We list 3 scholarships Open to Nigerian Students in New Zealand, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 2 of them are fully funded.
Written from the 3 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 6 min read.
This page collects 3 scholarships in New Zealand that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is offered by a New Zealand university: the University of Waikato, the University of Otago and the University of Auckland. Each one appears once, so the three providers account for the three listings.
Two of the three are labelled fully funded and one is labelled partially funded. That split matters when you are planning how much of the cost you will carry yourself, because a partial award usually covers a defined portion of your fees rather than the whole bill.
None of the three names Nigeria or the African region in its eligibility text. Instead, all three carry no nationality restriction, which is why they sit on a page for Nigerian applicants. That is a useful distinction: you are not applying to a Nigeria-specific award here, you are applying to an award that does not exclude you.
The levels covered run wider than you might expect from three listings. Bachelors appears three times, Masters three times, PhD once and Short Course once. The counts overlap, because a single award can be open at more than one level. The University of Otago listing, for example, is open to undergraduate, master's and PhD applicants, while the University of Auckland listing covers undergraduate, master's and postgraduate diploma study.
For a Nigerian reader, the practical question is which of your certificates the award will accept. If you are coming out of WAEC or NECO with a strong senior secondary result, the undergraduate route is the one to look at. If you hold a B.Sc or HND and are weighing a master's, the master's-level awards are your target. If you already have a master's and are considering doctoral work, one award on this page reaches PhD level.
One award states a minimum degree class as a requirement. That is the only stated academic threshold in the brief, and it is worth checking against your own transcript before you spend money on anything else. Where an award does not state a class requirement, do not assume there is none; read the award page itself.
All three listings name tuition in their own text. One names living costs, and one names health insurance. Read those as what the awards say in writing, not as a promise that your entire stay is covered. Tuition being named on all three is the strongest common thread on this page.
If living costs and insurance appear on only one award, then for the other two you should expect to budget for accommodation, food, transport and insurance yourself, or find out whether the award covers them under a heading it does not spell out. One listing carries a stated duration of one year. The rest do not state a duration in the brief, so check the individual award page before you plan a multi-year budget.
The University of Waikato Scholarships 2026-2027 are listed as fully funded and open at undergraduate and master's level. The deadline field reads open year-round, which is unusual on this page and gives you room to prepare documents without racing a closing date. Confirm on the award page whether that applies to all applicants or only some intakes.
The University of Otago Scholarships 2026-2027 are also fully funded and reach the widest range of levels here: undergraduate, master's and PhD. The deadline is given as "see details", so the closing date lives on the award page rather than in this summary. Read it before you do anything else.
The University of Auckland Scholarships 2026-2027 are partially funded and cover undergraduate, master's and postgraduate diploma study. This is the one listing on the page with a concrete date range attached: Semester One intake runs from 11 September to 23 October. If you are aiming at that intake, that window is the one to work backwards from.
None of the three awards carries a fixed dated deadline in this brief. Three are undated, and none is marked as still open or as recurring. That does not mean there is no deadline; it means the date is not captured here. The Auckland listing shows a semester window, and the Waikato listing says it is open year-round.
Because there is no single closing month to plan around, treat the individual award pages as your calendar. Where an award says "see details", the details are the deadline. Where it gives a date range, the end of that range is your cut-off.
There is one more timing point worth holding onto. The University of Auckland listing mentions a Semester One intake, and New Zealand's academic year does not run on the Nigerian pattern. Semester One there begins early in the calendar year, which means applications for it close in the second half of the previous year. If you are working towards a Nigerian graduation or NYSC timetable, map the two calendars against each other before you commit.
The brief records only one stated academic requirement across the three awards: a minimum degree class. Everything else an application asks for sits on the award page, and you should read it there rather than assume.
What you can prepare regardless is the paperwork that takes time and money from Nigeria. Official transcripts from your institution, often requiring a transcript request fee and a courier fee to send abroad. A valid international passport. Degree certificates or a statement of result where the certificate is not yet issued. Reference letters from lecturers or employers who will need chasing. If an English test is required, that is a booking fee and a waiting period before the result lands.
Check each award page for whether an English proficiency test is required and whether a waiver applies to you. Nigerian applicants who studied in English frequently ask about this, and the answer is set by the institution, not by this page. Do not pay for a test until you have confirmed it is needed.
The scale here is small. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 129 Nigerian students were studying in New Zealand in 2024, ranking the country 51st as a destination for Nigerian students. That figure describes the size of the existing Nigerian student community there, not your chances of an award.
It is worth knowing before you apply, because it shapes what you will find on arrival. A small community means fewer people who have already walked your exact route, and it means you should build your own support network deliberately rather than expecting one to be waiting.
Start with the award that matches your level and your funding need. If you need tuition covered and nothing else, all three name tuition. If you need living costs and insurance as well, one award names both, so begin there and read its terms closely.
On each page, confirm four things before you spend money: the closing date, the level you are applying at, what the award actually pays for, and whether any English test or degree class requirement applies to you. Then start the transcript requests early, because those are the slowest part of a Nigerian application and the part you control least.
Are you planning to study abroad in 2026 and searching for fully funded opportunities? New Zealand is one of the most sought-after study destinations among international students, offering world-class education, globally ranked universities, and a safe, welcoming environment. The best part is that a number of fully funded and partially funded scholarshipsare now open for international students in New Zealand for the 2025–2026 academic year. These scholarships are available for undergraduate, master’s, and PhD degree programs and offer financial assistance in the form of tuition fee waivers, monthly stipends, accommodation support, travel allowances, and medical insurance.
Whether you’re aiming to pursue higher education in engineering, business, social sciences, life sciences, environmental sciences, or any other field, New Zealand provides generous funding opportunities through government-sponsored programs and university-specific scholarships. Below is a comprehensive guide to some of the top scholarships available for international students in New Zealand, along with their benefits and how to apply.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
A browser notification when a scholarship you can apply for is added or about to close. No account needed.
