Overview
Funding for international study comes from several layers: government scholarships from your home country or the destination country, flagship international awards, university and departmental scholarships, program-linked funding such as Erasmus Mundus scholarships, foundations and professional bodies, and employer sponsorship. Each has its own eligibility rules, and some — such as requirements for post-degree work experience or a commitment to return home — exclude large groups of applicants.
We start from your profile and plan, search official sources for each layer, and verify eligibility on the funder's own pages. For each award we record what it covers (full tuition and living costs, or a partial fee reduction), the deadline, the documents it needs and how its timeline relates to your admission applications.
The outcome is a funding strategy rather than a list: which awards to prioritize, which are long shots, which require an admission offer first, and how to combine smaller awards if a full scholarship is unlikely.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Applicants who need substantial funding to study abroad at master's or PhD level
- Professionals checking eligibility for leadership-focused awards that require work experience
- Undergraduate applicants and families looking for university merit and need-based aid
- PhD applicants comparing funded positions, studentships and external fellowships
- Advisers or sponsors who want a verified list for a group of candidates
Common problems we help with
- Every list you find mixes expired, domestic-only or unrelated awards
- You are unsure whether you meet nationality, residency or work-experience rules
- You found a scholarship after its deadline had passed
- You do not know which awards need an admission offer before you apply
- You cannot tell whether an award covers tuition only or living costs too
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Profile intake: nationality and residency, level, field, grades, work experience, finances and plans after study
- Search across government, flagship international, university, program-linked, foundation and employer funding
- Eligibility check against the funder's official criteria, with uncertain points flagged for you to confirm
- Coverage summary: tuition, stipend, travel, insurance and any obligations such as returning home
- Deadline mapping against your admission timeline, including awards that require an offer first
- Competitiveness and effort notes: documents, essays, interviews and references each award requires
- Prioritized shortlist with a funding strategy, including combinations of partial awards
- Warnings about scholarship scams and fee-charging 'award' schemes
Not included
- Applying to scholarships on your behalf or contacting funders as you
- Promising that you will receive funding or any specific amount
- Legal advice on sponsorship bonds, return obligations or tax — we note them for you to check with the funder
- Paid placement in scholarship databases or commissions from funders
What you receive
- Verified funding list
- A spreadsheet of relevant awards with eligibility status, coverage, deadline, required documents and a link to each official page.
- Priority shortlist
- The five to ten awards most worth your effort, with reasons, likely competitiveness and what would strengthen your application.
- Funding strategy note
- How the awards fit together with your program list, including backup options such as assistantships, part-time study or employer support.
- Deadline calendar
- Funding deadlines merged with your admission deadlines so nothing clashes.
How it works
Profile and plan
You complete an intake form covering eligibility factors and your study plans.
Search
We search official funder sites and program pages layer by layer.
Verify
Each candidate award is checked against current official criteria; unclear points are listed for you to confirm with the funder.
Prioritize
We rank awards by fit, value and effort, and discuss the list with you.
Hand over
You receive the list, strategy note and calendar, with one round of follow-up questions.
Where we look
- Flagship international awards
- Programs such as Fulbright (for non-US students, via national commissions or US embassies), Chevening (UK government, one-year master's for emerging leaders), Commonwealth Scholarships (for eligible Commonwealth countries), Rhodes (Oxford), Gates Cambridge and DAAD scholarships for Germany.
- Program-linked funding
- Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters scholarships, which you apply for directly through each consortium, and funded studentships attached to PhD projects.
- Destination governments
- For example Japan's MEXT, Korea's GKS, and national schemes in European countries, each with their own application routes.
- Home-country and employer sponsorship
- Government ministries, central banks, research councils and employers, which often carry service or return obligations.
- University awards
- Merit scholarships, fee waivers, departmental awards and need-based aid, some automatic, some requiring a separate application.
- Foundations and professional bodies
- Smaller, field-specific awards that are less crowded and can be combined.
Eligibility traps we check first
Many applications fail before they are read because of an eligibility detail. We check these first, on the funder's current official pages, and flag anything that needs direct confirmation.
- Work experience after graduation — Chevening, for example, currently asks for at least 2,800 hours
- Nationality and residency, including dual nationals and people living outside their country of citizenship
- Degree level and timing, such as awards only for students not yet enrolled
- Age or years-since-graduation limits used by some awards
- Return-home or service obligations after the award ends
- Whether an unconditional admission offer is needed by a set date
Programs change — official pages decide
Named scholarships change eligibility, deadlines and even whether they run in a given year. Fulbright, for example, is funded by the US government and applicants should watch their national commission or US embassy page for current cycle information, since US program priorities and funding can change. We record the date we checked each source and ask you to confirm before you apply.
Spotting scholarship scams
Legitimate scholarships do not ask you to pay to receive an award, guarantee success in exchange for a fee, or come from unofficial email addresses. We check that each award links back to a real funder or institution and warn you about common red flags.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Sample priority list excerpt: agricultural economics master's
An invented applicant from a Commonwealth country with three years of work at an agricultural ministry wants a one-year master's in the UK or a two-year program in Europe. Award details are summarized generally and must be checked against current official pages.
Priority 1: Chevening
Appears eligible: work experience exceeds the published minimum, and the applicant intends to return to the ministry. Opens in autumn and closes early; requires essays on leadership, networking, study plans and career plan. Effort: high. Value: full funding.
Priority 2: Commonwealth Master's Scholarship
Eligibility depends on nationality and on applying through the national nominating agency, which sets its own earlier deadline. Confirm the agency's timeline this week.
Priority 3: Erasmus Mundus program in rural development
Apply to the consortium directly; the scholarship deadline is typically in winter. Two-country mobility fits the applicant's interest in EU agricultural policy.
Illustrative example with invented applicant details; award descriptions are simplified and not a statement of current eligibility.
What you’ll need to provide
- Nationality, any second nationality and country of residence
- Intended level, field and countries of study, or your program shortlist
- Transcript summary, test scores and CV including work experience dates
- Financial situation and whether partial funding would be enough
- Any awards you have already found or applied to
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Number of study destinations and levels to search
- Complexity of eligibility (dual nationality, residence abroad, mixed education history)
- Whether you want a funding strategy only or support with the applications afterward
- Size of the final prioritized list
Turnaround depends on
- How soon the earliest relevant scholarship closes
- Whether eligibility questions need answers from funders before prioritizing
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Can you find me a full scholarship?
We can find the full scholarships you are eligible for and help you prioritize them, but selection is decided by funders and is highly competitive. A realistic strategy often combines one or two full-award applications with partial funding options.
How current is your information?
We use funders' official pages and record the date we checked each one. Criteria and deadlines can change during a cycle, so you should confirm on the official page before applying.
Do I need an admission offer before applying for scholarships?
It varies. Some awards require an offer by a later date, some require you to apply for admission first, and some program-linked scholarships are decided with admission. The list notes this for each award.
Is Fulbright still running?
Fulbright is a US government-funded program, and its operations can be affected by US policy and budget decisions. Check your country's Fulbright commission or the US embassy for the current cycle before planning around it.
Can you help with the applications too?
Yes. Scholarship essay coaching and scholarship interview preparation are separate services that follow naturally from the search.