Fully Funded Bachelor’s Scholarships for International Students 2027

“Fully funded” is the most searched — and most abused — phrase in scholarship advice. For a bachelor’s student it should mean one thing: tuition paid, a place to live, money to live on, and a way to get there, for the full length of the degree. Very few awards meet that standard, which is why the genuine ones attract tens of thousands of applications for a few hundred or a few thousand places. This guide names the bachelor’s scholarships for international students that really are fully funded for the 2027 intake, explains exactly what each one pays for using figures verified against official sources, and shows you how to build an application campaign that gives you a serious chance of winning one.

The list is deliberately honest. Partial fee discounts — however generous — are labelled as partial and kept out of the fully funded list. Programmes that have closed are labelled closed. Where a famous scheme does not fund bachelor’s degrees at all, that is stated plainly, because applying for funding that does not exist at your level is the most expensive mistake in this process. If you are still mapping the wider landscape, start with our general guide to bachelor’s scholarships for international students 2026–2027 and our overview of undergraduate scholarships for international students 2026–2027, then return here for the fully funded shortlist.

Fully Funded Bachelor’s Scholarships at a Glance

What “Fully Funded” Must Include — a Reality Check

Before the programme profiles, fix the checklist in your mind. A genuinely fully funded bachelor’s package covers: (1) full tuition and compulsory fees for the standard degree length; (2) accommodation, either provided or funded; (3) a monthly stipend or allowance that realistically covers food, transport and personal costs in that city; (4) health insurance; and (5) ideally international airfare and a funded language year where the degree is not taught in English. If any of the first three is missing, the award is generous but not fully funded, and you need a plan for the gap. Two traps deserve special mention. First, stipends that look large can be modest in local prices — HUF 43,700 per month in Hungary is a contribution toward living costs in a low-cost country, not luxury, and scholars budget carefully. Second, “full tuition” scholarships in the United States still leave room, board and insurance — often more than half the total cost — unless the award explicitly covers them.

The Fully Funded Programmes, One by One

MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship — Japan

The Japanese government’s MEXT undergraduate scholarship funds a five-year package: a one-year preparatory course in Japanese language and subjects, followed by a four-year bachelor’s degree (longer for medicine, dentistry, veterinary and pharmacy tracks). It pays all tuition and examination fees, a monthly stipend of JPY 117,000 with a regional supplement of JPY 2,000–3,000 in designated areas, and round-trip economy airfare. Applicants must have completed twelve years of schooling, sit embassy-run examinations in subjects relevant to their chosen field, and pass an interview. For the 2027 cycle the published guidelines required applicants to be born on or after 2 April 2002. Read the full breakdown in our MEXT undergraduate guide and verify your country’s quota and dates on the official Study in Japan portal.

Global Korea Scholarship (GKS-U) — South Korea

GKS-U is the largest single fully funded undergraduate scheme with a published 2027 intake of 286 scholarships across embassy and university tracks. It funds a one-year Korean language programme plus a four-to-six-year degree, pays tuition (NIIED up to KRW 5 million per semester with the host university covering the remainder and the admission fee), provides economy airfare, and pays an all-inclusive allowance — KRW 13.56 million per year during language training and KRW 14.4 million per year during the degree in the 2027 guidelines, within which items such as insurance and settlement support are included. Eligibility requires citizenship of an invited country, age under 25, and a score percentile of 80% or higher. The embassy track window is short — for India, for example, 15–30 September 2026 — so documents must be ready before it opens. Our GKS undergraduate guide details the points system, and the official rules live on Study in Korea.

Türkiye Burslari — Turkey

Türkiye Scholarships combine funding with placement: one application, up to twelve programme preferences, and the state places you. For bachelor’s students the package covers tuition, a monthly stipend (4,500 TL per month for undergraduates in the 2026 cycle; check for a revised 2027 figure), accommodation, health insurance, a one-year Turkish language course and a flight ticket. Applicants must be under 21, hold at least 70% in their final schooling (90% for health sciences), and apply in the fixed window of 10 January to 20 February. With interviews held in more than a hundred countries and thousands of awards across levels, it is statistically one of the most accessible fully funded routes. Details are on the official Türkiye Burslari website, and our programme guide is the Türkiye Burslari Scholarship 2027 guide.

