If you are applying from a low or middle income country, scholarships for students from developing countries are a category of funding built specifically for you, and it is often better resourced and less crowded than the awards everyone competes for.
The logic is simple. These programmes are paid for from development budgets rather than education budgets. Their purpose is to build capacity in your country, not to recruit talent away from it. That changes what they select for, who is allowed to apply, and what they ask you to promise in return. Understanding those three things is most of what separates a strong application from a wasted one.
What development funding selects for
Relevant work experience, often as a hard rule. This is a filter, not a preference. The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship requires at least three years of paid development-related work since your degree, within the past six years, and full-time employment in that field when you apply. DAAD EPOS needs two years of relevant professional experience. The Japan-IMF Scholarship (JISPA) needs two years in the public sector. That is why these awards often suit someone in their late twenties or thirties better than a recent graduate.
A development purpose you can name. DAAD EPOS expects your motivation to be development-related, with an expectation that you will help drive change in your profession and home country. The strongest applications name a specific problem, not just a field of interest.
A promise to go home, sometimes in writing. Return commitments range from soft to contractual:
- Chevening: return to your country for at least two years after the award.
- The Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme: return within 14 days of finishing your studies.
- JDS (Japan): a pledge to serve your home organisation for at least four years, twice the length of the programme.
- The IsDB MSc Scholarship: a surety bond to return and work at home for twice the length of the award.
- JISPA: a commitment to return to the government agency that nominated you.
Applications that read as a route to emigrating are read that way by the panel. Take these commitments seriously before you apply, not after you win.
Open deadlines, soonest first
These are development-focused awards in our directory with a confirmed upcoming deadline, as last checked. Each link goes to the full entry with eligibility and the official page.
| Deadline | Award | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 2026 | Czech Government Scholarships | Citizens of 13 named countries; master’s and PhD |
| 6 Oct 2026 | Chevening | Chevening-eligible countries; two years’ work experience |
| 20 Oct 2026 | JISPA | Junior officials from 21 Asia-Pacific countries, nominated by their agency |
| 20 Oct 2026 | Ireland-Palestine | Palestinians resident in Palestine; master’s |
| 30 Oct 2026 | Said Foundation | Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese or Palestinian nationals; UK master’s |
| 7 Nov 2026 | Faculty for the Future | Women in STEM from developing economies; PhD and postdoc |
| 1 Dec 2026 | Wageningen Africa Scholarship | African citizens; two-year master’s |
| 10 Dec 2026 | AfDB-Shanghai Ocean University | AfDB African member countries; fisheries and marine science |
| 12 Feb 2027 | Beit Trust | Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe; master’s in the UK or South Africa |
| 26 Feb 2027 | Joint Japan/World Bank | Development professionals admitted to one of 44 partner master’s programmes |
| 15 Mar 2027 | TaiwanICDF | Citizens of TaiwanICDF partner countries |
| 31 Mar 2027 | Arturo Falaschi PhD Fellowships | Nationals of ICGEB member states; life sciences PhD |
| 14 Apr 2027 | Mandela Rhodes | African citizens aged 19 to 29; study in South Africa |
Two more have no fixed central date. The Eric Bleumink Fellowship at Groningen nominates candidates who received an admission offer before February, and MINDS funds African nationals studying in another African country once they hold a partner university offer.
The nomination trap
This is the most common way strong candidates lose these awards. Many development scholarships do not accept direct applications. Someone else has to put you forward, and that someone runs their own process, usually with an earlier deadline:
- Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships: the Commission does not accept direct applications. You apply to a nominator, mainly your national nominating agency, which may set its own closing date.
- JISPA: you must be employed by, and formally nominated by, an eligible agency such as a central bank or finance ministry.
- IsDB MSc: a home-country institution nominates you, with the endorsement of your country’s IsDB Governor’s office.
- Arturo Falaschi (ICGEB): your application goes to the ICGEB Liaison Officer in your country for endorsement, which is required for an award.
- JDS: only officials of named target organisations can be nominated, through their own country’s round.
- Joint Japan/World Bank and Eric Bleumink: eligibility runs through the university that admits you, so the admission deadline comes first.
If an award mentions nomination or endorsement anywhere, your first action is to find the nominating body in your country and its deadline, before you start writing.
Read what is left unpaid
Development awards are generous, but several leave real costs with you:
- AfDB-Shanghai Ocean University covers tuition, accommodation, meals and a stipend, but flights and visa fees are your responsibility.
- The Czech Government Scholarship pays a monthly stipend of CZK 16,000 for master’s students, but travel is explicitly not covered.
- IsDB MSc does not cover visa costs or the residence permit fee.
- Said Foundation, Beit Trust and Chevening fund the scholar only, not family members.
Also check the nationality rules closely. The Joint Japan/World Bank programme and Faculty for the Future both exclude anyone with dual citizenship of a developed country. Some programmes pause entirely: OWSD’s PhD fellowship for women scientists, long a key option, paused new calls from 2025 because of funding, with no date given for reopening.
Where else to look
Foundation programmes. The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program funds young Africans at secondary, undergraduate and master’s level through partner universities. You apply to the partner, not the Foundation.
Regional development banks and UN agencies. Programmes like the IsDB and AfDB schemes above are announced through institutional channels rather than scholarship sites, which keeps their applicant pools small.
Your own government. Many countries fund their own citizens to study abroad, often with a service commitment on return. These are the least publicised of all. A direct email to your ministry of education or higher education council asking what exists for citizens studying abroad takes ten minutes.
Building the application
Name the problem, then the qualification. The strongest structure is: here is a specific failure I have seen in my work, here is what fixing it requires, here is why this programme provides that, here is what I will do on return. In that order.
Use your professional experience as evidence. You have seen how something works in practice. That is your advantage over a recent graduate, and it should be visible on the first page.
Be concrete about returning. Name the organisation, the role and the sector. Vague intentions read as a formality; a specific plan reads as a reason to fund you.
Get a reference from someone who watched you work. In this category it often carries more weight than an academic one.
What to do this week
Check the table above for anything closing in the next month. The Czech Government Scholarships close 30 September 2026 and Chevening on 6 October. Then find out whether your country has a national nominating agency for Commonwealth Scholarships, and when it closes. That date, not the published one, is your real deadline.
For the bigger picture, our comparison of the major fully funded scholarships covers the leadership and university-endowed awards open to everyone.