The short answer
Which fully funded scholarships can Pakistani students apply for?
Fully funded scholarships for Pakistani students fall into two groups. Some are run directly by a foreign government or its agency: Chevening, Fulbright, Türkiye Bursları, MEXT, DAAD and Erasmus Mundus. Others come through HEC, which nominates Pakistani candidates for the Commonwealth, Chinese Government and Stipendium Hungaricum schemes, and runs an overseas scholarship of its own.
That difference matters more than people expect. An HEC-nominated scheme usually means two applications, one on HEC’s portal and one on the scheme’s own system, each with its own deadline — and HEC’s can fall earlier in the day. Miss either one and the other is wasted.
The table below gives the position as of October 2026. Where a date has not been published, it says so rather than guessing. Scholarship dates move, and an old date copied from a blog is how people miss a window.
Scholarships for Pakistani students: the 2027 windows
Each of these covers tuition, where there is any, and living costs for the length of the course. Who can apply, and when, varies far more than the coverage does.
| Scholarship | Who it’s for | Level | 2026–27 application window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevening (UK) | Graduates with two years’ work experience and a plan to lead change at home | One-year master’s | 2027–28 round closed on 6 October 2026; the next is expected to open in August 2027 |
| Fulbright (US, through USEFP) | Residents of Pakistan with 16 years of education (master’s) or 18 (PhD), plus the GRE | Master’s, PhD | 2027 round closed on 1 April 2026; watch USEFP for the 2028 call early in 2027 |
| Commonwealth (UK, through HEC) | Pakistani or AJK nationals with a first-division degree and a HAT score | Master’s, PhD | Open now: closes on 20 October 2026, at 4pm Pakistan time on HEC’s portal |
| DAAD (Germany) | Graduates; development-related (EPOS) courses usually want two years’ relevant work | Master’s, PhD, research | Set by each course; check the DAAD scholarship database |
| Erasmus Mundus (Europe) | Any nationality, applying to a joint master’s consortium | Master’s | Most programmes take applications between October and January |
| Türkiye Bursları | Any nationality, within age limits | Bachelor’s, master’s, PhD | 10 January to 20 February each year |
| Chinese Government Scholarship | Type A through HEC; Type B directly with a Chinese university | Bachelor’s, master’s, PhD | HEC’s 2026–27 call closed on 5 January 2026; the 2027–28 call is not out yet |
| MEXT (Japan) | Embassy recommendation, or nomination by a Japanese university | Master’s and PhD research students | Check the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan’s official page |
| Stipendium Hungaricum | Pakistani or AJK nationals, applying on both HEC’s and the scheme’s portals | Bachelor’s, master’s, PhD | 2026–27 closed on 15 January 2026; the 2027–28 call is not out yet |
| HEC Overseas Scholarship (Phase III) | MS and PhD in priority fields at universities ranked in the top 200 | MS/MPhil, PhD | Batch IV closed on 28 August 2026; no new batch announced |
What does “fully funded” actually cover?
Usually tuition, a monthly stipend, return flights and health cover. Chevening, for example, pays tuition, an economy return flight, arrival and departure allowances and a monthly living allowance, and its scholars do not pay the UK visa fee or Immigration Health Surcharge. Türkiye Bursları adds accommodation and a Turkish language course.
What “fully funded” rarely covers is just as important, because these are the costs that catch families out:
- Your spouse and children — stipends are set for one person
- Costs before the award: IELTS, TOEFL or GRE, HAT registration, HEC attestation and application fees
- Your first weeks abroad, before the first stipend arrives
- Fees above a cap — Chevening caps MBA fees, for instance
- Anything after the course ends; the stipend stops with the programme
Eligibility traps: work experience, return requirements and bonds
Most applications fail at the eligibility stage, before anyone reads an essay. Check these against each official page before you pay for a single test. Chevening’s eligibility guide is a good example of how specific the rules are.
- Work experience: Chevening wants at least two years, totalling 2,800 hours, after your undergraduate degree; DAAD’s EPOS courses generally want two years; Fulbright asks MBA and public policy applicants for two
- Going home: Chevening scholars must return for at least two years after the award, and Commonwealth scholars cannot switch to the UK Graduate visa
- Bonds: Fulbright winners sign a contract with USEFP, and PhD winners a bond with HEC to return and serve for as long as the scholarship lasted; HEC’s overseas scheme has a surety bond
- The J-1 rule: Fulbright students travel on a J-1 visa, which brings a two-year home-residence requirement before a US work visa or green card
- Age: Türkiye Bursları takes master’s applicants under 30 and PhD applicants under 35
- Tests: HEC’s Commonwealth nominations need at least 60 out of 100 in HAT-I to HAT-IV; Fulbright requires the GRE
- Status: dual nationals cannot apply for the Commonwealth through HEC, and Fulbright excludes anyone already on a student, work or residence visa in any country
What makes a Pakistani scholarship application competitive?
The schemes differ, but the selectors ask the same question: will this person use the degree to do something specific when they come home? A strong application answers it with evidence, not adjectives.
- A precise plan: the role, the sector and the problem you want to work on in Pakistan
- Leadership you can show — a team you led, a project you started, a result you can measure
- Courses that fit the plan; Chevening asks you to apply to three UK courses
- Referees who know your work and write in their own words, as the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission requires
- Tests booked early — see which English test each country accepts
- Transcripts, HEC degree attestation, passport and CNIC ready before the window opens
How the HEC-nominated scholarships work
For the Commonwealth, Chinese Government (Type A) and Stipendium Hungaricum schemes, HEC is the nominating agency. You apply on HEC’s portal and on the scheme’s own system. HEC shortlists against its own criteria — for the Commonwealth, mainly the HAT score — and the foreign side makes the final choice. HEC says plainly that a nomination does not guarantee selection.
The Commonwealth round for 2027–28 is the one open now. HEC’s Commonwealth Scholarship announcement sets its deadline at 4pm Pakistan time on 20 October 2026; the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission’s own system closes at 16:00 UK time the same day. HEC treats the HAT on 25 October 2026 as the last test that counts for this round.
The Chinese Government Scholarship also has a Type B route, applied for directly with a Chinese university. HEC’s 2026–27 call made the China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA) compulsory for undergraduate applicants on both routes. Our China student visa guide covers what happens after an award.
Scholarship scams: nobody can sell you a scholarship
Every scholarship here is applied for by you, on its own website or HEC’s portal. The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission says it charges nothing to apply. No agent has a quota, a contact on a selection panel or a way to guarantee a nomination.
Some official portals do charge a processing fee — HEC does for its own overseas scheme — but you pay it on the official system, never to a person. Our guide to avoiding visa fraud in Pakistan covers the wider warning signs. Walk away from anyone offering any of these:
- A “guaranteed” or “pre-approved” scholarship in return for a fee
- An award letter that arrives before any test or interview
- A request to pay a personal account for “processing” or “placement”
- A deadline that only the agent seems to know about
- An offer to write your essays or log in to your portal for you
Planning for the 2028 round if you have missed 2027
If the 2027 rounds you wanted have closed, the 2028 ones are the realistic target, and the year between is useful. Two years of work for Chevening may come within reach, and a stronger HAT or GRE score can be earned. Work back from each window as you would for an intake; our 2027 intake calendar shows how.
Which scheme fits you depends on details only your documents show: degree length, CGPA or division, years of work, age and the level you want. Check each against the official page, and see Fulbright’s eligibility and cycle on USEFP’s site for how long a single round runs.
Frequently asked questions
This is general guidance
