The UK has built some of the most established scholarship pipelines for African students anywhere in the world, reflecting both historical ties through the Commonwealth and a deliberate current focus on African leadership development.
The ten programs below are consistently available to applicants from across the African continent.
1. Chevening Scholarship
The Chevening Scholarship operates in the majority of African countries, funding a one-year master’s degree at any UK university for early to mid-career professionals.
2. Commonwealth Scholarship
Many African nations are Commonwealth members, and the Commonwealth Scholarship funds their students at the master’s and PhD level in subjects connected to development outcomes.
3. Commonwealth Shared Scholarship
This scheme specifically targets students from lower-income Commonwealth countries, a category that includes a large share of African nations, with costs shared between the UK government and host universities.
4. Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship maintains dedicated constituencies for Southern, East, and West Africa, funding postgraduate study at the University of Oxford through regional selection committees.
5. Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme
This Oxford-based program, the [Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme](/weidenfeld-hoffmann-scholarships/), funds graduate students from developing and emerging economies, including a significant number of African countries each year.
6. GREAT Scholarships
Run jointly by the UK government and the British Council, GREAT Scholarships have regularly included African countries on their list of eligible nations, offering tuition reductions at partner universities.
7. Oxford Pershing Square Africa Scholarship
This scholarship funds African students pursuing the Master of Public Policy at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, covering tuition and living costs for the full program.
8. African Leadership Academy University Placement Partnerships
Graduates of pan-African secondary leadership programs are regularly placed into UK university partnerships with accompanying scholarship support negotiated alongside admission.
9. Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarship
This scheme funds African Commonwealth students completing a distance-learning UK master’s degree without needing to relocate, covering course fees for the program’s length.
10. Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarship
African PhD candidates already enrolled at a home university can use this scholarship to fund a research period at a UK university as part of a split-site doctorate.
Because country-specific quotas and priority sectors shift from year to year for several of these schemes, checking each program’s current country list well before preparing an application avoids wasted effort on an ineligible option.
Because UK scholarship committees often receive a large volume of strong applications from across Africa, a personal statement that focuses on a specific, well-defined problem the applicant wants to address at home tends to stand out more than broad statements about wanting to make a difference.
Keeping digital copies of academic transcripts, reference letters, and English test results organized in one place saves considerable time when applying to multiple schemes with overlapping document requirements and tight deadlines.
Applicants should also double-check whether a chosen UK university requires a separate scholarship form in addition to the course application, since missing a secondary deadline is one of the more common and avoidable reasons strong candidates miss out on funding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Rhodes Scholarship open to every African country?
It operates through specific regional constituencies covering Southern, East, and West Africa, rather than every single African country individually.
Does Chevening require work experience from African applicants?
Yes, the same general requirement of roughly two years of relevant work experience applies to Chevening applicants regardless of nationality.
Is the Oxford Pershing Square Africa Scholarship limited to one academic field?
Yes, it specifically funds the Master of Public Policy program at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government rather than a broader range of subjects.
Can African students combine Commonwealth and Chevening applications?
Yes, applicants are generally free to apply to both in the same cycle, though they would need to choose one if offered both.
Do these scholarships require a return to the home country afterward?
Several, including Chevening and the Commonwealth schemes, carry a development-focused expectation that recipients spend time in their home country after graduating.
Are undergraduate African students eligible for any of these programs?
Most of the schemes on this list are postgraduate only, so undergraduate applicants would need to look at university-specific undergraduate scholarships instead.
How are GREAT Scholarships different from other UK government schemes?
GREAT Scholarships are typically smaller, partial tuition reductions delivered through specific partner universities rather than full scholarships covering an entire degree.