19 Fully Funded European Scholarships for International Students (2027-28)

Fully Funded European Scholarships: Key Details

“Fully funded” gets used loosely online. For any fully funded scholarship in Europe on this list, that means tuition plus a recurring living stipend, not just a fee waiver or a one-time grant. Here are a few things to know before you look at the table:

• Most fully funded scholarships in Europe for international students target Master’s and PhD level. Genuine fully funded undergraduate scholarships in Europe exist, but they’re rare, and the stipends are smaller.
• Several German foundation-run scholarships (Heinrich Boll, Konrad Adenauer, Friedrich Ebert, Friedrich Naumann, Rosa Luxemburg, KAAD) are grouped as one row below, since they all pay stipends aligned to DAAD’s standard rate rather than setting independent figures.
• A few well-known names, the Holland Scholarship, GREAT Scholarships, EPFL’s Master’s Excellence Fellowship, and Austria’s Erhard Busek Grant, are explained separately below rather than included, because each falls short of the fully funded bar or isn’t currently open.

Fully Funded European Scholarships for International Students: Comparison Table

Looking specifically for a fully funded masters scholarship in Europe or a fully funded PhD scholarship in Europe? The table below covers both levels, sorted by country, so you can scan for your stage and destination together. 

Note: All Euro figures in this guide are converted at 1 Euro = Rs.111.12, as fixed for this piece. GBP figures use a separate current market rate of roughly 1 GBP = Rs.128.5, and CHF figures use roughly 1 CHF = Rs.117, since neither currency’s rate was specified. Both are live market rates as of September 2026, not fixed values, so check the current rate before finalizing any budget.

Counselor insight: Students chase the biggest headline stipend and skip programs like Erasmus Mundus, which is actually easier to convert into an offer because it’s need-blind on nationality and runs a transparent, published selection process. A slightly smaller stipend with better odds beats a bigger one you don’t get.

For a closer look at eligibility, application requirements, funding, and deadlines, LeapScholar has dedicated guides covering several scholarships in the table, including Erasmus Mundus, Chevening, Commonwealth, Rhodes, Clarendon, Felix, Gates Cambridge, DAAD, Heinrich Böll, Stipendium Hungaricum, and the Romania Government Scholarship. 

Deep Dive: Fully Funded European Scholarships

1. Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s

• What it is: Not one scholarship. A framework of 200+ joint Master’s programs, each run by a consortium of two or more universities in different EU countries.
• Coverage: Euro 1,400/month, plus tuition, travel, and installation costs.
• Competition: No India-specific quota. You’re not competing against a fixed Indian pool; you’re competing against every nationality on equal terms.
• Watch for: You apply directly to the consortium running your chosen program, not a central EU portal. Picking the right program from the EACEA catalogue matters more than the scholarship form itself.

2. DAAD Scholarship

• What it is: An umbrella covering dozens of separate German government-funded programs (EPOS, subject-specific grants, Helmut Schmidt), each with its own deadline and eligibility rules.
• Coverage: Euro 992/month for Master’s (confirmed 2027 rate), more for PhD.
• Competition: India is consistently one of DAAD’s top three sender countries. Expect real competition, but reviewers are familiar with Indian applicant profiles.
• Watch for: German public universities charge no tuition, so the stipend is covering the cost of living, not fees. Don’t budget it as if tuition still needs to come out of it.

3. Chevening Scholarship

• What it is: The UK government’s flagship award, funding a one-year taught Master’s at any UK university.
• Coverage: Full tuition, a monthly living stipend, and return airfare.
• Competition: Around 1,500 scholars are funded globally each year, making it the largest UK award by headcount on this list.
• Watch for: 2,800 hours of work experience after graduation, roughly two years, completed before the October deadline. Not meeting this requirement disqualifies you, no matter your academic record. Selection also weighs leadership potential and your post-scholarship plan over GPA.

4. Gates Cambridge Scholarship

• What it is: A Cambridge-only award. Chevening and Commonwealth work across any UK university; Gates Cambridge doesn’t.
• Coverage: GBP 21,000/year stipend plus full tuition and the health surcharge waived.
• Competition: Around 80 scholarships awarded a year, about 55 in the international round that India competes in.
• Watch for: Selection is based on exceptional academic ability specifically. Leadership and financial need, which matter for Chevening, aren’t the deciding factors here.

5. Stipendium Hungaricum

• What it is: Hungary’s government scholarship, and the only one on this list that reliably funds undergraduate study alongside Master’s and PhD.
• Coverage: HUF 43,700/month (about Rs.12,223) for UG and Master’s, more for PhD, plus full tuition and free dormitory access.
• Competition: Roughly 5-6% acceptance rate, published openly by Hungary, well above Chevening’s or Gates Cambridge’s.
• Watch for: Applications from India route through the UGC, not directly through Hungary’s portal. Missing this step is the single most common reason Indian applications fail.

