Scholarships, grants and fellowships for Ugandan applicants 2027

Twenty-five calls listed here accept applications from Uganda, and each one closes somewhere between Monday 5 October and Tuesday 20 October 2026. Only four print Uganda on their country list. Six pass AfriWay's full-funding check. Before drafting, read two lines on each listing: who may apply, and when the form closes, because in Kampala that hour often falls after dark.

The 25 calls a Ugandan can still enter

By type, fellowships lead with 12. Scholarships number eight and grants four, with one training programme completing the count, and 24 separate funders stand behind the lot. Ten calls take postdoctoral researchers, the biggest group. Eight admit master's students and eight admit PhD candidates, while five are aimed at people in work, three are indifferent to level, and undergraduates turn up in just one.

Chevening Scholarships 2027/28: One-Year UK Master's (closed) and Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK print Uganda on their lists, and so do Mandela Washington Fellowship 2027 for Young African Leaders (closed) and University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027. Seven more restrict entry to developing countries, to Sub-Saharan Africa or to the continent as a whole. The remaining 14 take any nationality, so a Kampala file competes with files from every region.

Holders of a doctorate. Four fellows join Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sustainability 2027 on three-year salaries of 65,000 US dollars, plus 12,000 dollars yearly toward research and travel expenses. IAIFI Postdoctoral Fellowship 2027-2030 at MIT (closed) sets its salary roughly 15% above MIT's postdoc minimum. Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program 2027 in the United States (closed) pays between 45,000 and 65,000 US dollars a year, the exact sum fixed by category. For humanities or social science work, Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship 2027 at CRASSH, Cambridge (closed) sits beside CEES Fellowship Program Spring 2027: Research Stay in Switzerland (closed) and Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship 2027 at Durham University. Fellows at Bayreuth Academy Fellowships in African Studies, Germany (closed) who draw no pay from a home institution receive EUR 2,500 monthly, and the programme has fifteen places in all. AIAS Visiting Fellowships 2027: Unsalaried Research Visits in Denmark (closed) comes without a salary, so your university must keep paying you.

People already working. Mandela Washington Fellowship 2027 for Young African Leaders (closed) picks 550 people aged up to 35 from business, management or public policy backgrounds. Leading for Humanity 2027: Tutu Foundation Leadership Programme (closed) sets no academic level at all. For computing specialists, Software Sustainability Institute Fellowship Programme 2027 (closed) is a 15-month UK fellowship. Digital Science Catalyst Grant 2026 for AI tools that act on research (closed) has up to GBP 25,000 to hand out, possibly split between several winners, and each individual research grant through OpenAI AI and Teen Development Research Grant Program 2026 (closed) may be as large as USD 1 million.

Six calls that pay tuition and living costs

The fully funded tag on AfriWay goes to scholarships and fellowships that pay the fees and a living allowance, both at once. For a grant, the allowance alone is enough. Six qualify, three of them naming Uganda.

Chevening Scholarships 2027/28: One-Year UK Master's (closed) is first out of the door, on Tuesday 6 October 2026. It pays fees and a stipend in any discipline and expects two or more years of experience.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars 2027: Fully Funded Graduate Study at Stanford (closed) follows that evening. Its money runs for up to three graduate years, covering tuition with associated fees, a stipend that pays for housing, meals, books and local transport, plus one economy-class flight a year to and from Stanford.

On Wednesday 7 October the Africa-wide ARC-GSSP Postgraduate Scholarships for African Students (closed) closes. It pays postgraduate tuition in full over as many as 24 months, in environment and climate, engineering or mathematics, and adds living money and travel support. The host countries are Senegal, South Africa, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

AGNES Intra-Africa Mobility Grants 2026 for PhD Researchers (closed) earns its place as the lone grant in the set. It pays toward travel and subsistence during a research visit beyond Uganda's borders, and EUR 2,300 is the ceiling for one month away, rising to EUR 3,000 when you stay two. It will not fund a degree, though.

Tuesday 20 October closes the last two, and both list Uganda. Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK settles approved tuition fees completely, pays an approved return airfare from Uganda, and adds GBP 1,712 each month as a living allowance, or GBP 2,000 at London-area universities. University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027 covers the full overseas PhD fee, a stipend and a return flight to the UK. On top come fieldwork costs and the Research Training Support Grant.

Calls fenced to Africa, East Africa or the developing world

Nothing on this list is kept for Ugandans only, and nothing is fenced to East Africa. Seven calls do narrow the field to a group Uganda belongs to, so the competition there comes only from that group.

