Top 15 Scholarships in European Union for Non-EU International Students

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To attract students outside the EU/EEA, governments of EU member countries and a number of Universities in Europe have tuition fee waivers or scholarship programs for non-EU international students. scholars4dev.com lists the top 15 scholarships in the European Union for non-EU students.

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships (European Union)
The European Union (EU) offers full-time scholarships for a wide range of Masters programmes and Doctorate programmes to students outside the EU.  The programme offers full scholarships and/or fellowships that cover the living costs, tuition fees, travelling and insurance costs of the students.

British Chevening Scholarships (UK)
Chevening Scholarships, the UK government’s global scholarship programme, are awarded to outstanding scholars from Chevening-eligible countries around the world who wish to pursue a one-year Master’s degree at UK Universities. Most Chevening Scholarships cover tuition fees, a living allowance, an economy class return airfare to the UK, and additional grants to cover essential expenditure.

Eiffel Excellence Scholarships (France)
The Eiffel scholarship program was developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a tool to allow French higher education institutions to attract the best foreign students for master’s and PhD degree programs.  Eiffel scholarship-holders receive a monthly allowance and other expenses such as return trip, health insurance and cultural activities. It does not cover tuition fees.

Danish Government Scholarships for Non-EU/EEA Students (Denmark)
Danish higher education institutions receive a limited number of government scholarships each year to fund highly qualified full-degree students from non-EU/EEA countries and Switzerland. The government scholarship consists of two parts and can be given as full or partial tuition fee waivers and/or grants towards covering your living costs but this varies depending on the Danish Institution.

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (Switzerland)
The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships provide graduates from around 180 countries within and outside the EU with the opportunity to pursue doctoral or postdoctoral research in any academic field  at one of the public funded university or recognized institution in Switzerland.  The scholarship covers a monthly allowance, tuition fees, health insurance, lodging allowance, etc.

Edinburgh Global Masters Scholarships (UK)
The University of Edinburgh offers around 40 Master’s scholarships to non-EU students who wish to pursue a full-time postgraduate Master’s programme in any subject offered at the University. Fifteen (15) scholarships will have a value of £5,000 each while a further fifteen (15) scholarships will have a value of £3,000 which will be tenable for one academic year.

Sheffield Hallam University Transform Together Scholarships for Non-EU Students (UK)
Transform Together scholarships are open to students from any non-EU country applying to study full time postgraduate or undergraduate programme at Sheffield Hallam University.   The scholarships include a one-year full tuition fee waiver for full-time taught postgraduate courses and 50% tuition fee discount for each year of an undergraduate course.

Leiden University Excellence Scholarships (Netherlands)
The Leiden University Excellence Scholarship Programme (LExS) is open to outstanding  Non-EU/EEA students pursuing a master’s degree programme offered at Leiden University.  The scholarships come in the form of the following: € 10.000 of the tuition fee, € 15.000 of the tuition fee, or total tuition fee minus the home fee.

University of Maastricht High Potential Scholarships (Netherlands)
University of Maastrichts High Potential Scholarships are made available to talented students from outside the EU/EEA to follow a Master’s programme at Maastricht University.  The scholarships cover tuition fee, living expenses per month, insurance, and visa costs.

Amsterdam Excellence Scholarships (Netherlands)
The Amsterdam Excellence Scholarships (AES) awards scholarships to exceptionally talented students from outside Europe to pursue eligible Master’s Programmes offered at the University of Amsterdam. The AES is a full scholarship of €25,000 covering tuition and living expenses for one academic year with the possibility of extension for a second year for two-year Master’s programmes.

Lund University Global Scholarships for Non-EU/EEA Students (Sweden)
The Lund University Global Scholarship programme is targeted at top academic students who are citizens of countries from outside the European Union/European Economic Area (and Switzerland) and pursuing a Bachelors or Masters Degree Programme at the University. The scholarships may cover 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the tuition fee. Living costs are not covered.

Chalmers IPOET Scholarships (Sweden)
Chalmers will be offering around 50 IPOET scholarships to prospective fee-paying students from outside the EU who wish to pursue any Masters Degree Programme offered at the University.  The scholarship is a 75% reduction of the tuition fees (4 semesters / 2 year programme).

Uppsala IPK Scholarships (Sweden)
Uppsala University awards the IPK scholarships to oustanding non-EU/EEA students applying for Master’s programmes at the University.  Scholarships will cover the cost of tuition but not living expenses.

Emily Boutmy Scholarships for International Students (France)
Sciences Po created the Emile Boutmy Scholarship after the founder of Sciences Po in order to attract the very best international students from outside of the European Union.  The Emily Boutmy Master’s Programme can take different forms ranging from €5,000 to €16,000  for 2 years of postgraduate study or €3,000 to €12,300  for 3 years of undergraduate study.

Danish State Tuition Fee Waivers and Scholarships at Roskilde University (Denmark)
A limited number of Danish state tuition fee waivers and scholarships are offered to highly talented students at graduate level, who come from countries outside of the EU/EEA and need a residence permit to study at Roskilde University.  The scholarships include a tuition fee waiver and approximately DKK 7,800 per month to cover living expenses in Denmark.