University College London (UCL) African Graduate Scholarship 2026–2027
Global health as a field has a persistent structural problem: the people best positioned to actually understand and address health challenges across Africa are often African professionals with direct, lived experience of those systems, yet the postgraduate training that would sharpen their ability to lead on these issues sits behind a tuition wall most can’t clear on their own.
Also, Check Out: Top Fully Funded Master’s Scholarships in Europe
The UCL African Graduate Scholarship, delivered through UCL’s Institute for Global Health and co-funded by the CP Charitable Trust and International Student House, exists specifically to remove that wall for a small number of exceptional candidates each year, funding full-time study on the MSc Global Health and Development programme.
If you’re checking this now, the 2026-2027 application window has closed — the deadline was Friday, 29 May 2026, at 17:00 BST. This post walks through exactly how the scholarship works, its actual value, and what to prepare for the 2027-2028 cycle, which UCL has indicated it hopes to continue offering, in line with recent years.
Don’t Miss: Top Fully Funded Scholarships for International Students
About the UCL African Graduate Scholarship
UCL’s Institute for Global Health delivers the MSc Global Health and Development programme with genuine institutional weight behind it — UCL currently ranks 3rd in the world for public health (ShanghaiRankings 2024), 9th in the world as a university overall (QS World Rankings 2026), and is rated number one globally for research power and impact in medicine, health and life sciences under the UK’s Research Excellence Framework 2021.
Also Read: How to Write a Personal Statement for Scholarship | Tips and Free Template
This is the programme UCL considers strong enough to specifically fund African talent into, rather than a lower-tier or secondary offering. The MSc itself is built around genuine interdisciplinary training — students work through the main theoretical approaches and research methods in global health, develop the ability to critically analyse and apply them in real settings, and complete an independent dissertation project spanning Term 1 and Term 2 under academic guidance.
UCL frames the scholarship’s purpose explicitly: supporting African nationals with a high-quality academic and professional background who would not otherwise be able to study at UCL without financial assistance — meaning this isn’t simply a merit award dressed up as need-based funding, but a genuine attempt to open the programme to candidates who are already strong enough to earn an unconditional offer, but who face a real financial barrier to accepting it.
University College London (UCL) African Graduate Scholarship Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | University College London (UCL) African Graduate |
| Host Country ⇒ | UK |
| Study Level ⇒ | Masters |
| Benefits ⇒ | £40,670 per award, covering tuition fees, accommodation, and some living costs |
| Funded by ⇒ | UCL Institute for Global Health, co-funded by the CP Charitable Trust and International Student House |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | African countries |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | 2026-2027 cycle closed Friday, 29 May 2026, 17:00 BST. UCL has run this scholarship in recent consecutive years — watch for the 2027-2028 cycle to be announced with a similar structure. |
What the Scholarship Actually Covers
- Tuition fee coverage, forming the core of the £40,670 total award value, covering the full cost of your MSc Global Health and Development programme for the single academic year
- Accommodation support, specifically arranged through International Student House, one of the scholarship’s co-funders — this isn’t a general housing allowance you manage independently, but a structured accommodation arrangement tied directly to the scholarship
- Support toward some living costs, though UCL’s own language is specific here: “some” living costs, not full coverage of every personal expense throughout the year
- A one-time award for a single academic year, running September to September — this is explicitly framed as a one-off scholarship rather than a renewable, multi-year award, which aligns with the MSc programme’s own one-year, full-time structure
What the scholarship explicitly does not cover: travel costs to and from the UK. This is a firm, stated exclusion, and you’re required to demonstrate you’ve already secured separate funding for your travel before you can be properly considered — not something to plan around loosely or assume you’ll figure out after being selected. Also worth knowing: applying for the MSc programme itself carries a separate £90 application processing fee for online applications, distinct entirely from the scholarship application process.
Eligibility Requirements
- You must be a national of an African country
- You must be a permanent resident of an African country specifically at the time of application — this dual requirement (nationality and residency) means an African national currently living permanently outside Africa may not meet this specific criterion, so review it carefully against your own circumstances
- You must have already applied to, and received an unconditional offer for, full-time study on the MSc Global Health and Development programme at UCL — this is a genuine prerequisite, not something you can secure in parallel with your scholarship application; your unconditional offer needs to exist first
- You must be able to demonstrate genuine financial need, specifically that you would not be able to study at UCL without this scholarship’s support
- You must show evidence of additional, separately secured funding specifically to cover your travel costs to and from the UK
The sequencing here matters more than in many scholarships: because an unconditional MSc offer is a hard prerequisite for the scholarship application itself, your entire timeline needs to work backwards from UCL’s own MSc admissions process, which has its own separate deadline and processing time, well ahead of the 29 May scholarship deadline.
