Postgraduate Scholarships for International Students 2026–2027

Postgraduate study is where a degree stops being a certificate and starts becoming a career strategy. A master’s degree can move you into a specialist role, a higher salary band or a regulated profession; a PhD can open academia, research leadership and policy work. The problem is price. Postgraduate tuition abroad routinely runs into tens of thousands of dollars, pounds or euros per year, before rent, food, insurance and flights are counted. That is exactly why postgraduate scholarships for international students exist — and why the 2026–2027 cycle is one of the most competitive, and most generous, in years.

This guide is a practical map of postgraduate funding, not a list of miracles. It explains what “postgraduate” actually covers, which major government and university scholarships are genuinely open to international students for 2026–2027, what each one pays, who is eligible, which documents you need, and how selection really works. Every amount quoted below was checked against official sources at the time of writing, and where a figure changes by country or by year, this guide says so instead of inventing a single neat number. You can browse all of the programmes mentioned here, and hundreds more, in our scholarships directory, and compare destination universities in our university directory.

One definition matters before anything else. In most of the world, “postgraduate” means study taken after a bachelor’s degree: taught master’s degrees (MA, MSc, MBA, MPH, LLM and similar), research master’s degrees (MRes, MPhil and master’s by research), postgraduate diplomas and certificates, and doctoral degrees (PhD and professional doctorates). Some countries use “graduate study” for the same thing — the United States and Canada usually say “graduate” where the United Kingdom, Australia and much of Europe say “postgraduate”. The funding logic, however, is the same everywhere: postgraduate scholarships are smaller in number than undergraduate awards, larger in value, and far more focused on academic merit, professional experience and a convincing plan for what you will do with the degree.

Postgraduate Scholarships at a Glance

The table below summarises the flagship postgraduate scholarships covered in this guide. Treat it as a starting point for shortlisting, not as a substitute for the official rules — each programme’s own website is the final authority on amounts and dates.

Two warnings belong at the top of any honest postgraduate guide. First, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships have been discontinued. Older articles still describe Vanier as a CAD 50,000-a-year opportunity; do not build a plan around it. The doctoral replacement is the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D) at CAD 40,000 per year for 36 months, while the companion master’s scheme, CGRS-M, is domestic-only and is not an international-student route. Second, Destination Australia is closed — its funding ceased on 1 July 2024 — so any page presenting it as an open 2026 or 2027 opportunity is out of date. For research degrees in Australia, the live route is the Research Training Program (RTP) described below.

Who Is Eligible for Postgraduate Scholarships?

Eligibility rules differ by programme, but postgraduate scholarships tend to test the same six things. Understanding them early saves you from spending weeks on an application you could never have won.

1. A completed first degree — with the right grades

Almost every postgraduate scholarship requires a bachelor’s degree (or a recognised equivalent) before the funded course starts. Competitive schemes look for a strong classification: Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships, for example, expect at least an upper second-class (2:1) honours degree or equivalent, and many university scholarships set similar thresholds. Final-year undergraduates can often apply conditionally, but the award only becomes real once the degree is completed and the grades are confirmed.

2. Citizenship and residence in an eligible country

Government scholarships are instruments of foreign policy and development policy, so nationality rules are strict. Chevening is open to citizens of Chevening-eligible countries and territories; Commonwealth scholarships are limited to eligible low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries; Australia Awards are limited to partner countries, mainly in the Indo-Pacific and partner regions; DAAD EPOS is limited to countries on its DAC list of developing and emerging economies. Always check the eligible-country list for your passport before anything else.

3. Professional experience

This is the requirement applicants most often underestimate. Chevening requires at least two years (2,800 hours) of work experience. DAAD EPOS also expects at least two years of relevant professional experience after the bachelor’s degree, and normally expects your most recent degree to be no more than six years old. Australia Awards programmes in many countries prioritise applicants whose work connects to national development priorities. Research degrees flip the emphasis: for a PhD scholarship, research experience, publications and a confirmed supervisor matter more than years in a job.

4. A development or leadership case

Flagship government scholarships are not simply prizes for good grades. They fund people expected to return home and use the degree — in public service, business, academia, health, climate work or another priority sector. Your application must connect three dots convincingly: what you have done, what the degree adds, and what changes afterwards. Applicants who write only about personal benefit (“I have always dreamed of studying abroad”) lose to applicants who write about outcomes for an employer, a community or a country.

