What Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme actually covers.
The Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme awards grants on a 50% grant / 50% loan basis to outstanding candidates from developing countries, including African nations, who have secured admission to Masters or PhD programmes at leading universities worldwide but lack the means to finance their education. The scholarship is offered through a highly competitive application process and is limited to a small number of candidates annually. Priority is given to candidates from countries in which the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) operates, including several African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, and others. Fields of study must be relevant to the economic and social development of the applicant's home country. The scholarship covers partial tuition and living costs, with recipients expected to repay the loan portion after completing their studies and gaining employment. The Aga Khan Foundation works in partnership with local Aga Khan Education Boards and Services offices to identify and support talented candidates. This long-standing programme has supported thousands of students from developing countries in accessing high-quality postgraduate education globally.
Who can apply.
Open to masters, phd applicants. Eligible nationalities are listed below.
46 more eligible countries — full list available on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
Four steps to a complete application.
Scholar Africa is a discovery and tracking platform — the application itself is submitted directly through the official provider site. The steps below mirror our HowTo schema.
Check eligibility
Confirm your nationality, academic level, and field of study match the criteria above.
Eligibility checklist
Prepare documents
Transcripts, recommendation letters, personal statement, and a valid passport.
Document checklist
Submit the application
Submit before March 31, 2027 via the official portal.
Submission checklist
Track your application
Use your Scholar Africa dashboard to monitor status and deadline reminders.
Post-submission checklist
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live. Five additional checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, manual review) are on the roadmap. Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme currently scores 4.0/10.
Verification details Click to expand
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Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.