We list 9 scholarships for Nigerian Students in Germany, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 7 of them are fully funded. 7 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
United Kingdom
40
United States
37
Australia
27
Canada
20
China
12
Italy
10
Sweden
10
Germany
United Arab Emirates
9
Belgium
8
Japan
8
Switzerland
8
Netherlands
6
Russia
6
Thailand
6
Denmark
5
New Zealand
5
Saudi Arabia
5
Singapore
5
Austria
4
Brazil
4
Ireland
4
Turkey
4
France
3
Norway
3
Qatar
3
Spain
2
Written from the 9 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 9 scholarships in Germany open to Nigerian students, gathered in one place so you can compare them without opening nine separate tabs. Seven of the nine are labelled fully funded by the provider. Two do not state their funding either way, so treat those as unknown until you read the award page itself.
Germany is the only country represented here, which makes sense: it is one of the few destinations where a Nigerian graduate can study with low or no tuition and still find structured funding for living costs. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 3,717 Nigerian students were studying in Germany in 2024, placing Nigeria fourth among sending countries. That is a real community, and it means the paperwork, the Anmeldung, the blocked account questions and the transcript runs have all been done before by people you can ask.
The list is weighted towards postgraduate study, but it is not only that. By level:
Some awards appear at more than one level, which is why the numbers add up to more than nine. If you have just finished NYSC with a B.Sc or HND and you are aiming at a Master's, the five Master's awards are your starting point. If you already hold an M.Sc and want a doctorate, the five PhD entries overlap heavily with those.
Field coverage on this page is thin and specific: Arts & Humanities appears on 2 awards and Natural Sciences on 1. Most of the nine do not name a field at all, so do not assume an award is closed to you just because your discipline is not listed. Read the individual page.
This is the question worth answering before you spend money on a courier. Of the nine awards, 7 state that Nigerians may apply. Within that group, 1 names Nigeria or the region explicitly, and 6 carry no nationality restriction at all. The remaining 2 do not state eligibility on the award page.
Read that carefully. Six unrestricted awards is a healthy number, but "no nationality restriction" is not the same as "Nigerians are prioritised". German political foundations and state-linked trusts often fund students who will contribute to public life, and they read your motivation letter for that. The one award that names Nigeria or the region is the one where your nationality is an asset rather than something to explain.
Funding labels are blunt. What matters is the line items. Across the nine awards, this is what providers name in their own text:
Health insurance being the most common named benefit is not an accident. German public insurance is compulsory for enrolled students, and it is a monthly cost that catches Nigerian students out in the first semester. An award that covers insurance and living costs is doing more for you than one that only covers tuition, particularly at institutions where tuition is already low.
Two awards on this page do not state their funding at all. We are not going to guess what they cover. Open them and read the terms.
Here is where the real work sits, and the pattern is consistent with German funding generally — the documents matter more than the form.
Four awards asking for recommendation letters is the number to plan around. In Nigeria that means approaching your project supervisor or HOD early, giving them a stamped, addressed envelope if the letter must travel physically, and following up without apology. Lecturers are managing hundreds of students; a request sent two weeks before a deadline is a request that gets a generic letter.
Only two awards state an English test requirement, which leaves room for a waiver where your previous degree was taught in English — but that is a decision each provider makes, not something this page can promise. Where a minimum degree class is named, note that German providers usually convert your Nigerian class of degree themselves; you do not need to translate a Second Class Upper into a German grade before you apply.
Three awards on this page carry a specific date, three are currently still open, and six are undated — meaning the provider has not published a fixed closing date. Three recur annually, so a missed cycle is not always a lost cause.
The busiest months for deadlines in this set are October, March and May, one award each. The three closing soonest are:
If you are reading this with a March date in front of you, the Leo Baeck Fellowship is the one to open first. It is a research fellowship at doctoral level, so it suits someone already shaping a thesis topic rather than someone still choosing a programme.
Six named providers appear here, each with one award: The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, International Max Planck Research School, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, and Neufert-Foundation. These are the German political foundations and research institutions that fund international students as a matter of policy, not charity.
Some awards in this set do not name a provider at all. Where a name is missing, go to the award page and read the eligibility section before you build a plan around it.
Start with the deadline, not the prestige. Open the three dated awards above and check whether your level and field fit. Then work through the rest of the nine, filtering by the level you are actually applying for — Master's, PhD, or one of the smaller categories such as Fellowship or Short Course.
Two practical steps you can take this week regardless of which award you choose. First, request your transcripts and your degree certificate now; Nigerian universities move at their own pace and courier costs are yours to carry. Second, speak to two lecturers about recommendation letters before you need them, and tell them what you are applying for. The awards that ask for letters will not wait for you to organise that in the final fortnight.
Seven of these nine awards state that Nigerians may apply. That is the number that should decide whether this page is worth your time. It is.
Germany has become one of the most popular study destinations for Nigerian students because of its world-class universities, affordable living costs, and high-quality education system. Every year, hundreds of international students apply to German universities for undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs in fields such as engineering, medicine, business, social sciences, and IT. To make education more accessible, several fully funded scholarships in Germany for international students 2026–2027 are now available, covering tuition fees, monthly stipends, accommodation, health insurance, and travel costs.
Whether you want to pursue higher studies at top institutions like the Technical University of Munich, Heidelberg University, or RWTH Aachen, or enroll in specialized research programs, these scholarships provide financial support and open doors to international career opportunities. Many of these scholarships are offered by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), government organizations, and top universities themselves, ensuring that talented international students can achieve their academic goals without financial burden.
In this guide, you will find a complete list of the best scholarships in Germany for international students 2026–2027, along with details about benefits, eligibility criteria, and appli...
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
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