Stipendium Hungaricum — Hungary

Hungary’s programme funds bachelor’s degrees at around thirty universities with more than 800 English-taught programmes. It exempts tuition in full, pays HUF 43,700 per month, provides a dormitory place or a HUF 40,000 monthly housing contribution, and includes medical insurance. You apply through the central portal and your country’s Sending Partner, choosing up to two programmes, with the portal typically open from mid-November to mid-January. Because the stipend is modest, treat it as fully funded for tuition and housing with a living-cost contribution — students in Budapest in particular should budget a small top-up. The official source is Stipendium Hungaricum; see also our Stipendium Hungaricum 2027 guide.

Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC) — China

CSC Type A (bilateral programme) full scholarships for undergraduates cover tuition, dormitory accommodation and a monthly stipend, with comprehensive medical insurance, for degrees usually taught in Chinese after a preparatory language year where needed. Quotas are set country by country through Chinese embassies and your national authority. Because conditions vary by category — Type B university programme awards may be full or partial — always confirm which category your offer belongs to before treating it as fully funded.

Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship — Canada

The University of Toronto’s Pearson Scholarship is Canada’s flagship undergraduate award: tuition, books, incidental fees and full residence support for four years, for roughly 37 new scholars annually. You cannot apply directly — your school must nominate you (one nominee per school), with school nomination due by early October, the OUAC admission application by mid-October, and the scholarship application by early November for 2027 entry (9 October, 16 October and 6 November 2026 in the published 2027 cycle). It rewards exceptional academic achievement, creativity and school leadership. Our dedicated guide is the Lester B. Pearson Scholarship 2027 guide, and the official page is at the University of Toronto. Students heading to Canada should also note the study-permit living-funds requirement of CAD 22,895 for applications up to 31 August 2026 and CAD 23,448 from 1 September 2026, which applies alongside scholarship funding.

Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program — Partner Universities

The Mastercard Foundation partners with universities in Africa, North America, Europe and beyond to fund bachelor’s (and master’s) study for academically talented, financially disadvantaged young people, primarily from Africa. Packages typically cover tuition, accommodation, a stipend, a laptop, books and mentoring, but the exact contents and eligibility are set by each partner university, and you apply through the partner, not the Foundation. For eligible students it is one of the most complete and supportive fully funded routes available.

Need-Based Full Funding at US Colleges

A small number of US institutions — Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Amherst and Bowdoin among them — are need-blind for international applicants and meet 100% of demonstrated need. At Harvard, the published policy expects no parent contribution from families below its income threshold and covers at least tuition for a broad middle band; aid is grant-based and can include a travel allowance. This is fully funded education for low-income admits — but admission rates are in single digits, so treat these applications as your reach tier, never your only plan. See our Harvard University profile for how its aid works in context.

Famous Names That Do NOT Fully Fund Bachelor’s Degrees

Save yourself wasted applications. Chevening (UK) and Fulbright foreign-student funding are postgraduate schemes. DAAD EPOS in Germany funds development-related master’s and PhD study — its stipend is EUR 992 per month for master’s students — not bachelor’s degrees; Germany’s undergraduate advantage is low tuition itself, with a blocked account of EUR 11,904 per year (2026) required for the visa. The Eiffel Excellence Scholarship in France funds master’s (EUR 1,200 per month from January 2026) and doctoral (EUR 2,100 per month) study, not bachelor’s, and it does not cover tuition. Australia Awards are primarily postgraduate for most partner countries. The Destination Australia programme is closed (funding ceased 1 July 2024) and the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships — a doctoral scheme — have been discontinued and replaced by the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship–Doctoral (CAD 40,000 per year for 36 months); neither belongs on a bachelor’s shortlist. If a website tells you otherwise, it is out of date.

Eligibility: the Common Pattern

Across the fully funded bachelor’s schemes, eligibility converges on: completed (or final-year) twelve-year schooling; strong grades (80%+ for GKS-U; 70%/90% thresholds at Türkiye Burslari; top-of-school standing for Pearson); age limits (under 21 Türkiye; under 25 GKS-U; MEXT birth-date cutoff); citizenship of an eligible country and not of the host country; good health evidenced on official medical forms; and, for need-based routes, documented family finances. Language tests are usually not required for government schemes with a preparatory year, but English-taught study in anglophone countries follows university requirements.

