Many people have asked me how they could secure a fully funded scholarship abroad. This is possible. However, there is no single route to embark on such journey. I am currently on a fully funded scholarship for my graduate program in the United States; in that case, I have a practical experience about it. Having seek for full funding for over 8 years, whatever you want to read in this blog is from real life experience.

Education is expensive anywhere in the world. Traveling from one country to another for the sake of education is not a part on the back. However, anyone can acquire quality education whether from a priviledge background or not. The possibility of this reality is scholarship.

Types of Scholarship

There are two types of scholarship. Fully funded scholarship and partial funded scholarship.

Fully Funded Scholarship

This is a type of scholarship  that covers most of the fees such as tuition, insurance and living expenses. University can offer this kind of scholarship or other forms of organizations like Mastercard. The condition given in this kind of scholarship is not universal. Some scholarships require the recipients to just focus on studies without doing any form of work; while others require students to take academic and administrative roles. The work they do cover for their funding. This academic role could be graduate teaching assistant, graduate research assistant or graduate fellowship. Each university has their expectations and requirements. However, students must be in good academic standing to secure and maintain these fundings. Some are contigent to their academic strength.

Partial Funded Scholarship

This is a kind of scholarship where students are offered some percentage of financial support to assist in payment of certain academic fee. Partial funding sometimes can be given to students based on the availability of funding by the department at the time.  It is partial because it does not cover for everything.

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How to Get Admission and Scholarship

You are expected to have a good grade before applying for admission and to be considered for any form of funding. Each university and program have their requirements and the kind of grade they require you have before they offer you admission or consider you for funding. At least 2.1 CGPA in Nigeria scale is required in most universities in the United States and Canada. Of course there are schools that consider 2.2 or even third class for admission. However, the chances of securing scholarship with those grades are almost impossible. The best bet is to have good result. If you are still an undergraduate in Nigeria and wish to study abroad, make sure you work hard and come out with a nice result.

Note also that you must not have a master’s degree before you embark on PhD in the United States. With your bachelor’s degree, you can study straight to five years for your PhD and have a master’s on the way. You must not also study the same program you studied in your undergraduate years. You may decide to diversify. What matters is how you are able to convince the admissions committee that you could do the kind of research needed in the program you are applying to.

Now you are sure and convince yourself that you can do it and are qualified for such pursuit, you are required to have an article or part of your undergraduate project or term paper. That will be used to judge your academic research strength. You will write statement of purpose and explain why you want to study the course. In your statement, you must state your drive, motivation and why you feel the program will help your fiture goal. Also make sure that you mention your background and tell stories about yourself. American universities like stories. Tell them where you are coming from, where you are, where you want to be and how you feel that their program will help you get there. How will it support your academic and professional career goals?

When you have your writing sample and statement of purpose, make sure you have your academic transcript from your former university. Scan it. You will be using it to apply for schools. Make sure you have your passport (International passport) and it is valid. While 6 month validation by the time you will be admitted may be seen as minimum requirement, don’t wait until your passport is about to expire before you renew it. Always have a passport with years ahead of it.

Note also, that before you start writing the sample and statement of purpose, scroll through the website of each university you want to study abroad. Be patient and go through the programs they offer. When you finally select one, try to see their requirements. Ask yourself, what are their requirements? When you see their requirements, try to meet them. Make sure you gather all the necessary documents before you start application.

Some program requires you find a professor who will be your potential advisor, some don’t require such. In my experience, I applied to Master’s in Applied Linguistics at the University of Saskachewan in 2020. I didn’t read the clauses where it states you must find a supervisor willing to supervise you before application. I went ahead to apply and spent $90 application fee then, only to be denied admission on the basis of not getting a supervisor before application.

Don’t make this mistake like me. Learn from my experience. There are universities and programs that do not require potential supervisors. You can go ahead and apply to those schools. I remember when I was admitted in Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in the same 2020, I didn’t have any potential supervisor but was granted admission. It was the same course I was denied at the University of Saskechewan, Canada, but this time, it was Applied Linguistics and Discourse Analysis with specialization in African Studies — more broad. You understand the point now? What a school may demand might be different from what another school may demand. It is your sole responsibility to figure this out.

When you are writing to potential supervisors, ask them if they have funding. Some may not have funding, some may have. If they have funding, they will tell you. If they don’t have funding, they will tell you. I don’t advise anyone to go to any university abroad without funding especially when they have no financial backup or sponsors. It doesn’t worth the stress. But if you have the money and sponsors, why not?

The easiest way to check whether the program you have interest in has funding or not is to ask. Ask. Go to the program webpage or website and check the program cordinator. Email them and express your interest in the program. Then ask if they have funding. The answer will inform your decision.

Additionally, write to professors who share the same research interest areas as you. Attach with the email your CV and academic  transcript from your previous institution. Take this as a full-time job and write to as many professors from many universities as possible. It is called cold mail. Some may reply you. Some may not. A professor who is seeking for students will definitely pick interest. You can be offered admission and funding if there is availability.

General Requirenments for Admission and Scholarships

• Writing Sample
• Statement of Purpose
• Academic CV
• Academic Transcript
• Three (two) recommendation letters from your previous professors
• English Proficieny  (TOEFL, IELT, etc)
• Standard exams (SAT, GMAT, GRE, etc)

These requirements are not absolute for all the programs. There are some programs that waive standard tests or English proficiency. However, get an English proficiency waiver letter from your university. Not all the universities will accept it, but some will surely accept it.

Read this article gently and over and over, as you are about to embark on this journey. Remember, this is an investment into your future. See it as a full-time job. As you read and prepare your mind, bookmark this website for more nuggets on study abroad and scholarship as we will be dropping contents and scholarship opportunities all over the world.

Thank you for reading!

I paused!