We list 9 partially Funded Masters Scholarships for Nigerian Students in the United Kingdom, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 7 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
Written from the 9 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 6 min read.
This page collects 9 partially funded master's scholarships in the United Kingdom that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is at master's level, every one is in the UK, and every one is partial rather than fully funded. That last point matters more than it looks. A partial award reduces your cost; it does not remove it. You will still need a plan for the balance, and you should build that plan before you accept an offer, not after.
The awards come from six providers: Kingston University, the University of Exeter, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the University of Dundee, the University of Stirling and Aston University. Some of these providers run schemes that also cover undergraduate study, which is why you will see bachelor's awards counted alongside master's on the same pages. If you are applying for a master's, read the level line on each award carefully before you assume the terms apply to you.
Of the 9 awards on this page, 7 are open to Nigerian applicants. Within that group, 1 names Nigeria or the region in its own eligibility text, and 6 place no nationality restriction at all. For the remaining 2, the award does not state its eligibility position, so you would need to confirm directly with the provider before spending money on an application.
That split is worth understanding. An award that names Nigeria is telling you something specific about who it wants. An award with no nationality restriction is open in principle, but it is also open to everyone else, and the competition reflects that. Neither type is better. They simply demand different preparation.
Nigeria is the largest single source of international students in the UK, with 71,756 Nigerian students recorded in 2023, ranked first, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. You are not applying into an empty room.
Partial funding takes many shapes, and the brief for this page does not carry a cash value for any of the 9 awards. What it does carry is what the awards say about themselves: 3 of the 9 name tuition in their own text. For the rest, the funding description does not state what is covered, so treat the scope as unknown until you read the individual award page.
This is the single most common mistake Nigerian applicants make with partial awards. They see "scholarship" and budget as though the fees are settled. A partial award might be a fixed reduction, a percentage of tuition, a contribution toward living costs, or a named benefit such as accommodation or a sport programme. The only reliable source is the award's own wording.
Two awards on this page state a number of awards available. The Cardiff Metropolitan performance and elite sport scheme states 32 awards, and the Dr Dee Amy-Chinn Gender Studies Scholarship at the University of Stirling states 2. Where an award gives no number, you cannot assume the field is wide.
The requirements stated across this set are modest in number but specific in kind. One award states an English test score (IELTS or TOEFL). One states a minimum degree class. One states work experience. One requires an admission offer first, which means the scholarship application sits behind your course application and cannot run in parallel with it.
The degree class point deserves attention. Awards at this level usually name a minimum class, and "upper second" corresponds to Second Class Upper (2:1) on a Nigerian transcript. If your transcript reads 2:2, do not assume you are excluded from every award here, but do read the eligibility line on each one rather than applying blind.
On English tests: some UK universities waive the requirement where your prior degree was taught in English. Whether a waiver applies is decided by the university, not by this page. Ask before you pay for a test.
On qualifications, the pathway into a master's is a first degree or HND. The qualifications in view are B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS and HND. Taught and research master's are both in scope. Whether an HND is accepted for a particular award is decided by each university, so confirm it in writing.
3 of the 9 awards carry a stated date and 3 are still open. 6 are undated in the brief, and 3 recur, meaning the scheme runs again on a cycle rather than closing permanently. The busiest months across this set are May, June and July, one award each.
The three closing soonest are:
Other awards on the page carry deadlines that are split by level or listed as "see details". The University of Exeter scheme separates its undergraduate and master's rounds. The Aston University scheme separates undergraduate and master's dates. The Dundee Global Excellence Scholarship points to its details page. Read the level line before you note a date down.
Five subject areas appear across this set, one award each: Arts & Humanities, Business & Management, Engineering, Medicine & Health Sciences, and Social Sciences. The remaining awards sit outside those five labels or span more than one.
Two named awards give a sense of the range. The Dr Dee Amy-Chinn Gender Studies Scholarship at the University of Stirling sits in the humanities and social science space and states 2 awards. The Cardiff Metropolitan performance and elite sport scheme is not a conventional academic award and states 32 awards. A narrow subject focus does not automatically mean a small award, and a broad one does not automatically mean a large one.
Start with the three dated awards, because they have a fixed point you can plan around. Then work through the undated ones, since an undated award usually means the provider publishes deadlines on its own page and you will need to check it yourself.
Read the individual award pages before you read anything else. Each one carries the provider's own wording on eligibility, level and deadline, and that wording outranks any summary, including this one. Where an award does not state its funding scope or its eligibility position, email the provider and ask. A short email costs nothing; a wasted application fee and courier charge does.
If you are at the start of the process, settle your documents first. Transcripts, degree certificates and reference letters take time to obtain from Nigerian institutions, and the cost of couriering them adds up. Do that work while you are still shortlisting, so that when a deadline like 10 May or 30 June comes close, you are submitting rather than chasing paperwork.
Finally, treat this list as a starting point rather than a shortlist. Nine awards across six providers is a workable number to research properly, and researching them properly is what separates applicants who get a partial award from those who apply to everything and hear back from nothing.
Studying in the UK is a dream for many international students, offering world-class education, global exposure, and prestigious degrees. But the cost can be a major barrier. Thankfully, numerous scholarships are available specifically for Nigerian students that can fund tuition, living expenses, and even travel. In this post, we’ll explore the Top UK scholarships for international students in 2025–2026, including eligibility, benefits, deadlines, and how to apply.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
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