Benefits Compared: Where the Money Goes

How to Apply: a Fully Funded Campaign Plan

1. Pick 4–6 targets across tiers: two government flagships, one nomination or foundation award, and two universities where full-need or full-ride funding matches your profile.
2. Work backwards from the earliest deadline. For 2027 entry the season opens in September 2026 with GKS-U and Pearson nominations — your documents must be finished in the summer.
3. Assemble the document vault once: transcripts, certificates, passport, photos, medical forms, translations and referee letters, scanned to each portal’s specification.
4. Write to each scheme’s purpose. Government schemes fund future leaders and bilateral ties; universities fund achievement and contribution; foundations fund disadvantage overcome plus leadership. Same facts, different emphasis.
5. Prepare for exams and interviews. MEXT tests subject knowledge; Türkiye and GKS interview for motivation and fit. Practise out loud, in the interview language.
6. Track everything with the StudyGraduate tools — deadline tracker, budget planner and scholarship finder — and keep a parallel plan for partial-funding offers so a near-miss still ends in an affordable degree.

Required Documents

Expect: application forms on the official portal; transcripts and leaving certificates; passport or ID; photographs to specification; recommendation letters (two is typical; Pearson requires the school nomination itself); a personal statement and study plan; medical certificate on the scheme’s form; language certificates if held (they add points at GKS even when not mandatory); and proof of awards or extracurricular achievement. Need-based US applications add the CSS Profile and verified family income documents. Start translations and attestations early — they are the most common cause of missed windows.

Deadlines for the 2027 Intake

How to Raise Your Chances

Committees fund evidence, not adjectives. Keep grades in your school’s top band for the final two years; convert interests into documented outcomes (competitions, community projects, leadership roles with results); learn the host language to a basic certified level where the scheme rewards it; and write study plans that name real departments, courses and career outcomes rather than praising the country in general terms. Apply to several schemes — the mathematics of small acceptance rates means volume plus quality beats a single perfect application. Finally, protect your eligibility: do not enrol in another degree programme if your target scheme excludes current students, and do not let a gap-year job push you past an age cutoff.

Common Mistakes

• Calling partial awards “fully funded” and arriving without living-cost money.
• Applying to postgraduate-only schemes (Chevening, EPOS, Eiffel) as a school-leaver.
• Missing nomination mechanics — Pearson and Stipendium Hungaricum both fail without the school or Sending Partner step.
• Quoting last cycle’s stipend in a budget and planning around money that changed.
• Submitting uncertified copies or wrong-format medical forms.
• Paying intermediaries who claim they can secure a government scholarship — applications are free and allocation cannot be bought.

Budgeting on a Fully Funded Scholarship: What Students Actually Spend

Winning full funding does not end financial planning; it changes it. Your stipend or allowance must stretch across food, local transport, phone and internet, books and materials, winter clothing if you are moving to a colder climate, and the social life that makes four years abroad sustainable. Students on stipends such as Hungary’s HUF 43,700 per month — paid alongside a dormitory place or housing contribution — generally find the package workable in smaller university cities and tight in the capital, which is why many take permitted part-time work within their visa conditions for extras rather than essentials. MEXT’s JPY 117,000 per month is designed around Japanese student living costs outside central Tokyo, and GKS-U’s all-inclusive allowance expects you to manage insurance and settlement costs from within it during the degree phase. Three habits separate scholars who finish comfortably from those who struggle: keep the first month’s setup costs (deposits, bedding, residence paperwork, local registration) in a separate reserve before you travel, because several schemes pay the first stipend only after arrival formalities; track spending for the first semester until you know your city’s real prices; and re-read your award conditions before accepting paid work, internships or a semester abroad, since some schemes suspend payments during absences or require permission for employment. A fully funded scholarship is a four-year financial system, not a one-time prize — treat the award letter as a contract, keep every payment record, and confirm renewal requirements (grades, credits per year, language milestones) at the start of every academic year, not when a payment fails to arrive.