5. Language proficiency

The scholarship and the university are separate gatekeepers, and both may test language. You might satisfy a scholarship’s rules yet still need IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo English Test or a medium-of-instruction certificate for the university offer itself. Programmes taught in German, French, Japanese, Chinese or Turkish may require that language — or, like DAAD EPOS courses taught in English, may fund a preparatory language course instead. Check both sets of rules; our test preparation hub can help you plan for English tests.

6. Return-home and other conditions

Several major schemes require you to return home after study: Chevening requires scholars to return for at least two years; Australia Awards scholars must leave Australia for at least two years after completing their award; Fulbright grantees are typically subject to a two-year home-residence requirement connected to the J-1 visa. A scholarship with a return condition can still be an outstanding deal — but you should accept it knowingly, not discover it in the award letter.

What Postgraduate Scholarships Actually Cover

“Fully funded” is the most abused phrase in scholarship marketing. In practice, coverage falls into layers, and a serious applicant checks each layer separately:

• Tuition: Paid in full (Chevening, Commonwealth, Australia Awards, MEXT, CSC), offset through a government scheme (RTP in Australia), largely absent because public tuition is low or zero (many German programmes) — or explicitly not covered, as with France’s Eiffel scholarship, which pays a generous monthly allowance but leaves tuition to you or to a separate exemption.
• Living costs: A monthly stipend (DAAD EPOS €992; Erasmus Mundus €1,400; Commonwealth £1,712, or £2,000 in London; MEXT ¥144,000–¥145,000; CSC CNY 3,000–3,500), or a fortnightly contribution to living expenses (Australia Awards). Rates are set per programme and per year — never assume last year’s figure.
• Travel: Return airfare is included by Chevening, Commonwealth, Australia Awards, MEXT and Türkiye-style government schemes; Erasmus Mundus folds travel, visa and installation costs into its monthly allowance rather than paying them separately.
• Insurance: Health cover is included by most government schemes — OSHC in Australia, comprehensive medical insurance under CSC, DAAD payments towards health, accident and liability insurance.
• Visa-stage funds: A scholarship letter is not the same as visa proof. For Canada, for example, immigration rules require evidence of living funds separate from tuition: the required amount is CAD 22,895 for study-permit applications from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026, rising to CAD 23,448 for applications from 1 September 2026. If your scholarship does not cover the full required amount, you must show the difference from legitimate sources.
• Family: Most postgraduate scholarships fund the student only. Some pay limited dependant allowances in defined circumstances (Commonwealth child allowance for certain single parents; DAAD family allowances in some cases), but partners and children usually mean significant extra cost that you must fund yourself.

Budget honestly around the edges. Germany illustrates why: many public-university postgraduate programmes charge little or no tuition, yet a student visa normally requires proof of funds in a blocked account — €11,904 for 2026. A DAAD scholarship letter can serve as that proof for funded scholars, but a self-funded classmate must deposit the money. The scholarship question is therefore never only “how much do they pay?” — it is also “what will the university, the embassy and the landlord still ask me to prove?”

The Main Postgraduate Scholarship Routes, Programme by Programme

United Kingdom: Chevening and Commonwealth

Chevening, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and partners, pays for a one-year taught master’s degree at a UK university: full tuition, a monthly stipend (higher in London), economy return airfare, visa costs and arrival/departure allowances. You must be a citizen of an eligible country, hold a degree that qualifies you for UK postgraduate entry, have at least 2,800 hours of work experience, apply to three different eligible courses, and commit to returning home for two years afterwards. For the 2027–28 cycle, applications opened on 4 August 2026 and closed on 6 October 2026 — a reminder that UK master’s funding deadlines fall almost a full year before the course starts. Read our dedicated guide to the Chevening Scholarship 2027 in the UK, and explore a typical destination profile such as the University of Oxford.

Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships, run by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and funded by the FCDO, target talented applicants from eligible low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries who could not otherwise afford UK study. Each scholarship provides approved return airfare, full approved tuition fees, a stipend of £1,712 per month (£2,000 per month in the London metropolitan area) at current rates, a study travel grant and, in defined cases, a child allowance. The 2027/28 round ran from September to 20 October 2026, and applicants normally also apply through a nominating agency in their home country — that second deadline catches people out every year, so start it early. Commonwealth awards are organised around development themes, including strengthening health systems, so health and public-health master’s applicants are genuinely in scope — unlike many schemes that quietly exclude clinical fields.

