Top 10 Fully Funded Scholarships in the UK 2026: Chevening, Gates Cambridge & More

The UK funds some of the best-known scholarships in the world, and for 2026 the big government and university programmes are open to international students from more than 160 countries. These are ten fully funded awards worth building an application around.

1. Chevening Scholarships. The UK government's global scholarship programme funds a one-year master's degree at any UK university, with tuition, living costs and flights covered.

2. Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Fully funds graduate study at the University of Cambridge, covering tuition, stipend and travel for students with strong intellectual ability and leadership potential.

3. Rhodes Scholarships at Oxford University. The best-known postgraduate award in the world, funding two to three years of study at Oxford with full costs covered.

4. Commonwealth Shared Scholarships. Jointly funded by the UK Foreign Office and UK universities, covering master's study for students from lower- and middle-income Commonwealth countries.

5. Commonwealth PhD Scholarships. The same scheme at doctoral level, funding three years of research at a UK university.

6. Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarships. Fund graduate study at Oxford for students from developing and emerging economies, covering tuition and living costs.

7. Mary Somerville Clarendon Graduate Scholarship. A fully funded Clarendon Fund award at Oxford with a focus on supporting women in graduate study.

8. Aker Cambridge Scholarship. A Cambridge Trust award covering the full cost of graduate study for top students.

9. Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Programme. Funds development-focused master's study at partner UK institutions including SOAS.

10. Fulbright Awards. The US-UK Fulbright Commission funds study and research in the UK for US citizens, and UK students going the other way.

Chevening and Rhodes open roughly a year before the programme starts, while university awards like Clarendon and Gates Cambridge follow their own timelines. Check each listing's eligibility and deadline, and start your references early.

The UK list splits into two mechanisms. Chevening and Commonwealth are applied for through a national or scheme-level process, with the Chevening window opening in early August and closing in early October, and Commonwealth requiring a nomination through a body in your country. The university awards are applied for through the institution, on a separate deadline, and often with a shortlisting stage before the final committee.

Course applications and funding applications run in parallel and are not the same deadline. Chevening expects you to name three UK courses and to hold an unconditional offer from one of them before the award is confirmed, which means the course application cannot wait until funding results arrive. University awards vary: some decide with admission, some after it.

Doctoral funding in the UK rarely comes as a named scholarship. It comes as a studentship attached to a project or a doctoral training partnership, advertised with a topic and a supervisor, and the eligibility line often restricts the number of places open to international applicants. Read that line before you write anything, because a strong application to a closed route is wasted.

Budget for the parts a stipend does not always cover: the visa fee and the immigration health surcharge are charged separately, and accommodation deposits in London and the larger cities are substantial. A fully funded offer that leaves those out is still a good offer, but it is not a zero-cost one.