After You Win: Conditions That Keep a Fully Funded Scholarship Alive

A fully funded award is conditional income, and scholars lose funding every year for avoidable reasons. The common conditions are academic progress (minimum grades or credits per semester, checked at set review points), language milestones (completing the preparatory year at the required level before degree study begins), enrolment status (full-time study in the approved programme; changing university or major usually needs written permission and can end the award), attendance and reporting duties, and conduct rules set by the funder and the host university. Some schemes also suspend payments during approved leave or exchange semesters, and most require you to notify the funder before accepting other substantial funding, since holding two major scholarships at once is commonly prohibited. Read the award conditions in your offer pack line by line, diarise every review date, and keep copies of transcripts, payment records and official correspondence for the whole degree. If your grades dip in one semester, contact the programme office early — funders distinguish sharply between scholars who report a problem with a recovery plan and scholars they discover at an annual review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which fully funded bachelor’s scholarships can I still apply for in 2027?

It depends on the month. From January 2027, Türkiye Burslari (to 20 February) and MEXT embassy applications (spring, for 2028 entry) are the main government windows, alongside university rounds. Our rolling guide to fully funded undergraduate scholarships for international students 2027 tracks the same schemes from the undergraduate angle.

Is the GKS scholarship really fully funded for undergraduates?

Yes. For 2027, GKS-U covers tuition in full (NIIED up to KRW 5 million per semester, university covering the excess), airfare, a funded Korean language year and an all-inclusive allowance of KRW 14.4 million per year during the degree programme, per the official NIIED guidelines.

Does MEXT cover everything for bachelor’s students?

MEXT covers tuition and fees in full, pays JPY 117,000 per month plus a small regional supplement, funds the preparatory year and provides round-trip economy airfare. Students still budget for deposits, initial setup costs and personal spending beyond the stipend.

Can I get a fully funded bachelor’s in the UK?

Full undergraduate funding in the UK is rare and university-specific — for example the Jardine Scholarship at Oxford and Cambridge colleges and a small number of university full awards. There is no UK government fully funded bachelor’s scheme equivalent to Chevening, which is postgraduate only. Most UK bachelor’s funding is partial.

Are fully funded scholarships taxable or repayable?

Government scholarships in this guide are grants, not loans, and are not repayable if you meet the conditions — but breaking conditions (dropping out, failing progress requirements, leaving early) can trigger repayment or termination under the scheme’s rules. Tax treatment varies by country; check your award letter.

Do fully funded scholarships guarantee a student visa?

No. You must still satisfy immigration requirements, including financial evidence rules where they apply — for Canada, IRCC’s living-funds table (CAD 22,895 to 31 August 2026; CAD 23,448 from 1 September 2026) — and genuineness checks. A scholarship strengthens an application but never guarantees approval.

How many fully funded scholarships should I apply to?

Four to six well-matched applications is a realistic campaign: two government flagships, one or two university or foundation awards, and one or two full-need college applications if your profile fits. Quality per application matters more than raw volume.

What GPA do I need for a fully funded bachelor’s scholarship?

Meet the published floor first (80% percentile for GKS-U; 70% for Türkiye Burslari bachelor’s, 90% health sciences). Winners typically exceed floors substantially, and nomination-based awards require you to be your school’s standout candidate.

Sources & Verification

Verified at write time against official sources: MEXT undergraduate guidelines via the Study in Japan portal (JPY 117,000 stipend, preparatory year, airfare, age cutoff); NIIED GKS-U 2027 guidelines via Study in Korea (286 awards, KRW 13.56m / 14.4m allowances, KRW 5m per-semester tuition cap, 80% and under-25 rules); Türkiye Scholarships official site (4,500 TL undergraduate stipend for the 2026 cycle, age and grade thresholds, 10 Jan–20 Feb window); Tempus Public Foundation Stipendium Hungaricum pages (HUF 43,700 stipend, HUF 40,000 housing contribution); University of Toronto Pearson page (coverage, ~37 scholars, 2027-cycle deadlines); Harvard College financial aid pages (need-blind, 100% of demonstrated need); IRCC study-permit funds table; DAAD and Campus France pages confirming EPOS and Eiffel are postgraduate-only at the levels stated; Australian Government confirmation that Destination Australia funding ceased 1 July 2024. Key official links: Study in Japan, Study in Korea — GKS, Türkiye Burslari, Stipendium Hungaricum and University of Toronto — Pearson. Use the StudyGraduate rankings to sanity-check any university named in an offer.

Disclaimer: Amounts, quotas and deadlines change every cycle — always confirm on the official website before applying. StudyGraduate is an independent information portal, not an agency or funder; we never promise or guarantee scholarship selection, university admission or visa approval, and legitimate applications to the schemes above are free.