33 awards · 15 countries
Doctoral study runs on funding — Vanier, Gates Cambridge, Clarendon, the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship and more, plus the supervisor-first route that finds money the lists miss.
PhD funding works differently from every other level: doing a doctorate unfunded is the exception, not the rule. The named schemes in our catalog — Canada's Vanier, Gates Cambridge and Oxford's Clarendon in the UK, the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship, Singapore's SINGA, Imperial's President's Scholarships — fund fees and pay a living stipend, because a PhD is treated as research work, not just study.
The route matters as much as the scheme: doctoral applications usually start with a research proposal and a supervisor conversation, and the funding often follows the supervisor — through project grants and departmental studentships that never appear on scholarship lists. So write to potential supervisors early, and treat the named schemes as one funding channel among several, not the whole map.
23 fully funded · 10 partial or varies
United StatesAmerican Association of University Women
US$20,000–$50,000 for a year of full-time graduate study or research in the United States
MalaysiaAsia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation
Tuition fee reductions of roughly 10% to 30%, allocated on a first-come basis
United KingdomCambridge Trust
Ranges from part-cost fee awards to full-cost awards covering tuition and maintenance
United KingdomCharles Wallace India Trust
Accommodation and living costs in the UK plus a contribution of £700 towards international travel
United KingdomUniversity of Oxford
Fully funded: all course fees plus an annual living stipend for the full duration
United KingdomCommonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK
Fully funded PhD: tuition, stipend, airfares, thesis grant and study travel allowance
United StatesEast-West Center, Honolulu
Tuition and fees at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, housing in an East-West Center residence and a partial funding contribution toward other expenses
United KingdomGates Cambridge Trust, University of Cambridge
Fully funded: full tuition, a generous maintenance stipend, airfares and discretionary funding
GermanyHeinrich Böll Foundation
Monthly stipend of around €992 for master's students (more for doctoral candidates) plus allowances — German public universities charge little or no tuition
Hong KongUniversity of Hong Kong
Full tuition plus a stipend package exceeding HK$400,000 per year for the most outstanding candidates, on top of Hong Kong PhD Fellowship benefits
Hong KongResearch Grants Council of Hong Kong
HK$331,200 annual stipend plus a HK$13,800 yearly conference travel allowance, for up to 3 years
JapanHonjo International Scholarship Foundation
¥200,000 a month with no repayment obligation, for up to the standard length of the degree
United KingdomImperial College London
Full tuition for 3.5 years plus a living stipend of around £26,500 per year and a £2,000 annual research allowance
Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation
Up to USD 120,000 covering tuition, living costs, one-way travel and health cover
IrelandResearch Ireland (formerly Irish Research Council)
A stipend of about €25,000 a year plus fees up to €5,750 and a research expenses allowance, for up to four years
The J. N. Tata Endowment
A loan scholarship of up to ₹20 lakh at 2% simple interest, plus possible travel grant and gift award
United Arab EmiratesKhalifa University
Full tuition plus a monthly stipend, health insurance and accommodation support for admitted graduate students; merit tuition awards at undergraduate level
United StatesStanford University
Fully funded: tuition and fees for any Stanford graduate degree, a living stipend and a travel allowance
GermanyKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Up to €992 a month for master's study or €1,400 for doctoral candidates, plus health insurance and family allowances
SingaporeNational University of Singapore
Full tuition, a monthly stipend above the standard research rate, plus allowances for books, a computer and conference travel
MalaysiaMinistry of Higher Education Malaysia
Full tuition plus a monthly living allowance of typically RM 1,500 for master's and PhD study at selected Malaysian universities
Europe (multiple countries)European Commission
An employment contract with a living allowance plus mobility and family allowances, typically for 36 months
New ZealandMassey University
Ranges from partial tuition awards to doctoral scholarships with fees and a stipend
United Arab EmiratesMohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence
Every admitted student receives full tuition plus a monthly stipend, health insurance and accommodation support
CanadaGovernment of Ontario, administered by Ontario universities
C$5,000 per session — C$10,000 for two consecutive sessions or C$15,000 for three
JapanRotary Yoneyama Memorial Foundation
Monthly stipends of typically ¥100,000 for undergraduates and ¥140,000 for graduate students, paid for up to two years
SingaporeA*STAR, NUS, NTU, SMU and SUTD
Fully funded PhD: tuition, a monthly stipend of up to S$2,700, airfare and a settling-in allowance
SwitzerlandSwiss Confederation (FCS)
Monthly stipend of around CHF 1,920, tuition waivers at most institutions, health insurance and housing support
United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates University
Tuition waiver with a monthly stipend and, for many awards, on-campus accommodation and health insurance
AustraliaUniversity of Sydney
Full tuition fees plus an annual living stipend for research master's and PhD candidates
JapanUniversity of Tokyo
A research grant-in-aid of ¥200,000 a month for the standard period of the graduate programme
CanadaGovernment of Canada
C$50,000 per year for three years
United KingdomUniversity of Warwick
Full overseas tuition plus an annual maintenance stipend for up to three and a half years
Scholarship terms, values and deadlines change every award cycle. Always confirm the current details on the official programme website, linked on each scholarship page, before you apply.
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PhD scholarships and funded doctorates abroad — what students ask us most.
Funded doctoral students generally don't — the scheme or studentship covers fees and pays a stipend, and in parts of continental Europe doctoral researchers hold salaried positions rather than student status. If a doctoral offer arrives without funding attached, treat that as a signal to keep looking rather than a bill to accept: unfunded PhDs carry real completion risks beyond the money.
Supervisor first, in most systems: named schemes typically require (or strongly favour) an identified supervisor and department support, and many university studentships are awarded through the department you'd join. A strong supervisor match with a sharp proposal is the asset that unlocks multiple funding doors at once.
Vanier, Gates Cambridge and the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship select small international cohorts and expect first-class academics plus research promise — competitive in the same league as the famous master's awards. The difference at doctoral level is the depth of alternatives: departmental studentships and project-funded positions mean strong candidates who miss a flagship still very often end up funded.
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