November 2026 Study Abroad Scholarships: 9 Open Deadlines for Indian Students

Nine scholarships across New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, and Germany are open this month, and four of them come from a pattern most Indian applicants never notice: several New Zealand universities run their PhD scholarship rounds on the same November 1 date every year, independently of each other. None of these made our October roundup. This update covers only what’s open in November, not what closed last month.

Currency note: 1 USD = Rs. 95 | 1 EUR = Rs. 106 | 1 NZD ≈ Rs. 53. Always verify the current rate before financial planning.

Status: OPEN NOW | Deadline: November 1, 2026

Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington runs this PhD scholarship three times a year, closing March 1, July 1, and November 1. Because it repeats every four months rather than once a year, it rarely appears on “top scholarships” roundups built around a single annual date.

• Covers: an NZD 32,000 annual stipend (around Rs. 17.0 lakh) plus tuition fees for up to three years
• Why it stands out: a missed November deadline is not a lost year. Applicants who miss this round can reapply for March 2027 or July 2027 without waiting twelve months
• You need: a confirmed offer to enroll full-time in a doctoral program at Victoria University of Wellington or to already be enrolled there as a PhD student. Applicants who already hold a doctorate are not eligible

See also our PhD in New Zealand guide and Study in New Zealand guide.

Status: OPEN NOW | Deadline: November 1, 2026

This is Auckland’s main PhD funding scheme, separate from its undergraduate and master’s scholarships, and it follows the same quarterly pattern as Wellington’s award, just offset to different months. It gets far less search traffic than Auckland’s international scholarships for master’s students, despite funding a longer degree at a higher value.

• Covers: a tax-free stipend of around NZD 35,000 a year (around Rs. 18.6 lakh), plus tuition fees and student health cover, for up to 42 months
• Why it stands out: there is no separate scholarship application. Indicating interest on the doctoral program application is enough, and international applicants without a prior NZ student visa are specifically advised to apply in this round rather than later ones, since visa processing time is tighter in later rounds
• You need: a doctoral program application at the University of Auckland submitted by November 1, with scholarship consideration selected on that same form

Status: OPEN NOW | Deadline: November 1, 2026 (quarterly round)

Otago runs the same quarterly structure as Auckland, with rounds in March, June, September, and November. The university resumed this schedule in 2026 after a review of its doctoral funding, which is part of why older guides still describe it as “rolling” rather than round-based.

• Covers: an NZD 34,128 annual stipend (around Rs. 18.1 lakh), plus a tuition fee waiver at the domestic rate for up to 36 months
• Why it stands out: New Zealand caps doctoral tuition for international students at the domestic rate regardless of scholarship status, so an Otago PhD is one of the few places where an Indian student’s course fees do not rise simply for being international
• You need: to be applying for your first doctoral qualification at Otago, submitted via the university’s eVision portal by the first day of the round month

Status: OPEN NOW | Deadline: November 1, 2026

AUT runs a third version of the same quarterly PhD scholarship pattern, with rounds on March 1, July 15, and November 1. If you are shortlisting New Zealand for a doctorate, you should not overlook the fact that three New Zealand universities are independently closing PhD funding on the same November date.

• Covers: NZD 34,737 a year (around Rs. 18.4 lakh) plus tuition and student services fees for up to three years
• Why it stands out: applications open one month before each closing date, so a candidate who misses the September cutoff elsewhere still has a live AUT window through November 1
• You need: a doctoral program application at AUT with the scholarship application submitted through AUT’s online portal by the deadline. Applicants who have previously applied unsuccessfully for this scholarship are not eligible to reapply

Status: OPEN | Online form due November 4, 2026

This one is for undergraduate and postgraduate diploma or master’s applicants, not doctoral candidates, so it sits apart from the three PhD rounds above. Invitations to eligible applicants went out on October 21, and the confirmation form is due November 4.

• Covers: up to NZD 10,000 (around Rs. 5.3 lakh) towards compulsory tuition fees
• Why it stands out: there is no separate written application. Eligible applicants are invited automatically based on their admission application, so the only action needed is submitting the short confirmation form before it closes
• You need: a new international student offer for undergraduate or PGDip/master’s study at the University of Auckland, with the invitation and confirmation form completed by the deadline

Related reading: our dedicated International Student Excellence Scholarship guide.

Status: OPEN | Deadline: November 5, 2026 (first round)

The Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship Program funds master’s study at a small set of designated universities across Asia, and Ritsumeikan APU runs two application rounds for its September 2027 intake. Because applicants apply through APU rather than directly to ADB, this scholarship rarely appears in generic “Japan scholarships” lists that focus on MEXT.

