PTDF Overseas Scholarship
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) funds postgraduate scholarships for Nigerians at top universities in the UK, USA, France, Germany, China, and Japan. Priority is given to candidates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — but management and social science candidates have also received awards.

Scholarships for Nigerian Students by Field of Study

Your discipline matters. Some fields attract significantly more scholarship funding than others — but every major area of study has options.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
This is where the money is concentrated. The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program, available at partner universities across Africa and North America, heavily prioritizes STEM applicants. Google’s Generation Google Scholarship covers computer science students. The Aga Khan Foundation offers science-focused awards with a strong African presence. If you’re in engineering or computer science — you have more options than you probably realize.

Medicine and Public Health
The Africa Oxford Initiative and several WHO-affiliated programs fund Nigerian medical students and public health researchers. The Wellcome Trust — one of the world’s largest medical research funders — has active Nigerian partnerships through its African programs.

Law and Humanities
Don’t let anyone tell you arts and law students can’t win scholarships. The Rhodes Scholarship — yes, that Rhodes — is open to Nigerian applicants and actively looks for leaders in any discipline. Rhodes scholars have included Nigerian writers, lawyers, and social scientists. The Open Society Foundations also run fellowships for human rights and policy work.

Business and Economics
The African Development Bank runs the Japanese Scholarship Program for African professionals pursuing graduate business education. Rotary International’s Peace Fellowship is technically conflict resolution-focused but suits candidates from economics, political science, and development backgrounds extremely well.

What Scholarship Committees Actually Look For

Here’s where most applicants get it wrong. They assume committees are looking for the student with the highest GPA. Sometimes that’s true. Usually it isn’t.

What top scholarships — Chevening, Fulbright, Rhodes, Gates — are actually selecting for is potential impact. They’re asking: will this person do something meaningful with this opportunity? Will they give back? Will they become a leader in their community or field?

Academic excellence is the baseline, not the finish line. Once you clear the GPA hurdle, everything else comes down to your story, your clarity of purpose, and how well you communicate both.

“We read thousands of applications from brilliant students. The ones that stand out are the ones that know exactly why they want this specific scholarship for this specific reason — not just ‘I want to further my education.'”

— Former Chevening Selection Committee Member, British Council Nigeria

Committees also look hard at fit. Does your proposed course of study make sense given your background? Does your career plan connect logically to what you’re asking them to fund? A student who wants to study public health policy and comes from a community health volunteering background — that’s a coherent narrative. A student who has only ever done finance internships but suddenly wants to study medieval history — that needs a very strong explanation.

Leadership experience matters enormously. Not just holding a title — actual evidence that you’ve influenced people, organized something, or solved a problem in your community, campus, or workplace. Start building this now if you haven’t. It doesn’t have to be glamorous. Running a student association, mentoring younger students, organizing a community initiative — all of it counts.

How to Build a Winning Application

Ready to actually apply? Here’s how to do it right.

Start with your personal statement. This is the most important document you’ll write. It should answer three questions clearly: Where have you come from? Where are you going? Why does this scholarship specifically help you get there? Keep it specific. “I want to reduce maternal mortality in rural Benue State by training community midwives” is infinitely more powerful than “I want to contribute to healthcare in Nigeria.”

Choose your referees strategically. You need people who can speak to your academic ability, your character, and your leadership potential — ideally from direct experience. A professor who supervised your final year project is better than a vice-chancellor who barely knows your name. Give your referees enough time (at least 6 weeks) and brief them on what the scholarship is looking for.

Prepare for interviews. Many major scholarships — Chevening, Fulbright, Rhodes — include an interview stage. Practice answering questions like “Why this scholarship and not another?” and “What will you do after you graduate?” out loud, not just in your head. Mock interviews with a mentor or friend are invaluable.

Apply to multiple scholarships — simultaneously. Don’t put all your hope in one application. Running five or six applications at once is manageable with good organization, and it dramatically improves your overall odds. Many of the documents (personal statement core, CV, transcripts) can be adapted across applications with targeted adjustments.

Follow every instruction exactly. Word limits exist for a reason. Submission portals close precisely at midnight. File format requirements are enforced. Missing one small instruction can get a brilliant application disqualified automatically. Triple-check everything before you hit submit.