Any African country may enter ARC-GSSP Postgraduate Scholarships for African Students (closed) and African Climate Collaborative PhD Fellowships 2027 at UCT (closed). Of these two, African Climate Collaborative PhD Fellowships 2027 at UCT (closed) is doctoral only, with 12 places of 48 months each across environment, climate and social science.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the boundary for two AGNES grants, and both insist on English-language applications. AGNES-BAYER Science Foundation Research Grant 2026 for PhD Students (closed) gives each successful PhD applicant working on environment, climate or agriculture no more than EUR 7,000. AGNES Intra-Africa Mobility Grants 2026 for PhD Researchers (closed) is the mobility grant already described.

Germany hosts three master's programmes carrying DAAD EPOS money earmarked for developing countries. All three want two or more years of experience. ISATEC (MSc Marine Biology), University of Bremen: DAAD EPOS 2027 (closed) requires English at C1. Sustainable Renewable Energy Technologies MSc, Oldenburg: EPOS 2027 (closed) settles for B2, runs 24 months and closes a full year before students arrive. International Health MSc, Charité Berlin: DAAD EPOS Scholarship 2027 (closed) feeds into the September 2027 intake.

On the named lists, Uganda's neighbours fare differently. Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK includes Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, whereas Kenya is absent from the list for University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027.

Closing times converted to Kampala, earliest first

Uganda keeps East Africa Time, UTC plus three hours, all year. Funders mostly quote European or North American clocks, which often pushes the real cut-off past midnight here. The list is sorted by the moment each call closes in Kampala.

• Kampala 19:00, 5 October. Digital Science Catalyst Grant 2026 for AI tools that act on research (closed), whose own clock says 17:00 BST.
• 5 October, Kampala hour unknown. Software Sustainability Institute Fellowship Programme 2027 (closed).
• Kampala 00:59, 6 October. Bayreuth Academy Fellowships in African Studies, Germany (closed), still Monday 23:59 CEST in Bayreuth.
• Kampala 13:00, 6 October. AIAS Visiting Fellowships 2027: Unsalaried Research Visits in Denmark (closed), noon in Copenhagen.
• Kampala 14:00, 6 October. Chevening Scholarships 2027/28: One-Year UK Master's (closed), 11:00 UTC.
• Kampala 23:00, 6 October. Knight-Hennessy Scholars 2027: Fully Funded Graduate Study at Stanford (closed), 13:00 on the Pacific clock.
• Kampala 09:59, 7 October. OpenAI AI and Teen Development Research Grant Program 2026 (closed), 23:59 Pacific time the previous evening.
• 7 October, Kampala hour unknown. IAIFI Postdoctoral Fellowship 2027-2030 at MIT (closed), where every document and reference letter has to arrive by then.
• Kampala 02:59, 8 October. ARC-GSSP Postgraduate Scholarships for African Students (closed), Wednesday 23:59 GMT.
• Kampala hours unknown, 12 to 14 October. One per day: CEES Fellowship Program Spring 2027: Research Stay in Switzerland (closed), Mandela Washington Fellowship 2027 for Young African Leaders (closed), Leading for Humanity 2027: Tutu Foundation Leadership Programme (closed).
• 15 October, Kampala hour unknown. The three EPOS master's, ISATEC (MSc Marine Biology), University of Bremen: DAAD EPOS 2027 (closed), Sustainable Renewable Energy Technologies MSc, Oldenburg: EPOS 2027 (closed) and International Health MSc, Charité Berlin: DAAD EPOS Scholarship 2027 (closed).
• Kampala midnight, 15 into 16 October. African Climate Collaborative PhD Fellowships 2027 at UCT (closed), 23:00 SAST.
• Kampala 06:59, 16 October. Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program 2027 in the United States (closed), 23:59 US Eastern time on 15 October.
• Noon on 16 October, zone unstated. Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship 2027 at CRASSH, Cambridge (closed). Should that noon be UK time, Kampala sees 14:00.
• Kampala 02:59, 17 October. AGNES-BAYER Science Foundation Research Grant 2026 for PhD Students (closed) and AGNES Intra-Africa Mobility Grants 2026 for PhD Researchers (closed), each 23:59 GMT on Friday.
• Kampala 06:59, 19 October. The Image Centre Research Fellowships 2027 in Toronto for photography research (closed), posted as Sunday 23:59 EST although Toronto runs daylight saving time then, so plan around the earlier hour.
• Kampala 18:00, 20 October. Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK, 16:00 BST.
• Kampala 19:00, 20 October. University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027, 16:00 GMT, or Kampala 18:00 if that 16:00 is UK clock time.
• 20 October, Kampala hour unknown. Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship 2027 at Durham University.
• Kampala midnight, 20 into 21 October. Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sustainability 2027, 17:00 US Eastern time.