• Covers: full tuition, a monthly stipend of JPY 144,000, return economy airfare, and a book and miscellaneous allowance for one year, extendable to two based on academic performance
• Why it stands out: India is an ADB developing member country, which makes Indian applicants eligible for a scholarship most Indian students only associate with Southeast Asian neighbors
• You need: to apply for APU’s graduate program for September 2027 entry and separately request ADB-JSP consideration within that application by November 5 for the first round (a second round closes January 8, 2027)

Status: OPEN | Deadline: November 10, 2026 (India)

The Swiss Confederation funds research fellowships and PhD scholarships at Swiss universities and ETH institutions through a country-specific deadline system, and India’s window this year runs to November 10. Indian students searching for study-abroad scholarships overwhelmingly default to the UK, US, Germany, and Australia, so a Swiss government award rarely comes up even though Switzerland funds it at a similar level.

• Covers: a monthly allowance of CHF 2,450, a one-time CHF 600 rental grant, compulsory health insurance, a Half-Fare travel card, and a return-flight allowance for non-EU/EFTA scholars
• Why it stands out: this route is built for early-career researchers and PhD applicants with an existing connection to a Swiss academic supervisor, not for students without a research proposal, which keeps the applicant pool smaller than most government scholarships
• You need: a master’s degree completed by July 31, 2027 (June 30, 2027 for ETH Zurich specifically), a detailed research proposal, and a letter of support from an academic supervisor in Switzerland, submitted through the GO ESKAS portal by November 10, 2026

Status: OPEN | Deadline: November 30, 2026

DAAD’s Development-Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) program funds specific master’s degrees across German universities, and each course sets its own deadline rather than sharing one DAAD-wide date. The Tropical Hydrogeology, Geo-Engineering, and Environmental Management (TropHEE) program at TU Darmstadt is one of the few EPOS courses still open this late in the cycle.

• Covers: a monthly stipend of EUR 861 to 1,200, plus health insurance and a one-time travel allowance
• Why it stands out: EPOS scholarships are built for applicants already working in environment, water, or infrastructure-related roles in their home country, since the program is tied to development impact rather than open to any engineering background
• You need: to apply directly to TU Darmstadt for the TropHEE program and separately indicate interest in DAAD funding through the course by November 30, 2026, for an October 2027 start

See our DAAD Scholarship eligibility guide and fully funded Germany scholarships guide for other EPOS courses and their individual deadlines.

Status: OPEN, ongoing rolling admission, not a single closing date

This PhD funding route from Germany’s national academic foundation has no fixed annual deadline. Admission usually runs through nomination by a professor or an existing scholar rather than a direct open call, which is a key reason it stays less visible than DAAD.

• Covers: approximately EUR 1,650 to 1,750 per month for doctoral candidates, figures that vary across secondary sources and should be confirmed directly on studienstiftung.de before relying on a specific number
• Why it stands out: unlike DAAD, there is no fixed application window to track, so an Indian PhD candidate with a German supervisor can pursue a nomination at any point in the year, including right now
• You need: a nomination, typically from a professor, rather than a self-submitted application

Related reading: our PhD in Germany for Indian Students guide.

Several scholarship-listing sites still quote a November 2026 closing date for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, Canada’s flagship doctoral award. The official vanier.gc.ca page now states plainly that the program is no longer accepting applications. It has been folded into the harmonized Canada Graduate Research Scholarship, Doctoral (CGRS D), run jointly by CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, which follows each granting agency’s own deadlines rather than a single November date. If a site lists “Vanier 2027” with a live deadline, that page has not been updated. 

Our guide to what replaced Vanier covers how CGRS D funding works for Indian applicants.

• Shortlisting New Zealand for a PhD: Wellington, Auckland, Otago, and AUT all close doctoral scholarship rounds on November 1. A single strong application package, research proposal, and supervisor contact included can be adapted across all four in the same week
• Already have an Auckland offer for a master’s or undergraduate course: submit the International Student Excellence Scholarship form before November 4. There is no separate written application, so this is the fastest scholarship to act on this month
• Open to Japan and already eligible as an ADB member-country citizen: the APU ADB-JSP round closes November 5, with a second chance on January 8, 2027, if you miss it
• Have a research proposal and a Swiss supervisor lined up: the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship’s India deadline is November 10, firmly earlier than the UK and German deadlines most students track instead
• Working in water, environment, or infrastructure and open to Germany: the TropHEE EPOS deadline at TU Darmstadt runs to November 30, longer than most other DAAD-funded master’s courses this season
• Searching for “Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship deadline”: stop looking for a November date. Check the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship, Doctoral programme instead

Book a free session with a Leap Scholar counsellor to work out which of these options best fits your profile and timeline.

• Wellington Doctoral Scholarship, official page, Victoria University of Wellington
• University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, official page
• University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship, official page
• AUT Doctoral Scholarships Regulations 2026, official PDF, Auckland University of Technology
• University of Auckland International Student Excellence Scholarship, official page
• ADB-JSP at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, official page
• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships, official page, Federal Commission for Scholarships (FCS)
• DAAD ISATEC/TropHEE EPOS scholarship, official page, TU Darmstadt
• Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, official site
• Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, official notice, Government of Canada