Here’s my list of all the MA and PhD fellowships for African students that I’ve come across.  They’re listed by region.  All the links have been updated as of February 2021.  New links since the last update are marked with an asterisk.

I’m working on turning this into a searchable database in partnership with Africademics.  Stay tuned for updates!

I’ll note here that I get a lot of requests from people asking me to help them get a scholarship.  I’m not affiliated with any of the universities or scholarship providers listed here.  I can’t provide individualized recommendations for scholarships.  I can review a limited number of social science scholarship applications as my schedule permits.

Si vous êtes un(e) étudiant(e) francophone, veuillez regarder la liste des bourses ici.

Africa

• The Krystle Kabare scholarship supports study by disabled female students at the University of Nairobi *
• The South African-German Center for Development Research offers MA and PhD Scholarships for the University of Western Cape *
• The African School of Economics offers financial aid for BSc, MA, or PhD study in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire *
• Rhodes University in South Africa offers a number of MA and PhD scholarships *
• The African Leadership University offers a Female Scholars program for BA study
• The Wells Mountain Initiative supports students from low income countries undertaking a BA in another low income country
• The Bongani Mayosi National Health Scholars Programme supports PhD studies at South African universities
• The Mandela Rhodes Foundation supports African students doing postgrad studies at South Africa universities
• The World Bank’s PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund offers PhD funding for African students in STEM fields
• Windle Trust offers BA scholarships for Sudanese students affected by conflict, and MA scholarships for students from a range of conflict-affected countries
• Higherlife Foundation in Zimbabwe offers BA and PhD fellowships
• The Inter-University Council for East Africa occasionally posts scholarship opportunities
• The Intra-Africa Biomedical Engineering Mobility Scheme offers MA and PhD funding for students enrolled at African universities
• The Wadsworth African Fellowships support African students doing PhDs in anthropology at South African universities
• The American University in Cairo offers African Graduate Fellowships
• MOUNAF offers scholarships for students doing MA or PhD study in Africa
• The African Science Partnership for Intervention Research Excellence (ASPIRE) offers a variety of MA and PhD scholarships around Africa
• Zawadi Africa supports African women who are pursuing undergraduate studies in the US, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya
• The Pan-African University has a number of MA and PhD fellowships
• The Ethiopian Foundation offers scholarships to Ethiopian students
• Fondazione Edu offers scholarships for BA students at the University of Ghana
• The Jim Ovia Scholarship supports BA and MA students at Nigerian universities
• The World Academy of Sciences has fellowships available for students doing PhDs in Brazil, China, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico and Pakistan
• The Lagos State Scholarship Board offers funding for BA and MA study in South Africa, India, Ukraine and China to Nigerian citizens
• The Graça Machel Scholarship Programme offers funding for post-graduate study in South Africa and the UK to women from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa and Zambia
• The Lisa Maskell Fellowship supports graduate study at the University of Stellenbosch
• The Mandela Institute for Development Studies has just launched a new scholarship programme, details TBD
• The Square Kilometer Array in South Africa offers undergraduate, MA and PhD scholarships in astronomy
• The Canon Collins Educational & Legal Assistance Trust provides scholarships to universities in southern Africa and the UK
• The Bank of Tanzania offers BA and MA scholarships at a range of Tanzanian universities
• The African Economic Research Consortium offers MA and PhD scholarships
• The Regional University Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) offers funding for MSc and PhD students in agriculture at African universities
• The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World offers fellowships for women pursuing PhDs in scientific fields at universities in low income countries

Europe

• KU Leuven offers PhD scholarships to students from a range of low income countries *
• The Ireland-Africa Fellows program supports African students for one year of MA studies
• The Africa Scholarship Program supports African students in MSc programs at Wageningen University
• VLIR-UOS offers funding for students from a range of low income countries to do MA studies in Belgium
• The Government of Ireland International Education Programme offers funding to non-European students to do one year of BA or MA study in the country
• The Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals are open to African students doing MA programs in Sweden
• There are a variety of scholarships for non-European students who would like to do undergraduate or graduate study in Holland
• Sciences Po offers scholarships for English-language undergraduate and graduate study by African students
• The German Academic Exchange Service has a wide range of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students to study in Germany
• The University of Groningen Talent Grant is open to students from a range of low-income countries doing MA programs
• The Norwegian government provides scholarships for 800 students from low income countries annually through its Quota Scheme
• The University of Zurich offers a mobility grant for African students to spend one or two semesters there