Required Documents
- A completed African Graduate Scholarship application form, downloaded and completed according to UCL’s specific instructions
- Proof of your unconditional offer from UCL for the MSc Global Health and Development programme
- Documentation confirming your permanent residence in an African country
- Evidence of travel funding secured from another source, confirming you can independently cover your travel to and from the UK
- An updated CV, reflecting your academic and professional background clearly
- Two references: one academic and one from your employer — this dual-source requirement reflects the scholarship’s interest in candidates with genuine professional experience alongside academic strength, not purely recent graduates without workplace context
Your application should also clearly articulate your motivation for pursuing this specific MSc, and how your studies at UCL will connect concretely to your career goals and to health development work in your home country — this framing runs throughout UCL’s own guidance on the scholarship, suggesting reviewers are genuinely assessing this connection, not treating it as boilerplate application language.
How to Apply, Step by Step
- Apply to UCL for admission to the MSc in Global Health and Development programme, working through UCL’s standard graduate admissions process, and secure an unconditional offer — this is your genuine first step, and needs to be completed well before the scholarship deadline, given UCL’s own admissions processing time.
- Download and complete the African Graduate Scholarship application form.
- Gather all required supporting documents: proof of your unconditional offer, residency documentation, travel funding evidence, CV, and your two references.
- Submit your completed application form and all supporting documents together via email to [email protected].
- Ensure every part of your application is genuinely complete before submitting, and submit well ahead of the deadline rather than at the last moment, given UCL’s own explicit recommendation to apply early to avoid last-minute issues.
- Submit before the stated deadline — for this cycle, Friday, 29 May 2026, 17:00 BST.
Deadline
The 2026-2027 application deadline was Friday, 29 May 2026, at 17:00 BST, and this has closed. UCL has confirmed it’s running this scholarship consecutively in recent years, so a 2027-2028 cycle is a reasonable expectation, though not yet formally announced. Watch the official UCL Institute for Global Health scholarships page directly for confirmation once the next cycle opens.
How to Prepare for the 2027-2028 Cycle
With this cycle closed, and given UCL’s own framing that it’s “again able to offer” this scholarship, building continuously on previous years, the coming months are for genuine preparation ahead of the next cycle:
- Start your MSc admissions application early, treating this as your genuine first priority, since your unconditional offer is a hard prerequisite for the scholarship itself and UCL’s admissions process takes real processing time.
- Confirm you meet the dual nationality-and-residency requirement clearly, particularly if you’re an African national who’s spent significant time living outside the continent, since this specific combination is worth verifying against your own circumstances rather than assuming either factor alone suffices.
- Begin securing your travel funding separately and early, since this needs to be demonstrated as already secured, not simply promised or planned, by the time you submit your scholarship application.
- Line up your academic and employer references well in advance, giving both real time to write something genuinely specific to your candidacy.
- Budget for the separate £90 MSc application processing fee, distinct from the scholarship itself, as part of your overall planning.
- Watch the UCL Institute for Global Health scholarships and funding page directly, since this cycle’s deadline (late May) reflects the programme’s consistent recent pattern, worth anticipating for the following year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the UCL African Graduate Scholarship fully funded?
Largely, yes — it covers tuition fees, accommodation, and some living costs, valued at £40,670 in total. It explicitly does not cover travel costs, which you need to secure separately and demonstrate before applying.
Do I need to already have a UCL offer before applying for the scholarship?
Yes. An unconditional offer for the MSc Global Health and Development programme is a hard prerequisite for the scholarship application itself, not something you can pursue in parallel.
Can Nigerian students apply?
Yes. The scholarship is open to nationals and permanent residents of any African country, so Nigerian applicants are eligible provided they meet all other criteria, including securing an unconditional MSc offer.
What happens if I already missed the 29 May 2026 deadline?
This cycle is closed. Given UCL’s pattern of running this scholarship in consecutive recent years, watch for the 2027-2028 cycle’s announcement, and use the coming months to secure your MSc admission and travel funding well in advance.
Is this scholarship restricted to a specific MSc programme?
Yes. It funds full-time study specifically on the MSc Global Health and Development programme at UCL’s Institute for Global Health — it doesn’t extend to other UCL Master’s programmes.
Disclaimer: All scholarship details, deadlines, and figures in this post were verified from official UCL sources as of July 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on the official UCL Institute for Global Health scholarships and funding page before submitting an application. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with University College London.
Official Application Portal
Join ScholarWaka Community
Get the latest scholarship updates and study abroad opportunities before anyone else.
