East African Community Student Mobility Scheme (EAC-SMS)

Who can apply

A national and resident of an EAC Partner State, applying to an eligible programme at a university in a different Partner State
Meets the host programme's own academic entry requirements; postgraduate applicants need Upper Second-Class Honours, a Distinction, or equivalent
Under 35 for a Master's, under 45 for a PhD, at the time of application
Work experience is an advantage for PhD applicants
Applies directly to IUCEA, not to the host university; IUCEA handles the university-admission submission on the applicant's behalf
Foreign qualifications must be equated by the applicant's national council or commission for higher education, and non-English documents need certified English translation
May apply to more than one university, but only one scholarship will be awarded

This is a cost-sharing scheme, not a full-ride grant, and the split matters when you budget. Host universities waive tuition and exam fees, and IUCEA adds travel, health insurance, and a research lump sum for Master’s and PhD students, but accommodation, daily living costs, and any other university fees are on you or your family.

You apply to IUCEA, never to the university directly

Applying here does not mean applying to a university directly. IUCEA runs the process: you pick a programme from its own catalogue of 164 offerings across 28 universities, apply through IUCEA’s own portal, and IUCEA handles submitting your admission to the host university on your behalf. Foreign qualifications need to be equated by your national higher-education council first, and any documents not already in English need a certified translation.

Slot numbers, broken down by host country

Slot numbers are genuinely small and specific: 197 total across the whole scheme, split as 1 diploma, 95 undergraduate, 90 Master’s, and 11 PhD. By host country, the spread is uneven: Kenya carries the most slots (49, across 9 universities and 45 programmes), followed by Tanzania (48 across 6 universities), Uganda (37 across 7), Burundi (35 across 4), Rwanda (16 across 2), and South Sudan the fewest (12, all at a single university). Check the official programme list for exactly what’s on offer in your field and country before applying, since the mix of disciplines and slot counts varies significantly by host university.

Built to deepen regional integration, not just fund individual students

IUCEA frames the scheme explicitly as “a regional passport to higher learning,” designed to promote student exchange across the East African Community and deepen regional integration through shared learning, rather than as a standard scholarship competition. This isn’t the only IUCEA-run scholarship on this site: the EAC Scholarship Programme, Phase II Cohort 4 (KfW-funded Master’s) is a separate, German-government-funded track run by the same organisation, worth checking if this one’s cycle is closed when you’re reading this.

The application window has closed

The 2026/2027 (third) cohort’s application window has closed, and IUCEA’s own portal now shows this status directly rather than leaving a stale date in place. No date for a fourth cohort has been published yet, so watch the official application site directly for the next opening.