Fully- and partly-funded awards open to students from around the world — many open to any nationality, including Sierra Leone. Each listing shows who can apply, the documents you need, what it pays and the deadline. Open one for the full note.
Checked against each provider’s own page on 11 October 2026. The Open, Opening soon or Closed label follows the dates on that page. Lanbuk does not award these, and a listing here is not an application. Read the official page before you send anything.
UCAS closes at 6pm UK time on 15 October 2026. If you miss that, there is no Reach Oxford file to send in January. Offers are released on 12 January 2027. The scholarship deadline printed for 2027 entry is 26 January 2027.
Who can apply
For a national of a country on the OECD aid list who cannot study for a degree at home, because of money, politics, or because the course is not there. Sierra Leone is on that list.
Documents needed
A UCAS application for an Oxford undergraduate course, with the acade…
The admissions test for that course, booked on the timetable Oxford p…
Written work, if the course asks for it, sent to the college by 10 No…
Master’s: 18 October 2026 for the first committee, or 29 November 2026 for the second. Bachelor’s, if you are applying from a school outside France: 13 January 2027. Sciences Po prints the master’s dates without a year. Read them on the page before you file.
Who can apply
First-time applicants to Sciences Po from outside the European Union, whose household does not file taxes in the EU. It is not for PhD study, one-year master’s, most dual degrees, or anyone already admitted.
Documents needed
The ordinary Sciences Po application
The scholarship ticked inside the Financial information section of th…
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission · United Kingdom
United KingdomLaw · Medicine · Engineering
Full funding for one year
Closes at 16:00 BST on Tuesday 20 October 2026. Study starts in the UK in September or October 2027.
Who can apply
Citizens of Sierra Leone who live in Sierra Leone. By September 2027 you need a first degree of at least upper second-class standard, or a lower second plus a relevant postgraduate qualification.
Documents needed
A copy of a valid passport or national ID
Full transcripts of every higher-education qualification, including a…
Two references, each in PDF, signed, and either on letterhead or sent…
University of Cape Town, with the Mastercard Foundation · South Africa
AfricaLaw · Medicine · Engineering
Full cost of the programme
Postgraduate scholarship applications close on 31 October 2026. Some UCT courses close earlier than that, so check the faculty date as well.
Who can apply
Citizens of an African country, including Sierra Leone, who face a real financial or social barrier and already have an offer, or are applying, for an eligible postgraduate diploma in Health Sciences, an honours degree, or a coursework master’s at UCT. The bachelor’s round for 2027 closed on 30 September 2026.
Documents needed
The documents the UCT application itself asks for
Whatever the scholars form asks about your financial and social circu…
A faculty application if the course you want closes before 31 October
Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students · Switzerland
EuropeLaw · Medicine · Engineering
A monthly living grant
Applications opened on 20 August 2026. The closing date depends on the country. Use the date on the Sierra Leone factsheet. Do not copy Pakistan’s or South Africa’s date.
Who can apply
For a researcher from one of the countries on the Swiss list, with a master’s in hand and a Swiss professor willing to supervise. The age ceiling on the published overview is 35.
Documents needed
The online application
A research proposal, your master’s certificate, and the supervisor’s…
The extra documents named on the Sierra Leone factsheet, not the ones…
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) · A university in Sub-Saharan Africa, not Germany
EuropeMedicine · Engineering
A monthly scholarship, tuition, and a research allowance
The DAAD page prints 12 November 2026 for the calls that are open now. A host university can close earlier. Read that call before you rely on the 12th.
Who can apply
For a graduate from Sub-Saharan Africa, Sierra Leone included, with a first degree, who wants a development-related master’s at a listed African university. Sierra Leone is not hosting a course in this round, so you apply In-Region, to a programme in another African country.
French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, through Campus France · France
EuropeLaw · Medicine · Engineering
A monthly allowance, fee waiver at a public university, and a flight
The 2027 call opened on 2 October 2026. French institutions must submit nominations by 6 January 2027 inclusive. Results are expected in the week of 12 April 2027.
Who can apply
For a strong applicant nominated by a French university. You cannot send the file to Campus France yourself.