What’s NOT Fully Funded, Even Though It’s Often Listed That Way

A handful of names come up constantly on “fully funded European scholarships” lists without actually meeting the bar used here:

• Holland Scholarship (Netherlands): A one-time award of about Euro 5,000, not a recurring stipend. Useful, but partial.
• GREAT Scholarships (United Kingdom): A minimum of GBP 10,000 toward tuition for a one-year Master’s. This is a genuine, well-known award, but it’s a tuition contribution, not a living stipend, so it doesn’t qualify as fully funded here.
• EPFL Master’s Excellence Fellowship (Switzerland): Marketed online as fully funded, but EPFL’s own terms confirm the fellowship holder still pays tuition and rent independently. It’s a partial merit top-up, not a full ride.
• Erhard Busek Grant (Austria): A genuine tuition-free, Euro 1,300 a month Master’s grant for developing-country students, including India, but Austria’s own OeAD page currently states no new application round is planned. Worth watching for a future reopening rather than applying now.

Fully Funded European Scholarships for Undergraduate Students

Genuine fully funded scholarships in Europe for undergraduates are the exception, not the rule, among international students. Most of the scholarships above only fund Master’s and PhD level. Stipendium Hungaricum (Hungary), the Romanian Government Scholarship, and the Slovak Republic Government Scholarship are the clearest verified undergraduate routes, each covering full tuition, a modest monthly stipend, and accommodation support. These stipends are small by Western European standards, so treat them as a genuine full ride in a low-cost country rather than a high-income-country level of support.

Documents Required for Fully Funded European Scholarships

Exact requirements vary by program; confirm the specific list on the official page. Common set across the 19 scholarships above:

• Academic transcripts and degree certificates (attested/notarized for Indian qualifications)
• Statement of Purpose or Motivation Letter, written fresh for each scholarship
• 2-3 letters of recommendation (academic; at least one professional for Chevening and Commonwealth)
• English proficiency score: IELTS, TOEFL, or PTE (some German-funded routes accept MOI instead)
• CV or Europass-format resume (required for Erasmus Mundus and other EU-administered programs)
• Research proposal (PhD-level and MSCA only, not needed for taught Master’s awards)
• Proof of university admission or application in progress
• Confirmed academic supervisor’s letter (Swiss Excellence, MSCA, most German PhD routes)
• Proof of work experience (2,800 hours for Chevening; documented experience for Commonwealth)
• Passport copy and passport-size photographs
• Financial documents for the visa stage, not the scholarship itself

Fully Funded European Scholarships Application Process

1. Shortlist eligible programs 12-15 months ahead, checking degree level and India eligibility on the official page.
2. Secure a university admission offer where required (Clarendon and Felix need no separate form; Eiffel requires university nomination first).
3. For PhD-level programs, confirm a supervisor before applying (mandatory for Swiss Excellence, MSCA, most German PhD routes).
4. Prepare documents from the checklist above, writing a fresh SOP or research proposal per scholarship.
5. Submit through the correct channel: direct portal (Chevening, DAAD, NAWA), university nomination (Eiffel), home-country routing body (Stipendium Hungaricum via India’s UGC), or constituency system (Rhodes).
6. Attend an interview where one applies (Chevening, Commonwealth, Rhodes, Gates Cambridge); most government scholarships decide on paper alone.
7. Accept the offer and apply for your student visa, using the award letter as proof of funds where allowed.

Counselor insight: The planning mistake we see most often isn’t a missed deadline; it’s discovering a university-nomination or supervisor-confirmation requirement (Eiffel, Swiss Excellence, most PhD routes) with six weeks left on the clock. Those steps run on the university’s timeline, not the scholarship’s, so build them in from month one rather than treating them as a formality you’ll sort out once the scholarship form is ready.

3 Takeaways on Fully Funded European Scholarships

1. 19 scholarships from across Europe hold up as genuinely tuition-plus-stipend and open to Indian citizens; several well-known names alongside them are partial, paused, or restricted to other nationalities.
2. DAAD’s stipend is currently Euro 992 a month for Master’s students, not the older Euro 934 figure still circulating on many blogs.
3. Eastern European government scholarships (Poland, Romania, Slovakia) are under-applied compared to their Western European counterparts, worth adding to a shortlist rather than treating as a fallback.

Verified by: LeapScholar’s Europe counseling team, with hands-on experience guiding Indian students through European scholarship applications.

Have questions about fully funded European scholarships? Book a free session with a LeapScholar counselor.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fully Funded European Scholarships