Chevening and the Commonwealth Scholarship get most of the attention when people search for UK funding — and we’ve covered both in detail elsewhere. But the UK’s individual universities run their own scholarships too, several of them more generous than the government-run programs, and most applicants never look past the two famous names. Here are six that deserve a spot on your list.
1. Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Status: 🟢 OPEN | Round 1 (US citizens): October 14, 2026 | Round 2 (all other applicants, including Nigeria & India): December 8, 2026 or January 6, 2027, depending on course
Fully funds any postgraduate course at the University of Cambridge for outstanding students from outside the UK.
Who can apply
- Citizens of any country outside the UK (US citizens apply through a separate, earlier round)
- Applying for a full-time postgraduate course at Cambridge
- Outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, and a demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of others
What it covers
- Full course fees at the Cambridge rate
- A generous annual maintenance allowance
- Additional funding for discretionary academic expenses, family, and travel
Your deadline depends on your specific course — check the University’s Course Directory to confirm whether you fall under the December 8 or January 6 round.
🔗 Apply: gatescambridge.org/apply/timeline
2. President’s PhD Scholarships (Imperial College London)
Status: 🟢 OPEN | Three windows: November 2, 2026 | January 11, 2027 | March 1, 2027
One of the most generous PhD packages in the UK, open worldwide with no nationality restriction.
Who can apply
- Applicants of any nationality, worldwide
- A first-class (or equivalent) undergraduate degree, or a Master’s with Distinction
- You must have a supervisor’s agreement in place before you apply — contact your prospective supervisor first
- New PhD applicants only (not for students already partway through a PhD)
What it covers
- Full tuition fees
- An annual stipend of £27,036 (2027–28 rate)
- An additional £2,000 per year for consumables in your first three years
Three separate deadlines run through the year, each with its own decision date — missing November doesn’t shut you out of January or March.
🔗 Apply: imperial.ac.uk – President’s PhD Scholarships
3. Reach Oxford Scholarship (Undergraduate)
Status: 🟢 OPEN | Deadline: January 26, 2027
A rare fully funded undergraduate route into Oxford for students with genuine financial need — but it’s extremely competitive, with only around two to three scholarships awarded per year.
Who can apply
- Nationals of a country on the OECD-DAC list of developing countries (Nigeria and India both qualify)
- You must already hold an offer of admission to Oxford before you can be considered
- Open to all subjects except medicine
- Demonstrated financial need and a record of social commitment
What it covers
- Full course fees
- A living cost grant
- One return airfare per year, for three to four years
🔗 Apply: ox.ac.uk – Reach Oxford
4. Clarendon Fund (Oxford)
Status: 🟢 OPEN (deadline tied to your course)
Oxford’s largest graduate scholarship scheme, funding full course fees and a living grant for Master’s and DPhil students in any subject, from any country — with no separate application form.
Who can apply
- Any nationality, applying for a full-time graduate course at Oxford
- Academic merit is the primary criterion
- You’re automatically considered for Clarendon when you apply for your course by that course’s own December or January graduate deadline — there is no separate Clarendon form to fill in
Because the deadline is tied to your specific course rather than one fixed date, check your course’s graduate admissions deadline on Oxford’s site directly.
🔗 Details: ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/fees-and-funding/funding/clarendon
5. Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme (Oxford)
Status: 🟢 OPEN (deadline tied to your course) | Interviews: April 2027 | Decisions: by end of May 2027
Built specifically for students from developing and emerging economies, this covers the full cost of a Master’s at Oxford plus a structured leadership programme alongside your studies.
Who can apply
- Nationals of an eligible developing or emerging country — Nigeria and India are both on the list
- New, full-time Master’s applicants (not existing Oxford students)
- You intend to return to your home country or region after completing your studies
What it covers
- 100% of course fees
- A living grant of at least £21,805 per year
🔗 Details: ox.ac.uk – Weidenfeld-Hoffmann
6. Rhodes Scholarship (Regional Constituencies)
Status: 🟢 OPEN via country/regional constituency — check your specific constituency’s deadline
Rhodes funds postgraduate study at Oxford and is famous worldwide, but it doesn’t run as one global competition — you apply through your national or regional constituency (West Africa, India, and dozens of others each have their own process and panel).
Important: the separate “Global” constituency, for countries without a dedicated national one, was suspended in April 2026. This does not affect country-specific constituencies like West Africa or India — if your country has its own constituency, you’re unaffected.
Who can apply
- Outstanding academic record and demonstrated leadership, energy, and character
- Eligibility and exact deadlines are set per constituency — confirm yours directly
🔗 Find your constituency: rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk – Constituency Information
The Strategy: Government-Funded vs. University-Funded
- Understand the split. Chevening and Commonwealth are government-funded and application-based with fixed national deadlines. Everything on this list is university-funded, and several (Clarendon, Weidenfeld-Hoffmann) don’t have a separate application at all — you’re considered automatically when you apply to your course.
- Apply to your course early if you want automatic consideration. Clarendon and Weidenfeld-Hoffmann both piggyback on Oxford’s standard graduate deadline, which is often December — earlier than most people expect for a UK application.
- For PhD funding, line up a supervisor before the scholarship deadline. Imperial’s President’s Scholarships require supervisor sign-off before you submit — start that conversation months in advance.
- Layer government and university funding. There’s nothing stopping you from applying to Chevening or Commonwealth and one of these in the same cycle — the eligibility criteria don’t overlap.
Find Your Perfect Scholarship
Deadlines shift year to year and several of these are tied to course-specific dates rather than one fixed calendar date, so always confirm on the official page before applying. See also our guides to the Chevening and GREAT Scholarships and the Commonwealth Master’s Scholarship. 🔗 Search scholarships on Zejimo →
Studying in the UK on a university scholarship we haven’t listed here? Let us know in the comments.