We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of fully-funded scholarships for international students. This is not an exhaustive list whatsoever but gives you a good overview of the scholarship opportunities.
What Are Fully Funded Scholarships?
We define fully funded scholarships as “Scholarships that at least cover full tuition and living expenses.” If a certain scholarship meets that criteria, we define it as fully funded. Notice that this is different from full-tuition scholarships, which cover tuition only.
Some fully funded scholarships for international students, like many from the government, give additional benefits such as airline tickets and language programs. These will be included here in this article as well.
Is There a Difference Between Full-Ride and Fully Funded Scholarships?
No, they both mean the same thing. Full ride and fully funded scholarships mean that the scholarships cover full tuition, room, and board for undergraduate students and cover full tuition and living stipend for Masters and Ph.D. students. The term full-ride scholarships tend to be used more for undergraduate scholarships, but there’s no difference between those two terms.
To see a list of these scholarships by degrees, check out Undergraduate Scholarships, Master’s Scholarships, and Ph.D. Scholarships.
How Do International Students Qualify to Get These Fully Funded Scholarships?
The requirements differ by scholarships. However, most scholarships require you to get a high score on English Proficiency exams like TOEFL and IELTS as well as appropriate tests such as SAT/ACT for prospective undergraduate students and GRE for prospective graduate students. In addition, they will need to get excellent grades and recommendations.
You should note that only some international students that meet these criteria actually get these fully-funded scholarships. There are oftentimes more qualified students than seats available, so you will need to apply for several to increase your chances of getting a fully-funded scholarship.
Top Fully Funded Scholarships for International Students
1. Harvard University Scholarship
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Harvard University offers fully-funded scholarships for Undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. students. Undergraduate scholarships are given on a need basis, and graduate scholarships are usually given on a merit basis. These graduate scholarships are oftentimes in form of teaching assistantships or research assistantships.
2. University of Toronto Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s PhD
The University of Toronto is the leading institution in Canada and is one of the best universities in the world. For international undergraduate students, the Lester B. Pearson scholarships are fully funded scholarships covering full tuition, room, and board. For Master’s and Ph.D. students, there are various scholarships and fellowships that are given for international students as well as various assistantships that cover full tuition and living stipend.
3. Yale University Scholarship
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Yale University is another prestigious university located in the United States. Like Harvard University, Yale University gives undergraduate scholarships according to need and Masters and Ph.D. scholarships in form of fellowships and assistantships. The average scholarship for Yale university was over $50,000 a year, and there are fully funded scholarships available for international students in need that go over $70,000 a year.
4. Princeton University Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Many undergraduate international students at Princeton University receive full-ride scholarships that include full tuition, room, and board. These undergraduate scholarships are given based on need and averaged $50,139 per student per year last year. If you are competent (and lucky) enough to get accepted, you do not have to worry about finances being in your way.
Like other schools above, Master’s and Ph.D. students receive financial assistance through assistantships and fellowships.
5. MIT Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the best universities in the world for STEM fields. MIT is offering generous scholarships for international students, enabling talented students that do not have the financial means to study at one of the best institutions in America.
6. Duke University Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Duke University is an excellent private university located in North Carolina, USA. Duke University covers the full need for undergraduate students and has fully funded scholarships in form of assistantships and fellowships for Masters and Ph.D. students. Check out this awesome institution in the US!
7. Agnes Scott College Marvin B. Perry Presidential Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degree: Undergraduate
Agness Scott College offers Marvin B. Perry Presidential Scholarships, which is a full-ride scholarship covering full tuition, room, and board for up to four years. The total value of this scholarship is around $230,000 and is available for both domestic and international students. Awarded for top prospective students, you will need to be an excellent student to have a shot at this scholarship.
8. Hendrix College Hays Memorial Scholarship
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degree: Undergraduate
Hendrix College offers Hays Memorial Scholarship to four incoming students per year. This scholarship covers full tuition, room, and board for four years, and the award amount is over $200,000. To be eligible, you will need to apply by November 15 deadline, have at least a 3.6 GPA, and score a minimum score of 32 and 1430 on the ACT and SAT respectively.
9. Barry University Stamp Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degree: Undergraduate
Barry University’s Stamp Scholarships are fully funded scholarships consisting of tuition, room, board, books, and transportation that is renewable for 4 years and an additional $6,000 stipend that can cover an educational-related expense such as internships or study abroad. There are other prerequisites to get this scholarship, so make sure that you check it on the scholarship page!
10. Stanford University Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Stanford University is an excellent research university in the United States. Because of the large endowment and research funding, they offer generous sums of money for both undergraduate and graduate students, so make sure to check their scholarship page!
11. DAAD Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
DAAD Scholarships are government scholarships funded by Germany. The universities in Germany are already free, so this scholarship provides a monthly living stipend for undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. students. There are thousands of students that receive these fully-funded scholarships each year, so check it out if you are interested in studying in Germany.
12. Chevening Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degree: Master’s
Chevening scholarships are fully funded Master’s scholarships offered by the government of the United Kingdom. It provides full-tuition and living stipend for its scholarship recipients to study at one of the universities in the United Kingdom. There are many prestigious universities in the United Kingdom that international students can study in.
13. Turkey Government Scholarships
- Scholarship Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Turkey Government Scholarships are fully funded scholarships for undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. students wishing to study in Turkey. They cover their tuition, flights, and living stipends to encourage you to come and study in Turkey. It is a great opportunity for someone who wishes to study in Turkey and wants to experience the culture there.
14. Korean Government Scholarships
- Scholarships Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
Hundreds and thousands of students receive Korean Government Scholarships, fully-funded scholarships funded by the Korean government to excellent undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. students. Korea is home to prestigious universities such as Seoul National University and KAIST, and you have the 0pportunity to study there entirely for free if you receive Korean Government Scholarships. Check out this awesome opportunity!
15. MEXT Scholarships
- Scholarships Page
- Eligible Degrees: Undergraduate, Master’s, PhD
MEXT Scholarships are fully funded scholarships offered by the Government of Japan. One of the main goals of the Japanese government is to increase the number of international students in Japan. To do that, one of the initiatives that they do is to provide MEXT scholarships so that international students can study in Japan.
I hope that this article on fully-funded scholarships for international students was helpful. Make sure to also check out the Available Programs for International Students!