Fully Funded Scholarships for Indian Students: The Ones That Actually Exist
“Fully funded” means tuition, living costs and usually travel, paid by the scheme, with nothing to repay. Very few scholarships meet that bar, and most lists that promise a hundred of them are padded with partial awards, awards closed to Indians, and ones that require being nominated by an institution you are not at. This page lists the schemes that are fully funded, open to Indian citizens, and realistic for a strong but ordinary applicant to compete for, with what each covers, who it is for, and the official page to check for the current round. It is informational: we are not an agent for any of them.
Table of contents
How to read this list
Every scheme below is competitive. “Realistic” means a well-prepared Indian applicant with the stated profile has a fair chance, not that the award is easy. Dates move each year; the pattern is given, the official page has the dates. And a scholarship is not a plan: apply to the programme you would do anyway, then to the funding, not the other way round.
Master’s level
| Scheme | Country | Who it is for | Covers | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowships (USIEF) | USA | Indian citizens with a bachelor’s and at least three years’ work experience, for selected fields; a leadership and service record matters | Tuition, living stipend, airfare, insurance | Opens around February, closes around May–June for the following year |
| Chevening Scholarships | UK | Indian citizens with a bachelor’s and at least two years’ work experience, for a one-year master’s at any UK university | Tuition, living allowance, airfare | Opens in August, closes in early November |
| Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships (CSC) | UK | Candidates from Commonwealth countries including India, for development-related master’s study; need and merit both assessed | Tuition, living allowance, airfare | Applications typically open in the autumn, close in December, via nominating agencies |
| DAAD EPOS (Development-Related Postgraduate Courses) | Germany | Graduates with at least two years’ work experience, for listed development-related master’s programmes | Monthly stipend (€992 for master’s), insurance, travel; no tuition at most German universities | Deadlines vary by programme, mostly August–October for the following year |
| Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s | EU | Graduates applying to a listed joint programme run by several European universities | Tuition, monthly allowance, travel | Programme deadlines mostly December–February |
| Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation Scholarships | USA, UK, Europe | Indian citizens under 30 for master’s study at listed top universities, with an admission in hand; up to US$100,000 | Tuition and living, up to the cap | Opens in January, closes in March–April |
| Eiffel Excellence Scholarships | France | Master’s (and PhD) applicants nominated by a French institution that has admitted them | Monthly allowance, travel, insurance; tuition waived at public universities | Institutions nominate in December–January |
Doctoral level
| Scheme | Country | Who it is for | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (CSC) | UK | As for the master’s scheme, for doctoral study | Autumn to December |
| Rhodes Scholarships (India constituency) | UK (Oxford) | Indian citizens, usually under 25, for postgraduate study at Oxford; academic excellence and public commitment | Opens around June, closes around August |
| Gates Cambridge | UK (Cambridge) | Applicants to postgraduate study at Cambridge, assessed on excellence and leadership | With the Cambridge application, October–December |
| Knight-Hennessy Scholars | USA (Stanford) | Applicants to any Stanford graduate programme, within seven years of a first degree | Around October |
| SINGA | Singapore | Science and engineering PhD at A*STAR and partner universities; see the SINGA page | Historically 1 June and 1 December; confirm with A*STAR |
| Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships | Switzerland | Research and PhD applicants with a host professor | September–December, via the Swiss embassy |
| MEXT (Japan) | Japan | Research students via embassy recommendation | Around April–May at the embassy |
What is deliberately not here
Partial awards that leave most of the cost with you (many university “merit scholarships” and the Dutch and Nordic partial schemes); loan-scholarships that have to be repaid; awards closed to Indian citizens or limited to specific countries; and prizes that require an institutional nomination you cannot get from India. Several of these are good, but they are not fully funded, and calling them that is how students end up with an offer they cannot take.
What decides these applications
Across all of them, three things recur: a specific plan that connects your past, the programme and what you will do afterwards; evidence of commitment beyond grades, whether work, research or service, because every scheme above selects for people who will use the degree; and an application submitted early with the referees briefed. The students we see miss out are usually strong on paper and generic in the statement.
FAQ
Next steps
Choose the programme first, then check which of these schemes fits your country, level and profile, then work backwards from the deadline pattern. The UK scholarships and Canada scholarships pages cover the country-level picture.
At master’s level: Fulbright-Nehru, Chevening, Commonwealth, DAAD EPOS, Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s, Inlaks and Eiffel. At doctoral level: Commonwealth PhD, Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, Knight-Hennessy, SINGA, the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships and MEXT. Each is competitive and has its own eligibility.
The ones on this page do: tuition plus a living allowance, and usually travel. That is what separates them from partial awards.
It depends on the scheme. Chevening, Fulbright-Nehru and Commonwealth take applications before or alongside admission; Inlaks, Gates Cambridge and Knight-Hennessy need the university application or an offer. Check the scheme’s rule before planning.
At most public universities there is no tuition, but living costs and the €11,904 blocked account are yours; see Germany’s tuition-free education. DAAD EPOS covers living costs for listed programmes.
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