Documents needed
Whatever that university’s international office asks for
Transcripts, a CV, and a study plan that matches one priority field
University of Oxford, with the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust · University of Oxford, United Kingdom
United KingdomLaw · Medicine · Engineering
Course fees and a grant for living costs
The deadline is the December or January deadline of your course, not Oxford’s March round. Decisions are expected by the end of May 2027. If you have heard nothing by then, the application was not successful. Oxford does not write to everyone.
Who can apply
For a graduate or early-career professional who lives in an eligible country, cannot fund Oxford alone, and will use the degree on a public problem at home. Sierra Leone is on the published residence list.
Documents needed
The Oxford graduate application, with this scholarship selected in th…
The Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships Statement 2027/28, uploaded with…
The transcripts, references and written work the course itself requires
Delft University of Technology · Delft, the Netherlands
Several countriesEngineering
Tuition, and a contribution to living costs
1 December 2026, 23:59 CET. Successful applicants hear by the end of March 2027. The award is still conditional on meeting the admission rules.
Who can apply
For an international applicant with excellent results in a degree that matches the MSc, who submits a complete TU Delft application by the scholarship deadline. TU Delft uses the top 10 per cent of a graduating class as a guide.
Documents needed
A complete MSc application, including the documents that programme as…
The scholarship application form, uploaded with the MSc file
Gates Cambridge Trust · University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
United KingdomLaw · Medicine · Engineering
A full-cost scholarship
International deadline: 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, depending on the course, by 11:59pm UK time. Check the course directory. The earlier US-resident round closes on 14 October 2026 and does not apply to Sierra Leone.
Who can apply
Outstanding applicants from outside the United Kingdom. A Sierra Leone citizen applies in the international round, not the US round.
Documents needed
A complete Cambridge postgraduate application, with Gates Cambridge s…
The academic transcripts, research proposal where the course asks for…
The course directory’s funding deadline for that exact course
University of Cambridge, with the Mastercard Foundation · United Kingdom
United KingdomLaw · Medicine · Engineering
Full tuition and a monthly maintenance allowance
Same as the Cambridge course funding deadline: 8 December 2026 or 6 January 2027, by 11:59pm UK time. Applications for 2027/28 are open.
Who can apply
Citizens of an African country who live in Africa, unless the absence is temporary for study or work, or you are a refugee or internally displaced. You must meet the academic bar of the Cambridge master’s you want.
Documents needed
The Cambridge postgraduate application, with the Mastercard Foundatio…
A scholarship statement on your education and work, your leadership,…
Transcripts and the other documents the course lists
There is no single closing date. Each course sets its own, and many 2027/28 dates fall between August and early 2027. Read the list before you assume a course is still open.
Who can apply
Graduates from developing countries, Sierra Leone included, with a first degree and at least two years of relevant work after that degree. The courses are a fixed list: public health, engineering, water, energy, agriculture, and related fields.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology · Saudi Arabia
Asia & Middle EastMedicine · Engineering
Full funding for admitted students
The Fall 2027 round opened on 28 September 2026. The admissions timeline says it closes on 3 January 2027, and KAUST marks that date as tentative. Decisions on that round are listed for 14 February 2027, with a start on 29 August 2027. The spring 2027 PhD round closed on 27 September 2026.
Who can apply
A graduate research university on the Red Sea that funds its admitted science and engineering students. There is no separate scholarship form: apply for admission, and admitted students are considered for the fellowship.
Documents needed
The online KAUST admission application
Transcripts and degree certificate(s)
A statement of purpose and references
An official TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or Cambridge C1 Advanced score
University of Oxford · University of Oxford, United Kingdom
United KingdomLaw · Medicine · Engineering
Full fees and a living grant
No separate application. Meet your course’s own deadline — most Law, Medicine and Engineering courses close in December 2026 or January 2027 for October 2027 entry.
Who can apply
Open to graduate applicants of any nationality, for almost any full master’s or DPhil at Oxford. There is no separate form and no subject quota: you are considered automatically when you apply for the course.
Documents needed
The Oxford graduate application for your chosen course
References in the number your course sets, usually two or three, acad…
A personal statement or statement of purpose, and for research course…
A writing sample, GRE/GMAT, or English-language test only where your…
Deadlines move and rounds close. Where a 2027 date was not yet published, the note says so and gives the official page to watch. Rhodes for West Africa and Chevening’s 2027/28 round have already closed for this cycle; they are kept here so you do not spend a week on a form that is shut.
