Can You Study Abroad for Free? How Fully Funded Scholarships Actually Work

Few phrases can make an expensive degree look cheaper faster than “fully funded scholarship.”

Put those words next to a Master’s in London, Oxford, Germany or several European countries at once, and a plan that seemed financially impossible five minutes ago can suddenly look surprisingly realistic.

And this is not one of those cases where the disappointing answer is that the whole thing is basically a myth. Fully funded scholarships are very real. Some pay university fees, provide money for living expenses and cover travel. Others also help with visas, insurance or relocation costs.

The complicated part is the word “fully.”

There is no single funding package that every scholarship described as fully funded must provide. Some schemes cover tuition only. Others cover tuition and living expenses. Some go further and contribute towards travel, visas, insurance or relocation.

So if you are trying to work out whether a scholarship could actually make studying abroad affordable, the useful question is not simply:

“Is it fully funded?”

It is:

“What exactly will this programme pay for?”

That small change of wording can save you quite a lot of confusion — and potentially quite a lot of money.

“Fully funded” can mean several things in practice

The easiest way to understand this is to look at real programmes.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters offer scholarships to top-ranked students from around the world. For scholarship holders, the funding covers participation costs and contributes towards travel, visa, installation and living expenses.

Chevening, the UK Government's international scholarship programme, has a different package. Its scholarships can include university tuition fees, approved economy travel to and from the scholar's country of residence, the cost of the visa application, arrival and departure allowances and a monthly stipend for accommodation and living expenses.

Oxford's Clarendon Fund is simpler again: its fully funded scholarships cover course fees and provide a grant for living expenses during the scholar's period of fee liability.

At Stanford, Knight-Hennessy Scholars can receive up to three years of funding, including tuition and associated fees, a stipend for living and academic expenses, an annual travel stipend and a one-time relocation stipend for newly enrolling scholars.

These are all very generous scholarships.

They are also clearly not the same scholarship with a different logo.

That is why the benefits section of a scholarship page matters much more than the adjective attached to its name.

Tuition-free and fully funded are not the same thing

This distinction is especially important.

A programme can remove your tuition fees without covering your actual life abroad. That may still save you tens of thousands of euros, pounds or dollars, but you could remain responsible for rent, food, transport, flights, insurance and other expenses.

Conversely, a more comprehensive scholarship may combine tuition funding with a regular living allowance and additional support.

The European Commission's guidance on scholarships in Europe reflects exactly this range: some schemes cover only part of tuition, while others cover all tuition fees and also provide support for living costs.

So when reading an opportunity, separate the costs in your head.

There is the cost of studying, meaning tuition and mandatory university fees.

Then there is the cost of being a human who needs somewhere to sleep and occasionally eat, meaning accommodation, food, transport and everyday expenses.

And finally there are the costs of getting yourself legally and physically to the country in the first place: flights, visas, residence requirements, deposits, insurance and relocation expenses.

A scholarship may fund all three groups.

Or two.

Or one.

You need to know which.

Does “fully funded” mean you will spend absolutely nothing?

Not necessarily.

Even extremely generous scholarships can leave some expenses outside the award.

Oxford, for example, normally funds Clarendon scholars for their period of fee liability. If a student remains registered beyond that standard period, additional university charges may apply and are not necessarily covered by the scholarship.

Knight-Hennessy provides substantial financial support, but its own funding period lasts for up to three years. Students enrolled in programmes lasting longer than that generally move onto the relevant Stanford graduate programme's standard funding arrangements. The programme also warns scholars that stipend payments may have tax consequences.

Family costs deserve particular attention too.

Commonwealth Master's Scholarships cover approved tuition fees, approved return airfare for the scholar and a monthly living allowance. But that does not mean that every expense associated with moving a partner or children abroad will be covered.

So yes: a fully funded scholarship can make an otherwise unaffordable degree possible.

But “fully funded” should never be translated in your head as “I can leave my bank account at €0 and everything will work itself out.”

Before accepting an offer, work out what you would personally still need to pay.

The first filter should be eligibility, not excitement

There is a natural order in which most people want to read a scholarship page:

Funding.

Destination.

University.

Photos of suspiciously happy students sitting on university lawns.

Eligibility somewhere much later.

It is more efficient to reverse that.

Scholarships can impose restrictions based on nationality, country of residence, academic background, professional experience, previous study or the particular course you want to take.