United States: Fulbright and university funding

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is the main US government route for postgraduate study: master’s degrees, PhD study and non-degree research, administered country by country through Fulbright commissions and US embassies. Benefits typically combine tuition support, a living stipend, airfare and health coverage, but the exact package is set per country — there is no single worldwide Fulbright stipend figure, and any article quoting one should be treated with suspicion. Deadlines also vary by country, often falling between February and May for study starting the following year. An important boundary: Fulbright generally does not support clinical medicine training — a point we return to in our guide to medicine scholarships for international students. Alongside Fulbright, US universities themselves are major postgraduate funders, especially for PhDs, where research and teaching assistantships frequently cover tuition plus a stipend. A famous private example at Stanford is covered in our Knight-Hennessy Scholars overview; see also the Harvard University profile for how need-based and departmental funding works at the top end.

Germany: DAAD EPOS and the low-tuition advantage

DAAD EPOS (Development-Related Postgraduate Courses) funds professionals from eligible developing and emerging countries on a defined list of English-taught (and some German-taught) master’s and doctoral courses at German universities. The verified current rates are €992 per month for master’s students and €1,300 per month for doctoral candidates, rising to €1,400 from February 2026, plus payments towards health, accident and liability insurance, a travel allowance, and in some cases a rent subsidy or family allowance. Funding lasts 12 to 42 months depending on the course. Two process points matter: you apply directly to the course (you may apply to up to three EPOS courses), not to a central DAAD portal; and deadlines are course-specific, spread across the autumn and winter. Because many German public universities charge no tuition for consecutive master’s programmes, the EPOS stipend goes much further than the same amount would in London or Sydney — one reason Germany dominates shortlists for engineers, public-health specialists, economists and development professionals.

Europe-wide: Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters are integrated programmes delivered by consortia of universities in at least two European countries: you study in multiple countries and receive a joint or multiple degree. The scholarship covers participation costs (including tuition and insurance) and pays €1,400 per month for the full programme duration, up to 24 months — a maximum of €33,600 — intended to cover travel, visa, installation and living costs. There is no central application: you apply to each consortium directly, most commonly between October and January, and you may apply to several programmes (check each consortium’s own limit and rules; historically up to three applications per cycle has been common). Because the degree itself is the scholarship application, course fit and academic excellence dominate selection.

France: Eiffel — generous stipend, no tuition

The France Excellence Eiffel programme, run by Campus France for the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, supports master’s and doctoral study in seven fields, from biology and health to law, economics and engineering. From January 2026 the monthly allowance is €1,200 at master’s level and €2,100 at doctoral level, with additional services such as international travel support and insurance. Two facts are constantly misreported: Eiffel does not cover tuition fees, and students cannot apply directly — a French institution must submit your candidacy, with the 2027 institutional deadline falling on 6–8 January 2027 depending on the Campus France notice. Age limits apply (up to 29 for master’s applicants and 35 for doctoral applicants in recent calls). If your French university offers a tuition exemption or low public tuition, Eiffel can still be an excellent package; if it charges high private fees, do the arithmetic before celebrating.

Japan: MEXT for research students

Japan’s MEXT scholarship supports master’s and doctoral study through two routes: embassy recommendation and university recommendation. For research students, the official stipend schedule is ¥143,000 per month during preparatory/non-regular study, ¥144,000 per month for master’s students and ¥145,000 per month for doctoral students, with a small regional supplement in designated areas; tuition and entrance/matriculation fees are covered and an economy return ticket is provided. Embassy-route applications usually run in spring (for India, the 2027 research-student deadline was in May), while university-recommendation deadlines cluster in late autumn and winter. MEXT is unusually welcoming to applicants who want to begin as non-degree research students and progress into a degree — but Japanese-language ability, or a credible plan to acquire it, strengthens many applications.

Australia: Australia Awards and RTP

Australia Awards Scholarships, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), are the Australian Government’s flagship awards for partner-country applicants, mostly at postgraduate level. The package is comprehensive: full tuition, return air travel, a one-off establishment allowance, a fortnightly contribution to living expenses, Overseas Student Health Cover, an introductory academic programme and, where needed, pre-course English. Applications are country-specific — eligibility, priority sectors and closing dates (commonly around April–May) are set per country — and scholars must spend at least two years outside Australia after finishing. Start with the University of Melbourne profile to see how Australia Awards sits alongside university awards at a major destination.

