarship Program places students at Harvard University, Stanford University, the University of Chicago or the University of Pennsylvania, and covers undergraduate and masters study.
Durations vary too. Two awards state a duration of two years. One, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars programme, funds up to the first year. One fellowship year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Read the duration line on each award before you plan a two-year stay.
Start with the English test, since eight of the eleven awards ask for it. Confirm with your target universities whether your Nigerian degree qualifies you for a waiver before you pay for IELTS or TOEFL.
Then work through the awards closing soonest. The Stanford award closes 8 October, the ACI Foundation closes 1 November, and the University of Minnesota closes 15 December. If those dates have passed, the Musser Fellowship on 1 June and the Onsi Sawiris programme on 31 July give you a longer runway.
Request your transcripts early. Nigerian universities can take weeks to issue them, and courier costs are yours to carry. Line up your referees at the same time. Four of the eleven awards state a minimum degree class, so check your transcript against the stated requirement before you invest in an application.
Finally, open the four awards that do not state eligibility. That is the only way to know whether they are open to you. The seven awards with no nationality restriction are the safest starting point, but the silent four may still be worth your time once you have read them.
Studying in the United States is a dream for many international students due to its world-class universities, cutting-edge research opportunities, and global recognition. However, the high cost of tuition, living expenses, and travel can be a significant hurdle. Fortunately, a wide range of fully funded and partially funded scholarships are available specifically for international students, offered by US universities, government initiatives, and private organizations. These programs can cover tuition fees, living stipends, health insurance, and even airfare, depending on the scholarship type. Below is a comprehensive list of the top 10 scholarships in the USA for international students for 2026–2027, including opportunities for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. By applying to these scholarships, you can access world-class education while minimizing financial burdens and focusing on academic and professional growth.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
A browser notification when a scholarship you can apply for is added or about to close. No account needed.