DAAD's Development-Related Postgraduate Courses programme, usually known as EPOS, is a particularly good example. It supports graduates from eligible developing and newly industrialised countries who want to study selected postgraduate programmes in Germany. Applicants need professional experience, and funding is restricted to courses included in the programme's official list.

Chevening currently requires applicants to have at least two years of work experience, calculated as 2,800 hours, acquired after completing their undergraduate degree.

Erasmus Mundus works differently. Students from anywhere in the world can apply, but they normally need a bachelor's degree or must be in the final year of their bachelor's and graduate before the Master's begins. Each individual programme can then impose additional entry requirements.

Clarendon takes yet another approach. Oxford places no restriction on nationality or ordinary residence, and there are no subject restrictions. Applicants must, however, be applying for an eligible new Master's or DPhil by the relevant admissions deadline, and selection focuses heavily on academic excellence and potential.

None of these systems is inherently strange. They are simply designed for different purposes.

The mistake is assuming that because a scholarship is advertised internationally, every international student is eligible.

Check whether your exact course is eligible

This deserves its own section because it is remarkably easy to miss.

A scholarship associated with a country or university does not necessarily fund every degree available there.

DAAD EPOS only finances specific development-related postgraduate courses included in its official programme list.

Erasmus Mundus works through specific joint Master's programmes. Students do not simply receive an Erasmus Mundus scholarship and then choose whichever European Master's they like; applications are made directly to the individual Erasmus Mundus programme, whose website sets out its universities, academic requirements and application process.

Clarendon is much broader. Oxford says eligible Master's and DPhil courses can be considered for the scholarship, provided applicants meet the relevant admissions deadline.

This changes how you should search.

Sometimes you start with a scholarship and discover which degrees it supports.

Other times you start with the degree you actually want and investigate what funding exists for it.

Both approaches are perfectly sensible. Falling deeply in love with a scholarship before discovering that it funds exactly seventeen courses and yours is number eighteen is slightly less efficient.

Scholarship application and university admission may be two different processes

This is one of the most important details to check because there is no universal procedure.

With Clarendon, things are unusually straightforward. There is no separate scholarship application. If you apply to Oxford for an eligible graduate course by the relevant funding deadline, you are automatically considered for Clarendon.

Chevening uses a different system. Applicants identify three eligible UK Master's courses as part of their scholarship application, but they do not need to have already received a university offer when they submit the scholarship application. They must later secure an unconditional offer from at least one of their selected courses by the relevant deadline.

The Commonwealth Master's Scholarship follows another process again. Its guidance tells applicants to take the necessary steps to apply for admission to their preferred universities in advance.

So never assume that:

being admitted = receiving the scholarship

or that:

applying for the scholarship = applying to the university.

Read both processes independently.

This is not bureaucracy being deliberately theatrical. The scholarship provider and the university are often making two different decisions: whether they want to fund you and whether they want to admit you.

That generous monthly stipend needs some context

Living allowances are useful numbers, but they are not very meaningful without the cost of living.

A monthly stipend that feels comfortable in one city may be considerably tighter in another.

Scholarship providers sometimes recognise this themselves. Chevening's monthly living allowance differs depending on whether the scholar studies inside or outside London.

Commonwealth Master's Scholarships use the same general principle, with a higher monthly living allowance for scholars studying in the London metropolitan area than for those studying elsewhere in the UK.

So when comparing scholarships, do not simply put two stipend amounts next to each other and declare the larger one the winner.

Check typical rent in the destination. Look at university accommodation. Estimate food and public transport. Find out whether health insurance is already included. Think about deposits and initial expenses.

And check when the scholarship payments begin.

A programme can be extremely generous over twelve months while still requiring you to have some money available during your arrival period. Where the official information does not clearly explain payment timing, that is something worth asking the provider before moving.

Look at the smaller benefits too — they can be worth a lot

Tuition and monthly stipends naturally get most of the attention, but some scholarships also remove expenses students might otherwise forget to budget for.

Chevening covers the scholar's visa application cost, approved travel to and from their country of residence and several arrival- and departure-related allowances, alongside its monthly stipend.

DAAD EPOS includes monthly scholarship payments, contributions towards health, accident and personal liability insurance and, in many cases, a travel allowance. Depending on the circumstances, some scholars may also qualify for additional support.

Erasmus Mundus funding contributes towards travel, visa, installation and living costs in addition to covering participation costs for scholarship holders.

These details can completely change the real value of an award.

