We list 3 partially Funded Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Ireland, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 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 partially funded scholarships in Ireland for Master's study. Every award here is a Master's award, and every one is based at an Irish institution. They are partial awards, which means the scholarship covers part of your costs and you or another funder covers the rest.
The three providers are Maynooth University, University College Dublin and Dublin City University Business School. One award sits in Business & Management; the other two are not tied to a single named field in the brief.
If you are working from Nigeria and comparing Ireland against the UK, Canada or Germany, this is a short list. Three awards is not a wide field, so the useful work is in reading each one properly rather than applying broadly and hoping.
Of the three awards, 1 names tuition in its own text as something it covers. That is the only benefit the brief records as stated in writing by any of these awards. The remaining awards do not spell out their benefits in the text captured here, so treat their value as something you must confirm directly with the provider before you build a budget around it.
This matters more for Ireland than for some destinations. Tuition is only one line. You will also be looking at living costs, registration, health insurance for non-EU students, and the cost of getting your documents from Nigeria to Ireland. A partial award that names tuition reduces one line. It does not remove the rest.
None of the three awards states a cash value in the brief, and none states a number of awards available. Do not assume a figure. If a provider's page does not state a value, ask the international office what the award is worth in euros before you accept an offer.
The eligibility picture here is thin, and that is worth understanding before you spend money on a transcript courier.
What that means in practice: the brief does not confirm that Nigerians are excluded, and it does not confirm that Nigerians are included. The eligibility simply is not stated on the award. You have to check with the provider. Do not read silence as a green light, and do not read it as a closed door either.
For context, Ireland does host Nigerian students. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 539 Nigerian students in Ireland in 2022, placing Nigeria 28th among sending countries. That is a real presence, not a large one. It tells you the visa and admissions route works. It tells you nothing about whether any individual award on this page will fund you.
The requirements recorded across these three awards are ordinary Master's requirements, not unusual ones.
The minimum degree class is the line Nigerian applicants should read most carefully. Irish universities typically phrase this in terms of a 2.1 or equivalent, and your Nigerian classification has to be mapped onto it. A Second Class Upper from a Nigerian university is the usual match, but the mapping is the provider's call, not yours. If you hold a Second Class Lower or an HND, ask the admissions office directly how they treat your qualification before you pay for anything.
Recommendation letters are the second practical hurdle. Two of these awards want them. In Nigeria this usually means approaching lecturers or former supervisors who may be retired, relocated or slow to respond. Start that conversation months ahead, and give the referee a short written summary of what you are applying for so they are not writing blind.
The English test requirement appears on one award only. That does not mean the others waive it. It means the brief does not record a test requirement for them. Many Irish institutions waive IELTS or TOEFL where your previous degree was taught in English, but that decision belongs to the institution. Confirm it in writing rather than assuming.
Work experience appears once. That is likely tied to the MBA route rather than the general Master's awards.
All 3 awards carry a date, all 3 are still open, and all 3 recur annually. None is undated. The busiest months for this collection are April, June and July, one award closing in each.
In order of closing:
The spread is useful. It means a rejection or a missed document on the April award does not close the year. You can still be in play for June and July.
What the dates do not tell you is how early the underlying admission must be secured. Scholarship deadlines are often later than the course application deadline, and some awards require you to hold an offer before you can be considered. Work backwards from the scholarship date and assume the course application is due earlier.
The three awards run for different periods: 1 year for one, 1–2 years for another, and up to 2 years for the third. If you are applying to a two-year Master's and the award runs for one year, you need a plan for the second year before you accept. That is the single most common budgeting mistake with partial awards.
Nothing in this brief changes the usual Nigerian logistics, so plan around them.
Official transcripts from Nigerian universities can take weeks to produce, and many institutions require you to apply in person or through a proxy. Budget for that delay, not just the fee. Courier costs to Ireland are paid by you, and sealed envelopes must arrive sealed. Recommendation letters need lead time because referees are busy. If you need IELTS or TOEFL, book the test early — results and score sending add their own weeks.
Then there is the visa stage, which sits entirely outside the scholarship and outside this page. Treat the scholarship timeline and the visa timeline as two separate projects that both need to finish before you travel.
Start with the award that closes soonest and read its full page. Confirm three things with the provider before you commit money to an application: whether Nigerians are eligible, what the award is actually worth in euros, and whether you must hold a course offer first.
Then check the degree class mapping for your Nigerian qualification, line up your referees, and confirm whether an English test is required in your case or waived. Three awards is a small list, so the advantage goes to the applicant who reads each one closely rather than the one who applies fastest.
Are you planning to study in one of the most innovative and welcoming countries in Europe? Ireland is rapidly becoming a top destination for international students due to its strong academic reputation, English-speaking environment, friendly visa policies, and wide range of scholarship opportunities. Here we explore the most valuable scholarships in Ireland for international students for the academic year 2026-2027, including fully funded and partially funded options for Master’s and PhD studies.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2022.
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