UK

• Undergraduates from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are eligible for a small scholarship at the University of Salford *
• LSTHM is offering scholarships for the MSc in Global Mental Health to students from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa *
• Eni offers two MBA scholarships for African students at Oxford
• LSE and UCT offer scholarships for two African students doing the split-site MSc in Global Media and Communications
• The Margaret Busby New Daughters of Africa Award offers funding for African women doing an MA focused on African literature at SOAS
• University College London’s Institute for Global Health has a number of scholarships available for African students pursuing MSc study
• The University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute offers MSc scholarships for students from Ghana, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• The Rhodes Trust supports African students studying at Oxford
• The Association of Commonwealth Universities’ Queen Elizabeth Scholarships support students from low income countries doing MAs in the UK
• The Rowan Williams Studentship at Cambridge offers support to students from conflict-affected countries
• The University of Nottingham Developing Solutions Scholarships support MA study by students from Africa, India, and other Commonwealth countries
• The Standard Bank African Chairman Scholarship offers funding for African students pursuing MA study at Oxford, Cambridge, and the LSE
• The University of Manchester offers Equality and Merit scholarships to cover the cost of postgraduate study for students from low income countries
• The Gates Cambridge Scholarship covers the cost of postgraduate study for students who are not UK citizens
• A variety of scholarships are available through the Cambridge Africa program
• The African Excellence Fee Waiver is available for students doing graduate study at the University of Glasgow
• Peace, Security and Development Fellowships for African scholars undertaking the MSc Security, Leadership & Society at King’s College London
• The Program for African Leadership supports the MSc Development Management and MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies at the LSE
• The University of Essex offers tuition discounts to African students through the African Scholarship Programme
• The Africa London Nagasaki Fund supports MA study at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Nagasaki
• Six separate scholarships offered by Oxford for the MSc African Studies
• There are also Commonwealth Shared Scholarships for students from African Commonwealth countries doing several types of degrees at SOAS
• The Governance for Development in Africa Initiative offers funding for MSc and PhD students at the Centre of African Studies at SOAS
• The UK’s Chevening Scholarship supports post-graduate study at a range of universities
• The Wellcome Trust offers scholarships for students from low income countries doing MAs in public health and tropical medicine in the UK

US

• Berkeley Law offers an African Legal Impact fellowship for the LLM program *
• The Margaret McNamara Education Grants support women from low income countries doing graduate study in the US, Canada, and South Africa *
• Google offers a computer science PhD fellowship for African citizens
• The Human Rights LLM Fellowship at Columbia Law School is seeking applicants from low income countries
• The Pulitzer Africa Data Journalism Scholarship covers the cost of an MA in journalism at Columbia University
• The SHARE Fellowship supports students from low income countries doing the MBA at Thunderbird School of Management
• The University of Delaware Borel Fellows program offers scholarships for MA study in agriculture to African students
• The Obama Foundation Scholars program offers fellowships for the MA in International Development Policy at UChicago
• The American Association of University Women’s International Fellowships support women who are not US citizens and want to pursue graduate study in the US
• Dartmouth offers four-year BA scholarships to students from low income countries through the King Scholar Leadership Program
• Ashinaga Africa supports BA studies abroad by students from a range of Anglophone countries
• Cynthia’s Sisters offers law school scholarships to women from the DRC
• The Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa fellowship program at Georgetown supports women doing the LLM
• The Global Leaders Fellowship at George Washington University offers scholarships for MA and PhD students from low income countries
• The Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program
• The African Women Public Service Fellowship at NYU-Wagner School of Public Policy
• EADB scholarships for math, science and technology graduate programs at Rutgers and NJIT
• The Fulbright Foreign Student program provides funding for students who would like to study in the US at a variety of institutions
• The Richard A. Horovitz Fund offers scholarships to African students currently enrolled at US universities
• The Ibrahim Foundation Scholarships support study at several universities in the US and UK
• Students from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa can apply for one year of study in the US through the Community College Initiative Program

Other Resources

• J-PAL offers the online MicroMasters in Data, Economics, and Development Policy (with an option for continued study in person at MIT) with a sliding tuition scale for students with low incomes *
• The Indian Council on Cultural Relations offers MA and PhD funding for African students wishing to study in India
• The Aga Khan Foundation offers support to students from low income countries doing MA and PhD programs abroad
• The OPEC Fund for International Development provides MA funding to students from low income countries
• Total Scholarships for Women are available for women from countries around the world
• The Hegg Hoffet Fund provides grants to female graduate students who have been displaced by conflict
• Schwartzman Scholars supports students doing a one-year MA in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University
• The Australia Awards support students from a variety of African countries who would like to study in Australia
• The African Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship Program supports students from South Africa and Senegal doing MAs in public finance, public policy or public administration at Canadian universities
• The MasterCard Foundation provides scholarships for African students to universities around the world
• The Association of African Universities has an internship program for students at African universities