Scholarships for Refugees and Asylum Seekers: Verified Programmes, Eligibility, and How to Apply (2026–2027)

Quick answer

There is no single scholarship for refugees. What you can apply for depends on your legal status, the country where you live now and the degree level you want. For a bachelor’s degree in your country of asylum, use UNHCR’s DAFI programme, which runs a separate call in each country and does not fund master’s study (UNHCR Central Asia). For a master’s degree, the main routes are Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships (UK), DAAD (Germany, or within Sub-Saharan Africa) and UNICORE (Italy). If you are already in the UK and seeking asylum, university Sanctuary Scholarships and the Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship accept asylum seekers.

Open now: the DAAD In-Country/In-Region master’s call closes on 12 November 2026 and encourages recognised refugees to apply (UNHCR Rwanda). The 2027/28 Commonwealth round closed on 20 October 2026 (listing quoting the CSC call). WUSC’s Student Refugee Program is a Canadian sponsorship programme, not a scholarship (WUSC).

Which route fits your situation?

Programmes compared

Sources are in the sections below. Windows shown are the most recent we found, not predictions for the next call.

UNHCR DAFI: undergraduate study in your country of asylum

DAFI gives young refugees access to undergraduate or vocational study in their first country of asylum, for a maximum of four years. UNHCR states that it does not support master’s degrees (UNHCR Central Asia). There is no single application: each country office publishes its own call, deadline and rules.

Eligibility differs by country. The Rwanda 2026/27 call accepted recognised refugees and asylum seekers living in Rwanda, and excluded anyone confirmed to depart for resettlement in a third country (UNHCR Rwanda). Slovakia’s call covered refugees, asylum seekers and people with temporary protection who had been admitted to an undergraduate programme (UNHCR Slovakia). The package varies by country and typically covers tuition, study materials, food, transport and accommodation.

The 2026 calls we found ran between July and August, so look for your country’s page on help.unhcr.org each summer.

Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships

To qualify you must be a citizen of, or have been granted refugee status by, an eligible Commonwealth country, be permanently resident in one, and hold at least an upper second-class degree by September 2027 (CSC 2027/28 criteria as published by a Tanzanian university). You apply through the CSC online system and also through an approved nominating body, and nominators can set earlier deadlines. The 2027/28 round closed on 20 October 2026.

The scholarship covers approved tuition fees, approved airfare, a study travel grant and a living allowance of £1,712 a month, or £2,000 in the London area, at current rates (listing quoting the CSC call).

Refugees in Kenya and Uganda: apply to Windle first. CSC lists Windle Trust International as a nominator for master’s candidates from Kenya and Uganda, who must also apply to Windle separately (CSC). Windle says you must first apply to it directly, and it does not support speculative applications from students who already hold a university offer and want funding (Windle Trust). Its refugee and IDP application window in 2025 ran from 15 May to 7 June, with interviews from 26 June to 8 July (Windle Trust). Bangor’s joint Windle and CSC scholarships for 2026 entry told candidates to contact Windle at [email protected], not the university (Bangor University).

DAAD scholarships for refugees

In-Country/In-Region (open now). The 2027 call funds master’s study at selected African universities for graduates from Sub-Saharan African countries, in their home country, country of residence or another eligible country. Refugees with recognised status are especially encouraged to apply, and the deadline is 12 November 2026 (UNHCR Rwanda). Each programme has its own requirements, so read the call for the programme you choose.

Leadership for Africa (Germany). This funds master’s study in Germany for recognised refugees and national graduates from the countries named in each call. Refugees must hold refugee status in a listed country of asylum, granted before a cut-off date. The East Africa call named Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda, with a cut-off of 2 April 2023 (DAAD East Africa page; DAAD West and Central Africa page). Recent calls offered up to six months of German language training, tuition-free study and a monthly scholarship of €992 (call as listed by Opportunities for Africans). Deadlines fell in June (7 June 2024 on the DAAD page, 10 June 2025 in the listing above), and no call is open now, so check daad.de in spring.

