Scholarships   Funding your MBA or Masters studies can be a daunting task, but with diligent planning, preparation and persistence, finding the financial resources necessary for a programme of study can be easier than it might seem.

Studying a Masters or MBA, locally or abroad, requires a considerable amount of preparation, planning and forethought, not least because of the considerable costs often associated with a postgraduate course of study. Planning your funding is equally as important as preparing your application material. The full cost of your Masters or MBA education varies considerably depending on the country, the institution and the course of study you wish to undertake. Studying at one of the leading world names in education, a taught Masters programme will cost you anything from $35,000 to $55,000, plus living expenses. Even in countries where there are no or low tuition fees such as Germany and Sweden, opportunity costs such as time away from employment in your home country soon mount up.

Generally speaking, your funds for an MBA or Masters will come from at least one of four sources: personal funds, loans, part-time work or scholarships. While a substantial number of postgraduate students aims to self-fund their studied through personal finance or loans, the number of enquiries regarding scholarships by MBA and Masters hopefuls the world over is on the rise. And for a good reason; scholarships are the most prestigious and desirable financial aid a student can seek. They don’t need to be repaid, they are ‘earned’ and, in a best-case scenario, they cover the full cost of tuition fees of an institution. There are literally thousands of scholarships available for students each year and many go unclaimed. It is therefore worthwhile researching all options available to you. There are a number of different sources for scholarships and they are typically offered by governments, individual universities and business schools, foundations or private companies and corporations. Most scholarships are tied to a set of requirements; some are given to students in a particular field of study, others are awarded to minorities, many require the demonstration of special qualifications and some are simply based on financial need.

Once you have narrowed down your selection of which university or business school you would like to attend, start enquiring what scholarships the respective institution might offer. The Deutsche Bank Scholarship for Women, for example, awards £20,000 exclusively to outstanding female candidates on the London School of Business MBA programme. Similarly, MIP in Milan offers a €36,000 Scholarship for students from Third-World countries enrolled in their Master in Strategic Management programme. While business schools and universities should be your first port of call for potential scholarships, they should not be your only source. Many foundations and private businesses have developed scholarship schemes to support talented and promising postgraduate students. Below we are listing some of the most notable scholarship offered by public and private international foundations worldwide:

Fulbright Commission Scholarships
The Fulbright Commission offers scholarships to US students and nationals of other countries for a diverse range of postgraduate studies. The scholarships cover the payment of tuition fees and a contribution to the cost of living for an academic year. The Commission is the US flagship for promoting education and international exchange and operates in more than 100 countries through bilateral agreements. For more information visit: http://fulbright.state.gov.

Rotary International Scholarships
The Rotary Foundation awards scholarships for studies abroad with the mission to ‘further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas.’  Scholarship recipients are expected to serve as ambassadors to the host countries and help promote intercultural exchange. Applications take place via the applicant’s local Rotary club. More information on: www.rotary.org. 

Marshall Scholarship
The Marshall Scholarship is one of the most prestigious scholarships a US graduate student may receive and is awarded to outstanding students wishing to study at graduate level in the UK. The scholarship covers a period of study of two years. Each year up to 40 students are bestowed with this prestigious award. Applications can be made online on www.marshallscholarship.org.

Commonwealth Scholarship
The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) awards scholarships to students and scholars from Commonwealth countries. Like the Fulbright and Rotary Scholarships, it is a prestigious scholarship to receive and many notable personalities hold such awards. The amount awarded varies by country and case. For more information visit: www.csfp-online.org.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation makes a considerable sum available for outstanding graduate students from outside the UK wishing to study at the University of Cambridge. It is a full scholarship and includes tuition, maintenance as well as a spending allowance. More information on this scholarship on: www.gatesscholar.org.

Rhodes Scholarship
Similar to the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, the Rhodes Scholarship is linked to a specific institution, the University of Oxford in the UK, and it also covers tuition, maintenance as well as a spending allowance. The scholarships are awarded by the Rhodes Trust on the basis of academic achievement and strength of character. Information on eligibility and application procedures can be found on: www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/infoscholar.htm

World Bank Scholarship
The World Bank allocates funds in form of scholarships and fellowships for postgraduate students in development-related fields from a host of different countries. The scholarships, in form of the Robert S. McNamara Fellowship Programme (RSM Fellowships) and the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Programme (JJ/WBGSP) are designed as a vehicle for ‘knowledge sharing and capacity building in the developing world.’ More information on these scholarships on http://web.worldbank.org.


In addition to international foundations and corporations, national agencies, such as the British Council (www.britishcouncil.org) in the UK, the DAAD (www.daad.de) in Germany, EduFrance (www.edufrance.com) in France, Eduespana (www.eduespana.org) in Spain or Education New Zealand (www.educationnz.org) provide detailed information on what types of scholarships are available either to students from the respective country wanting to study abroad, or to foreign students wanting to study in any of these countries.
Last but not least, there are countless online resources and scholarship databases available that allow you to narrow down your search to certain criteria you meet. While your first port of call in your scholarship search should be the university or business school your wish to attend, it is recommended that you simply do a search engine search to get a better impression of what might be available to you. As mentioned above, large amounts of scholarship funds go unclaimed each year because some of the foundations or national agencies lack the budget to advertise the breadth of their offers. It is up to you to find these opportunities and make the most of them.

It is important that you start your research on what scholarships might be available to you well in advance, as requirements and tight deadlines have to be met in the application process. With careful planning and perseverance, the daunting task of funding your studies might just become a bit easier.

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