7 Fully Funded Scholarships Closing September–December 2026 (Dates Verified)

If you want a fully funded start in 2027, these doors close within weeks

Last verified: 25 August 2026. Every date below comes from the official programme website linked in each section.

Most students miss out on fully funded scholarships for a boring reason: they find out about the deadline two weeks after it passes. This roundup fixes that. Below are seven major, genuinely fully funded programmes whose application windows run between September and December 2026, followed by opportunities opening in the next few months.

This guide is written primarily for Indian students, but every programme listed accepts international applicants from India unless stated otherwise.

At a glance

Programme	Destination	Deadline	Best for
Schwarzman Scholars	China (Tsinghua)	9 Sep 2026, 3 p.m. EDT	Future leaders, one-year master's
Chevening Scholarships	UK	6 Oct 2026, 11:00 UTC	One-year UK master's, 2+ yrs experience
Knight-Hennessy Scholars	USA (Stanford)	6 Oct 2026, 1 p.m. PT	Any Stanford graduate degree
Gates Cambridge (intl. round)	UK (Cambridge)	8 Dec 2026 or 6 Jan 2027*	Postgraduate study, incl. PhD
GKS Undergraduate (Korea)	South Korea	Sep–Oct window, per embassy	Bachelor's students, Spring 2027 entry
Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters	Europe (multi-country)	Mostly Oct 2026 – Jan 2027	Two-year master's across 2–3 universities
DAAD EPOS	Germany	Varies by course, many Aug–Oct 2026	Development-related PG courses, 2+ yrs experience

*Depends on your chosen Cambridge course.

1. Schwarzman Scholars — deadline 9 September 2026

The closest deadline on this list. Schwarzman funds a one-year, fully funded Master's in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, designed around leadership and understanding China's role in global affairs. The U.S./Global application for the class of 2027–2028 opened on 8 April 2026 and closes on 9 September 2026 at 3 p.m. EDT. Interviews and selection take place in October–November 2026, and the programme begins in August 2027.

Action: If you are serious, start today — this application needs strong essays, recommendations, and a video, none of which come together overnight.
Official link: Schwarzman application instructions

2. Chevening Scholarships — deadline 6 October 2026

The UK government's flagship global scholarship funds a one-year master's at any UK university: tuition fees, a monthly living stipend, travel to and from the UK, and a visa. Applications opened on 4 August 2026 and close on 6 October 2026 at 11:00 UTC.

Key eligibility point many applicants discover too late: you need at least two years (approximately 2,800 hours) of work experience — this can be full-time, part-time, freelance, or voluntary work. Final-year students without work history should plan for next year's cycle instead.

Action: Draft your four essays (leadership, networking, studying in the UK, career plan) early; they carry the application.
Official link: Chevening application timeline

3. Knight-Hennessy Scholars — deadline 6 October 2026

Knight-Hennessy (KHS) fully funds graduate study at Stanford University — any degree, from an MA or MS to an MBA, JD, MD, or PhD. One application to KHS covers the scholarship; you must also submit a separate application to your chosen Stanford degree programme by the earlier of that programme's own deadline or 1 December 2026.

The KHS application closes on 6 October 2026 at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.

Action: Shortlist your Stanford programme now so both applications move together.
Official link: KHS deadlines page

4. Gates Cambridge — December 2026 / January 2027 (international round)

Gates Cambridge offers roughly 80 full scholarships each year for full-time postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge — master's or PhD, in almost any subject. Applications reopen in September 2026 for entry in 2027/28.

• US citizens resident in the US: deadline 14 October 2026.
• Everyone else, including Indian applicants: deadline depends on your course — either 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, per the Cambridge Course Directory.

Action: Pick your course first; your deadline follows from it. You must apply for admission and the scholarship in one application.
Official link: Gates Cambridge timeline

5. GKS Undergraduate (Global Korea Scholarship) — September–October window

South Korea's government scholarship for bachelor's degrees covers tuition, airfare, a monthly allowance, a one-year Korean language programme, and more, with entry in Spring 2027. Per the official Study in Korea portal, the embassy-track application window runs September to October 2026; the exact cut-off is set individually by each Korean Embassy, and the online application goes through the Study in Korea system or the embassy depending on the track.

Note: if you already hold a bachelor's degree and want a master's/PhD instead, the GKS Graduate embassy round historically opens around February — confirm on the official portal rather than trusting aggregators.

Action: Watch the Indian embassy notice once NIIED publishes the 2027 guidelines (typically early September); document lists are long and apostilles take time.
Official link: Study in Korea — GKS programme

6. Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters — mostly October 2026 to January 2027

Erasmus Mundus is not one scholarship but a family of two-year integrated master's programmes, each run by a consortium of universities across Europe (and sometimes beyond). Top-ranked applicants receive full scholarships covering participation costs, a living allowance, and travel. Per the European Commission's Erasmus+ site, most programmes accept applications between October and January for courses starting the following academic year.

Examples from currently announced 2027-intake cycles: TELME accepts applications 3 October 2026 to 3 January 2027; WINTOUR runs its first (scholarship) call 10 November to 17 December 2026. Each programme has its own portal and its own deadline — there is no single application.

Action: Browse the official EMJM catalogue, shortlist two or three consortia, and calendar their individual deadlines.
Official link: Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters — official page

7. DAAD EPOS — deadlines vary, many fall August to October 2026

DAAD's Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) fund master's and PhD study in Germany for professionals from developing countries — including India — who have at least two years of relevant work experience. Funding ranges roughly from €992/month for graduates to €1,300–1,400/month for doctoral candidates, plus insurance and travel allowances, for 12 to 42 months.

There is no single deadline: you apply directly to up to three listed courses, and each sets its own date for the 2027/28 intake. Many of those dates land between August and October 2026, so check the official deadline list now.

Official links: DAAD EPOS overview and the official deadline list (PDF)

Opening soon: calendar these now

• Stipendium Hungaricum (Hungary) — Hungary's flagship fully funded scholarship (tuition-free study, stipend, housing contribution, health cover). Based on the current cycle, expect the 2027/28 application window to open around November 2026 with a deadline of approximately 15 January 2027. Track the official apply page.
• Türkiye Bursları (Türkiye) — historically opens applications in January–February for the following academic year. Confirm dates on the official site when the cycle approaches rather than relying on older articles.
• GKS Graduate (Korea) — embassy-track rounds for the following spring have historically opened around February. Same advice: wait for the official guideline release.

Mistakes that quietly kill strong applications

1. Ignoring time zones. Chevening closes at 11:00 UTC, KHS at 1 p.m. Pacific, Schwarzman at 3 p.m. Eastern. Convert each deadline to IST and aim to submit 48 hours earlier.
2. Applying despite ineligible profiles. Chevening and DAAD EPOS require real work experience. Applying anyway wastes weeks that could go toward eligible programmes.
3. Waiting for transcripts and references to materialise. Universities take days to weeks for attested documents; referees need reminders. Request everything in week one.
4. Trusting aggregator blogs over official portals. Dates change; portals are the source of truth. Every date here links to the official source for exactly that reason.
5. Treating essays as a last-week task. For Schwarzman, Chevening, and KHS, essays decide shortlists. Three focused drafts beat one perfect fantasy.

Your next step this week

Pick two programmes from this list that match your profile — one ambitious, one realistic — and complete step one of each application before the weekend ends. Momentum matters more than perfection at this stage.

We re-verify deadlines regularly and will update this page if any programme changes its dates. Questions about a specific programme? Get in touch here or read more about who we are and how we research our guides.