UK Scholarships for Students from Africa and Developing Countries

Money is a delicate topic that occupies everyone’s mind most of the time. To Students from less well-off backgrounds, such as African students, financial stress makes pursuing their studies in the best universities much harder.

The UK is one of the leading countries that offer financial support for less-advantaged students from different countries in the world, some of these financial aids are dedicated specifically to international students from African and developing countries.

In this article, you will find some of the scholarships in Britain for students from African and developed countries, some of these scholarships are offered by organizations while others are offered by universities:

Commonwealth Scholarship:

UK Commonwealth Scholarships for Masters & Ph.D. Is for students from Commonwealth countries who seek to pursue their studies at a UK university.

The program is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), for the purpose of enabling talented and motivated students who are also innovators and leaders of the future to acquire knowledge and skills needed for sustainable development.

Each year, approximately 300 scholarships are offered, each scholarship covers, airfare, tuition and examination fees, living allowance, study travels, the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, and other expenses.

To be eligible for this scholarship you need to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person, be permanently resident in a commonwealth country, available to start your studies in the United Kingdom by the beginning of the UK academic year, hold a first degree of at least second-class honors, upper-division (2.1) or Second-class honors, lower division (2.2) and also not be able to afford to study in the UK without this grant.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme:

Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme is a partnership between the UK government and the UK universities, established in 1986 by the Department for International Development.

The scholarship is offered for Masters students from commonwealth countries who wish to pursue their studies in the United Kingdom.

To be qualified for this scholarship you need to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country or have refugee status, or be a British Protected Person, be permanently resident in a commonwealth country, available to start your studies in the United Kingdom by the beginning of the UK academic year, hold a first degree of at least second-class honors, upperdivision (2.1) or Second-class honors, lower division (2.2), never studied or worked for one academic year in a developed county, and also not be able to afford to study in the UK without this grant.

Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships:

Commonwealth Split-site Scholarships is offered to Ph.D. Students from developing countries,
To spend one year at a United Kingdom university as a part of their doctoral studies in their home country.

The intended beneficiaries are students with outstanding academic records who proposed research that has a developmental focus and who have the potential to become researchers or influential teachers in their home countries.

The scholarship is offered under six themes related to development: Science and technology for development, strengthening health systems and capacity, promoting global prosperity, strengthening global peace, security, and governance, strengthening resilience and response to crises, also access, inclusion and opportunity.

Chevening Scholarships for Commonwealth Countries:

Chevening Scholarships for Commonwealth Countries are offered to candidates with an outstanding academic background, with leadership skills0 the scholarship offers financial aid to study for a master’s degree at any of the United Kingdom leading universities.

A full scholarship grant normally covers: tuition fees, airfare, the cost of preparation of a thesis or dissertation if it’s required, VISA, a monthly stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses (it depends on if you study inside or outside London).

Africa Graduate Scholarships at UCL:

Africa Graduate Scholarships at UCL are offered to support outstanding African students who are not able to study at University College London for Global Health without financial aid.

To be qualified for this scholarship, you need to be an African student with a permanent resident of an African country at the time of application and have been accepted to UCL to study in the msc in Global Health and Development full time, you also need to demonstrate financial needs.

The Africa Graduate Scholarships cover UCL tuition fees, accommodation, and living costs. The student needs to be able to get additional funds needed to cover travel, VISA, and other initial expenses.

Canon Collins Trust Scholarship:

Canon Collins Trust Scholarships aim to assist candidates from developing countries to become more educated and skilled to benefit the wider economy and participate in the economic, social, and cultural development of the southern African countries.

Scholarships are offered to support master’s degree programs and are available for study at certain universities: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS), University of Sussex, Queen Mary, University of London, University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge.

Shell Nigeria Niger Delta Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme:

Niger Delta Postgraduate Scholarship offers Postgraduate Scholarship to applicants from Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, and Rivers states. It aims to provide postgraduate study in courses that are related to the oil and gas industry, for students from these Niger Delta states.

So far, 92 students have won the change to study at the best universities in the UL on full scholarship thanks to this program.

In partnership with Imperial College London; University of Leeds; and the University of Aberdeen, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) will award scholarships for one academic year post-graduate msc Studies.

To be qualified for this scholarship, you need to prove intellectual ability and leadership potential, have an appropriate standard of English and meet the college’s language requirement, admitted to study in one of the eligible courses, completed your National Youth Service, never had the chance to study in the UK or other developed country, and meet many more criteria that you’ll find on their website (www.shell.com.ng) in the sustainability rubric.