For research degrees, the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) is the workhorse: universities award RTP scholarships competitively for master’s by research and PhD study, combining a tuition fee offset with a stipend at a government base rate of AUD 34,315 in 2026, rising to AUD 35,550 in 2027 (individual universities may pay above the base). Our detailed guide to the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship 2027 explains rounds, eligibility and how to approach supervisors. And repeat the warning from the top of this page: Destination Australia is closed — do not waste an application season chasing it.

China and Canada: CSC and the post-Vanier landscape

The Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC), administered by the China Scholarship Council for the Ministry of Education, funds postgraduate study at designated Chinese universities with tuition, a dormitory place or accommodation subsidy, comprehensive medical insurance (CNY 800 per person per year) and a stipend of CNY 3,000 per month for master’s students and CNY 3,500 per month for doctoral students. Type A (bilateral) applications go through your home country’s dispatching authority; Type B (university programme) applications go directly to universities. Age limits in the official guide are under 35 for master’s applicants and under 40 for doctoral applicants.

In Canada, plan around what exists now. Vanier is discontinued; the doctoral successor, CGRS-D, pays CAD 40,000 per year for 36 months and is awarded through Canadian universities, while much international postgraduate funding in Canada actually comes from universities themselves — supervisor grants, entrance scholarships and assistantships, especially in STEM and health research. Whatever your funding, remember the immigration maths above: CAD 22,895 in required living funds for applications up to 31 August 2026, and CAD 23,448 from 1 September 2026, on top of tuition.

How to Apply: A Step-by-Step Postgraduate Plan

1. Fix your level and field first. Decide taught master’s vs research master’s vs PhD, and a field narrow enough that programmes can judge fit. “Business” is weak; “health economics for universal health coverage” is a fundable proposition.
2. Shortlist by eligibility, not prestige. For each scheme, verify citizenship eligibility, degree classification, work-experience rules and return conditions before reading anything else. Delete ineligible options ruthlessly.
3. Build a deadline calendar. Postgraduate deadlines cluster 9–15 months before the start date. Chevening and Commonwealth close in October; Erasmus Mundus consortia mostly close between October and January; Australia Awards country rounds often close in April–May; EPOS deadlines are per course. Use our scholarship and study tools, including deadline tracking, to keep the calendar honest.
4. Secure the academic offer track in parallel. Some scholarships need university applications running alongside (Chevening’s three courses; EPOS course applications), while others place you after selection (Australia Awards, CSC Type A). Know which model each scheme uses.
5. Prepare transcripts and references early. Certified transcripts, degree certificates and translations take weeks in many countries. Ask referees while you are still “considering applying”, not in deadline week.
6. Write the essays as a single argument. Leadership, study plan and career plan essays should tell one story: problem, preparation, programme, post-degree plan, measurable outcome.
7. For research degrees, contact supervisors properly. Read two or three of their recent papers, propose a question that extends their work, and attach a one-page concept note and CV. Generic mass emails are deleted.
8. Submit early and keep evidence. Portals fail under deadline load. Submit days ahead, save the confirmation, and keep a full copy of everything you uploaded.

Required Documents

Deadlines and Timeline for the 2026–2027 Cycle

How Selection Works — and How to Improve Your Chances

Postgraduate selection panels reward four things: academic readiness, fit, trajectory and impact. Academic readiness means grades and references that make the panel confident you will pass — ideally excel — at a demanding university. Fit means the specific programme (its modules, labs, supervisors) genuinely matches your plan; panels can smell a prestige-only application instantly. Trajectory means your past already points in the direction the degree claims to take you. Impact means someone other than you benefits afterwards.

Practical ways to strengthen all four: choose referees who have seen you do the work you claim you will do more of; quantify experience (people managed, budgets handled, patients treated, papers written); name the exact modules, research groups or facilities you need and explain why they are unavailable at home; and make the post-degree plan concrete — an employer type, a sector problem, a timeline. For PhD applications, a supervisor who has already agreed in principle that your project fits their lab is the single strongest signal most panels ever see.

Common Mistakes Postgraduate Applicants Make

• Applying to closed programmes. Vanier (discontinued) and Destination Australia (closed since 1 July 2024) still appear in old blog posts. Verify status on the official site every cycle.
• Confusing the scholarship deadline with the university deadline. They are different clocks, and missing either kills the application.
• Ignoring the nominating-agency step. Commonwealth and several bilateral schemes require a parallel application to a home-country agency with its own, earlier deadline.
• Claiming work experience you cannot evidence. Chevening counts hours and audits them; EPOS expects post-degree professional experience. Keep employment letters.
• Assuming “fully funded” covers a family. It almost never does. Price dependants separately before applying.
• Forgetting visa-stage funds. Blocked accounts (Germany, €11,904 for 2026) and living-funds thresholds (Canada, CAD 23,448 from 1 September 2026) apply alongside scholarship rules.
• Submitting one generic essay everywhere. Panels fund fit; a recycled essay demonstrates the opposite.
• Paying an “agent” who promises a government scholarship. Chevening, Fulbright, DAAD, CSC and Australia Awards applications are free and direct. Anyone guaranteeing selection is selling a fiction.