UNICORE: master’s study in Italy

University Corridors for Refugees is promoted by UNHCR with Italian universities. The 2026 call ran from 2 March to 17 April 2026 and offered two-year master’s places. Applicants needed recognised refugee status, a university degree earned in or after 2021, and a GPA of at least 3.0 or equivalent (UNHCR Kenya). In 2026, 41 Italian universities offered 78 scholarships (University of Pisa).

Eligible countries in 2026 included Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (University of Catania). Some universities listed slightly different countries, so read the call of the university you target. Awards are set by each university: the University of Palermo offered €7,200 per year of study, subject to merit requirements (University of Palermo).

UK Sanctuary Scholarships and the Rowan Williams Studentship

More than 70 UK universities offer scholarships for refugees and asylum seekers (UCAS). Most are for people already in the UK, so they will not help if you are applying from another country. Many require an offer from the university first, and each sets its own places, status rules and deadline. The 2026 windows are closed. York St John, for one, says its 2027 round will open at the end of the year (York St John), so check each university’s page from now.

Rowan Williams Cambridge Studentship. This full-cost award for undergraduate and postgraduate study is open to overseas applicants and people in the UK, including those seeking asylum or with refugee status (Cambridge Trust). It also names applicants from areas of instability or conflict, or at risk of persecution (University of Cambridge). You complete a separate form as well as applying for admission, and for 2026/27 the form was due by 30 January 2026. Cambridge also waives the postgraduate application fee for people with asylum seeker, refugee or humanitarian protection status (Cambridge).

WUSC Student Refugee Program: resettlement to Canada

WUSC states that the programme is not a scholarship. It is a one-year sponsorship under Canada’s Private Sponsorship Program, and sponsored students become permanent residents on arrival (WUSC Lebanon call). Volunteer campus committees arrange financial and social support for each student in the first year (WUSC).

Applications are made online through country calls, and applying is free. For the 2027–28 intake, Kenya’s window ran from 13 February to 13 March 2026 (WUSC Kenya) and Lebanon’s from 16 February to 14 March 2026 (WUSC Lebanon). Jordan’s call required three years of continuous residence there (WUSC Jordan). Applicants must be registered with UNHCR. Both 2026 calls opened in mid-February.

Documents the calls ask for

• DAFI (Rwanda): UNHCR proof of registration, and proof of admission to a programme (UNHCR Rwanda).
• Commonwealth: proof of citizenship or refugee status, such as a valid passport or national identity card (CSC criteria).
• WUSC (Kenya): original UNHCR Proof of Registration and a Government of Kenya Refugee Identification Card (WUSC Kenya).
• DAAD Leadership for Africa: a refugee ID card issued before the call’s cut-off date, UNHCR registration or official proof of asylum, and a form naming three tuition-free master’s programmes (listing of the DAAD call).
• UNICORE: evidence of a degree earned in or after 2021 and a GPA of at least 3.0 or equivalent (UNHCR Kenya).
• Rowan Williams Studentship: a separate Cambridge Trust form plus an application for admission (Cambridge Trust).

Common mistakes

• Applying to DAFI for a master’s. UNHCR says the programme does not support master’s degrees.
• Applying to DAFI when a resettlement departure is confirmed. The Rwanda call excludes these applicants.
• Applying to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission on its own from Kenya or Uganda. Windle says you must first apply to Windle.
• Treating WUSC as a scholarship. WUSC says it is a sponsorship programme.
• Applying to a Sanctuary Scholarship from outside the UK. Most are for people already in the UK.
• Ignoring the status cut-off in DAAD Leadership for Africa calls. Refugee status must have been granted before the stated date.

Frequently asked questions

How we researched this

Last checked: 23 October 2026. We read UNHCR country pages for DAFI, WUSC’s call pages, the CSC nominators page, Windle Trust’s pages, DAAD’s East Africa and West and Central Africa pages, the Cambridge Trust and University of Cambridge pages, UCAS, and the Sanctuary Scholarship pages of the universities named above. We could not open the CSC master’s page itself, so the 2027/28 criteria, the 20 October deadline and the £1,712 and £2,000 rates come from published copies and listings that quote the call. The DAAD €992 figure comes from a listing of the DAAD call.

This page is general information and not legal advice. LearnViaHub is not affiliated with any programme or agency named here. Calls, countries and dates change by year, so confirm them on each official page before applying.