Fully Funded PhD Programs: A Ph.D. is expensive to pay for out of pocket, particularly at a prestigious US university. Many graduate students see themselves racking up substantial amounts of student debt even with financial aid. Nevertheless, certain solutions can pay for the majority, if not all, of your doctoral expenses.

Fully Funded PhD Programs

For qualified students, many prestigious universities provide completely supported Ph.D. programs.

The full program’s tuition and associated costs are wholly covered by this financing. In fact, some institutions even give students a living stipend.

List of Fully Funded PhD Programs

A number of reputable colleges also provide online Ph.D. programs that are totally free.

Free doctoral programs don’t charge any tuition at all, in contrast to fully funded programs, which have their tuition and other costs paid for by financing.

Learn more about the best free and completely paid Ph.D. programs in the USA by reading on!

1. Swedish Institute Scholarships

The scholarship is intended for a full-time, one- or two-year master’s program, and is funded by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Swedish Institute opens the call for applications once every year for master’s studies beginning in the autumn semester.

In order to have a successful application, make sure to be eligible, complete all steps of the process, and that you have the documentation required to finalize your application in time.

To be eligible for the SI Scholarship for Global Professionals, you must be a citizen of one of our 41 eligible countries and have sufficient documented proof of work and leadership experience.

You must also follow the application steps for University Admission and be admitted to one of the master’s programs on time.

Application Process

The online application portal for the SI Scholarships for Global Professionals academic year 2023/2024 opens on 10 February at 00:01 CET.

Apply Here

2. Hungary Government Scholarship

For international students wishing to pursue undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral degrees in Hungarian universities, the Hungary Government Grant is a fully supported scholarship.

The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship will pay for tuition, a monthly stipend of HUF 43,700, monthly payment for housing, and up to HUF 65,00 in medical insurance per individual every year.

Level of Study: PhD

3. Mid-Sweden University Tuition Fee Scholarship

The scholarship covers 75% of the tuition fee. The remaining 25% of the tuition fee each semester, as well as travel costs, living costs, and all other expenses are NOT included in the scholarship and must be covered by other means of funding.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Citizens from countries outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland that are required to pay tuition fees and have applied through University Admissions to one of the above-listed programs before the 16th of January 2023 and have paid the application fee until the 1st of February 2023.

How to Apply?

Applications for Mid Sweden University Tuition Fee Scholarship will be open from 10th February 2023 until 28th February 2023.

Those students that have applied to the program at universityadmissions.se and paid the application fee before the deadline will receive a link to the application form by email.

You will be asked to motivate your choice of the study program and reflect upon its relevance to your own professional development.

Apply Here

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3. VU Fellowship Programme (VUFP)

The VU Fellowship Programme (VUFP) offers talented prospective non-EU/ EEA students the unique opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

VU Amsterdam has committed to providing approximately 1 million euros towards attracting highly motivated and excellent students.

Eligible Candidates 

1. You hold a non-EU/ EEA passport and you are not eligible for the lower tuition fee.

2. You do not have Dutch nationality.

3. You can prove your academic excellence (GPA equivalent to a Dutch 8).

4. You are conditionally or unconditionally admitted to the first year of a full-time English-taught Master’s programme at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam starting in September 2023.

Please note that: students starting in February cannot apply, and joint programs where VU Amsterdam does not administer the admission process are excluded from VUFP.

5. The degree with which you are seeking admission has not been obtained in the Netherlands.

6. You do not need to complete a preparatory program before the start of your Master’s.

Diversity is one of our core values. That is why we hope that many students from the countries that are underrepresented on our campus (less than 10 students enrolled) will apply for the VUFP.

 VUFP and 2-Year Study Programmes

The VUFP scholarship can be granted for a one or two-year Master’s program. The scholarship will only be extended for the second year of a two-year Master’s program if 100% of the ECTS of the first year have been achieved.

Students already enrolled in a two-year Master’s program who have not been awarded the VUFP scholarship in 2022/2023 are not eligible to apply for the VUFP scholarship for 2024/2025.

Scholarship Amount

The VUFP scholarship covers the tuition fees only. It does not provide any additional allowance towards study or living costs, like rent, food, or insurance. Be aware that you must be able to finance these living expenses by yourself.

Apply Here

4. Ton Duc Thang University Graduate Scholarship

The graduate scholarships at Ton Duc Thang University are fully financed awards for international students.

These scholarships are exclusively available for doctoral and master’s degree programs.

The complete cost of both the tuition and the housing is covered by this scholarship.

Level of Study: PhD

5. University Of Twente Scholarship (Uts)

The University Twente Scholarship (UTS) is a scholarship for excellent students from non-EU/EEA countries, applying for a graduate program (MSc) at the University of Twente.

  • Become one of the most promising UT students.
  • Exclusive opportunity to take part in an intake for one of the three honors programs: Research honors, Design honors, or Change leaders.

Scholarship Value

€ 3,000 – € 22,000 for one year (approximately 50 scholarships available). If you have applied for a two-year program, make sure you read the information about two-year study programs below.

Have a look at the overview of the estimated costs of living when studying at the University of Twente (excluding tuition fees).

Please note: This scholarship is meant as compensation for study-related costs. It is up to the scholarship student to decide how to spend the money. No costs (e.g. tuition fees) will be paid on your behalf.

How to Apply

  • Start your Application

You have to apply for a Master’s program first. Once you applied for a Master’s program and received a (conditional) admission letter, you can apply for the scholarship with your student number.

UTS is not available for Dutch and/or current UT students. The UTS is not available for EU/EEA students.

The UTS is not available for Master’s programs at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC). Also, the UTS is not available for the pre-Master program.

Apply here

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6. ETH Zurich Excellence Masters Scholarships Switzerland

International students may apply for the fully financed ETH Zurich Excellence Masters Scholarship.

This award is exclusively available for master’s degree programs.

This scholarship offers both a tuition fee waiver and a grant covering living and educational costs (CHF 11,000 per semester).

Institution: ETH Zurich

Study in: Switzerland

Level of Study: Masters

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