Two scholarships with similar monthly stipends might leave students in very different financial situations if one also pays thousands in tuition, flights, visas or insurance.

The boring-looking section labelled “What the scholarship covers” may therefore be the most exciting page on the entire website.

Think beyond the degree as well

For many people, studying abroad is part of a larger international plan. You may want to gain experience in another country, build an international career or eventually look for work abroad.

Just do not assume that receiving a scholarship automatically gives you the right to remain in that country afterwards.

Scholarship conditions and immigration rules are separate matters. Some programmes also impose their own return requirements.

Commonwealth Scholars, for example, are generally expected to return to their home countries after completing the programme for which the scholarship was awarded.

Chevening also has a return-home condition: scholars are required to return to their home country for at least two years after completing the scholarship.

If working abroad is part of your longer-term plan, investigate the country's immigration rules independently and read the conditions attached to the scholarship before applying.

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A quick way to decide whether a scholarship is really worth applying for

Before writing essays, chasing recommendation letters or sending your former professor a message beginning with “Hi! It's been a while…”, you should be able to answer seven questions:

1. Am I eligible? Check nationality or residence restrictions, academic requirements, professional experience, language requirements and any other profile conditions.

2. Is my exact course eligible? Never assume that a scholarship covering a university or country funds every programme available there.

3. What does the scholarship actually pay for? Separate tuition, living costs, travel, visa costs, insurance and any additional allowances.

4. What will I still have to pay myself? Look for exclusions and estimate your real expenses in the destination.

5. How does university admission work? Find out whether admission comes before, after or alongside the scholarship application.

6. How long will I be funded? Check whether the award covers the full duration of your particular course.

7. Which deadlines matter? University admission and scholarship deadlines may be completely different.

If you can answer all seven from the official documentation, you have moved from:

“This scholarship looks amazing.”

to something much more useful:

“I understand how this scholarship would actually work for me.”

Where should you look for legitimate scholarships?

There are two different stages to scholarship hunting: discovery and verification.

For discovery, platforms that collect and organise international opportunities can save enormous amounts of time. No Borders Abroad, for example, brings together scholarships, fellowships and other education opportunities from different countries so you can explore them in one place instead of checking dozens of university and government websites individually.

The European Commission also points students towards national scholarship schemes, Erasmus opportunities, university funding pages, Scholarshipportal and EURAXESS for research funding.

But once you find an opportunity you genuinely want to pursue, switch to the primary source.

Open the official programme website.

Read the current eligibility rules.

Check the current funding package.

Find the application instructions.

Confirm the deadline.

And if the scholarship concerns a particular degree, check the university's own admissions page too.

This matters because scholarship programmes change. Funding amounts can be reviewed, deadlines move, eligible courses change and application procedures can be updated between intakes.

A discovery platform can help you find the opportunity.

The organisation offering the scholarship should always have the final word on whether you are eligible, what is covered and how to apply.

So, can you study abroad for free?

In some cases, you can get remarkably close.

There are scholarships that cover full tuition and provide substantial support for living expenses, travel and other costs. Erasmus Mundus, Chevening, Clarendon, Commonwealth Scholarships, DAAD programmes and Knight-Hennessy are all real examples of major funding schemes.

But they illustrate exactly why the details matter.

Their benefits are different.

Their eligibility rules are different.

Their academic scope is different.

And their application procedures are different.

So do not let the words “fully funded” do all the thinking for you.

A much better habit is to open every scholarship with three questions in mind:

Can I apply? What exactly does it cover? And what would I still need to pay?

If the answers line up, studying abroad may be much more financially realistic than it first appeared.

And that is considerably more useful than simply seeing the word “free.”

Sources and further reading

For eligibility requirements, funding amounts and application deadlines, always consult the current official call for the scholarship you intend to apply for.

The main sources used for this article include:

• European Commission — Scholarships, grants and financial support

• European Commission — Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters

• Chevening — What does a Chevening Scholarship cover?

• Chevening — Eligibility criteria

• Chevening — Work experience requirements

• Chevening — Choosing a UK university course

• Chevening — Scholarship terms and conditions

• University of Oxford — Clarendon Fund

• University of Oxford — Clarendon information for applicants

• Stanford University — Knight-Hennessy Scholars: Funding

• Commonwealth Scholarship Commission — Commonwealth Master's Scholarships

• Commonwealth Scholarship Commission — End of your scholarship

• DAAD — Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS)