PTDF Overseas Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme

Who can apply

Nigerian citizens only
MSc applicants: minimum Second Class Upper at first degree, or Second Class Lower with relevant industry experience; completed NYSC; computer literacy; five O'Level credits including English and Mathematics; a 500-word Statement of Purpose
PhD applicants: at least a Second Class Lower at first degree plus a good postgraduate degree; completed NYSC; computer literacy; five O'Level credits; a five-page research proposal relevant to the oil and gas industry
PhD applicants may be placed on a split-site arrangement between Nigeria's College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna, and a named UK university

A fund with a clear, single-industry purpose

Nigeria’s Petroleum Technology Development Fund funds Nigerian citizens for master’s and PhD study at a specific set of partner universities in the UK, Germany, France and Malaysia, with a clear industry angle: the fund exists to build capacity for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, and the PhD research proposal requirement is explicitly scored on relevance to that industry. PTDF’s own mission statement is specific about the intended scope: training Nigerians as graduates, professionals, technicians and craftsmen in engineering, geology, science and management for the oil and gas industry, both in Nigeria and abroad, with a stated ambition to make Nigeria a human resource centre for the wider West African sub-region and the Gulf of Guinea.

The split-site PhD arrangement, and what full coverage includes

For PhD applicants placed on a split-site arrangement, PTDF names three UK partner universities specifically: Robert Gordon University, the University of Strathclyde, and the University of Portsmouth, with study split between one of those and Nigeria’s own College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna. Coverage where awarded is comprehensive: return flights, health insurance, tuition and bench fees, and a living and accommodation allowance.

The academic bar, and why it exists

The academic bar sits at a Nigerian Second Class Upper for MSc applicants (or Second Class Lower with documented industry experience), plus the standard NYSC completion and five O’Level credits including English and Mathematics. PTDF traces its own origin to a period when the Nigerian government required international oil companies to employ and train Nigerians so the industry could eventually be run by a domestic workforce; this scholarship is a direct continuation of that same capacity-building mandate rather than a general postgraduate-funding scheme that happens to prioritise oil and gas.

No 2027 date yet, and don’t confuse this with the other PTDF scheme

The 2026 overseas round has already closed, and PTDF hasn’t published a 2027 date yet, so this is one to bookmark and check back on rather than something with an active window right now. Don’t confuse it with PTDF’s separate In-Country Scholarship Scheme for Nigerian public universities, which runs on its own schedule and is in fact what currently occupies the guidelines page linked from PTDF’s scholarship portal. For a broader view of engineering-specific funding beyond this one industry-focused scheme, see the guide to funding for engineering.