If your target is specifically a taught degree, our guide to master’s scholarships for international students goes deeper on that level, while research-focused readers should continue to PhD scholarships for international students and compare destinations in our global rankings section.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between postgraduate and graduate scholarships?

Usually nothing of substance. “Postgraduate” is the common term in the UK, Australia and much of Europe; “graduate” is the common term in the US and Canada. Both mean scholarships for study after a bachelor’s degree — master’s, postgraduate diplomas and doctorates.

Can I apply for postgraduate scholarships while still finishing my bachelor’s degree?

Yes, for many schemes, provided you graduate before the funded course begins and meet the grade requirement when results are confirmed. Research scholarships and schemes requiring two years of post-degree work experience (Chevening, DAAD EPOS) are exceptions in practice, because the experience condition pushes eligibility later.

Which postgraduate scholarship pays the highest monthly stipend?

Headline monthly figures are not directly comparable because tuition and travel may or may not be included. Erasmus Mundus pays €1,400/month with participation costs covered; Eiffel pays €2,100/month at doctoral level from January 2026 but does not cover tuition; Commonwealth pays £1,712/month (£2,000 in London) with tuition and airfare covered. Compare total packages, not stipends alone.

Is the Vanier Scholarship still available for 2026–2027?

No. Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships have been discontinued. The doctoral replacement is the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D), worth CAD 40,000 per year for 36 months. The master’s-level CGRS-M is for domestic students, so international master’s applicants should look to university funding in Canada instead.

Do postgraduate scholarships require work experience?

Some flagship schemes do: Chevening requires 2,800 hours (about two years) and DAAD EPOS requires at least two years of relevant professional experience. Others — Erasmus Mundus, MEXT, CSC, RTP — do not impose a general work-experience rule, though experience can strengthen any application.

Can a postgraduate scholarship cover my spouse and children?

Rarely, and usually only partially. A few schemes pay defined dependant allowances in specific circumstances, but the default assumption should be that the award funds you alone. Visa rules for dependants also vary by country and have tightened in several destinations.

When should I start preparing a postgraduate scholarship application?

Six to twelve months before the deadline. Transcripts, translations, references, language tests and supervisor outreach all take longer than applicants expect, and the biggest UK deadlines fall in October — almost a year before the course starts.

Are postgraduate scholarships taxable or repayable?

They are grants, not loans, and are not repayable if you meet the award conditions. Tax treatment depends on the country of study and your personal circumstances; return-home conditions and satisfactory-progress rules are the obligations that matter in practice.

Sources and Verification

Amounts, dates and rules in this article were checked at the time of writing against official sources, including: the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (stipend rates and award components); the DAAD scholarship database and DAAD EPOS programme pages (€992/€1,300–€1,400 rates and eligibility); Campus France’s Eiffel 2027 call (institutional submission and programme rules), with the January 2026 allowance rates of €1,200/€2,100 taken from the verified programme update described in this guide; the University of Glasgow’s Erasmus Mundus scholarship page (€1,400/month, €33,600 maximum); the Japanese diplomatic service’s MEXT research-student guidance (¥143,000/¥144,000/¥145,000 schedule); the University of Melbourne’s Australia Awards summary of DFAT benefits; and the Chinese Government Scholarship application guide published via China University of Geosciences (CNY 2,500/3,000/3,500 stipend schedule and insurance). Canada living-funds figures (CAD 22,895 and CAD 23,448), RTP base rates (AUD 34,315 in 2026 and AUD 35,550 in 2027), the discontinuation of Vanier and the closure of Destination Australia follow the verified programme updates recorded by StudyGraduate for this series.

Disclaimer: StudyGraduate is an information portal, not a scholarship agency, university or immigration adviser. Scholarship amounts, deadlines and eligibility rules change every cycle — always confirm the details on the official programme website before applying, and never pay anyone who promises selection, admission or a visa. We cannot and do not guarantee any applicant a scholarship, a university place or a visa outcome.