When no hour is published, treat the previous day as the real limit.

Preparing from Uganda in the weeks left

Start with the rules that no cover letter can bend. Chevening Scholarships 2027/28: One-Year UK Master's (closed) asks for two or more years of experience, as do all three EPOS master's, while AIAS Visiting Fellowships 2027: Unsalaried Research Visits in Denmark (closed) sets the bar at four years. Mandela Washington Fellowship 2027 for Young African Leaders (closed) closes its door to anyone over 35.

English proof is the next hurdle. IELTS is waived in none of these 25 listings, and University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027 demands a valid IELTS certificate. ISATEC (MSc Marine Biology), University of Bremen: DAAD EPOS 2027 (closed) waives its C1 proof only for native speakers of English and for people whose last course was taught in English from start to finish. A degree delivered wholly in English may therefore spare you the test in Bremen, but check which evidence the university takes before paying any test fee. CEES Fellowship Program Spring 2027: Research Stay in Switzerland (closed) wants one PDF holding every document, all in English.

Referees need warning now. At IAIFI Postdoctoral Fellowship 2027-2030 at MIT (closed), the reference letters belong to the 7 October package, and The Image Centre Research Fellowships 2027 in Toronto for photography research (closed) takes the whole application by email, letters of reference included. At Bayreuth Academy Fellowships in African Studies, Germany (closed), getting EUR 2,500 a month hinges on a letter, from either your home institution or the body that last funded you, stating that you receive no salary, so ask for that paper early.

Budget for the gaps. Leading for Humanity 2027: Tutu Foundation Leadership Programme (closed) takes care of programme costs, rooms and meals, but getting to South Africa and home again is paid by you or your sponsor. The Image Centre Research Fellowships 2027 in Toronto for photography research (closed) provides a CAD 10,000 stipend and no separate travel or housing allowance, so the whole of it goes on travel, research and anything related. Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK leaves dependants' fares to you.

Aim to finish a day ahead. Six closing moments in the list fall from midnight to 03:00 Kampala time, two more just short of 07:00, and at that hour a lost signal or a stalled upload gives you no second try.

Questions Ugandan applicants ask

Does any call here name Uganda directly?

Four, and Uganda appears by name in each: Chevening Scholarships 2027/28: One-Year UK Master's (closed), Mandela Washington Fellowship 2027 for Young African Leaders (closed), Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK, University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027. Another seven are open to developing countries, to Sub-Saharan Africa or to the whole continent, and Uganda sits inside all three groups.

Can a Ugandan graduate get a master's paid in full?

Yes, four do. Chevening Scholarships 2027/28: One-Year UK Master's (closed) and Commonwealth Master's Scholarships 2027/28 for Study in the UK name Uganda and each fund a year-long UK master's, fees and living costs together. Outside that pair, Stanford's Knight-Hennessy Scholars 2027: Fully Funded Graduate Study at Stanford (closed) and the Africa-wide ARC-GSSP Postgraduate Scholarships for African Students (closed) also cover fees plus a stipend.

Which calls suit a Ugandan PhD student?

University of Sussex Commonwealth PhD Scholarships 2027 lists Uganda and funds a full PhD in the UK, fees and stipend included. African Climate Collaborative PhD Fellowships 2027 at UCT (closed) offers 12 four-year fellowships to doctoral candidates from any African country. Knight-Hennessy Scholars 2027: Fully Funded Graduate Study at Stanford (closed) and Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program 2027 in the United States (closed) admit PhD applicants as well, while the two AGNES grants supply research money or a paid stay abroad rather than a whole scholarship.

Is there a way around IELTS?

None of these listings waives it. Sustainable Renewable Energy Technologies MSc, Oldenburg: EPOS 2027 (closed) will take IELTS or any of six other tests, TOEFL iBT among them, at level B2, and every other official page sets its own language rules.

Is anything open to undergraduates from Uganda?

One call only: The Image Centre Research Fellowships 2027 in Toronto for photography research (closed), with six places. Digital Science Catalyst Grant 2026 for AI tools that act on research (closed) and Leading for Humanity 2027: Tutu Foundation Leadership Programme (closed) do not ask for any particular level of study.