Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust Masters Scholarships

The University of Sheffield has a strong commitment to international development. One of the themes of our strategy is ‘celebrating, promoting and increasing the volume of the work that we do to improve the lives of others through our international relationships, locally and abroad’.

Building on this commitment, the University, in collaboration with the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, is able to offer scholarships for international students from developing countries for a number of courses that are affiliated with the Sheffield Institute for International Development.

There are three scholarships available in 2027 to academically strong individuals from developing countries. Each scholarship offers the following:

• A full tuition fee waiver
• A £12,500 maintenance stipend 

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, you must;

• hold an offer to study one of the courses listed below at the University of Sheffield in the 2027-28 academic year by Friday 7th May 2027. Please note that course applications can take up to four weeks to process. 
  • International Development MSc
  • International Law and Global Justice LLM 
  • International Political Economy MA
  • Global Journalism MA
  • International Public and Political Communication MA;
• not already hold a qualification that is of an equivalent or higher level to the course you are applying for. This includes courses studied online;
• not have previously studied outside of your country of residence;
• you must be permanently domiciled in one of the countries or territories listed below. These are countries that are classified as low or lower middle income countries by the World Bank in 2026.

List of eligible countries: 

• Afghanistan
• Angola
• Bangladesh
• Benin
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cabo Verde
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Comoros
• Congo
• Côte d'Ivoire
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Eritrea
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Haiti
• Honduras
• India
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Kyrgyzstan
• Lao People's Democratic Republic
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Namibia
• Nepal
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Papua New Guinea
• Rwanda
• Samoa
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Syrian Arab Republic
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Timor-Leste
• Togo
• Tunisia
• Uganda
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Venezuela
• West Bank and Gaza
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

How to apply

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to apply on Friday 14 May 2027. If you have not been contacted on this date unfortunately you have not been selected. Due to the number of applicants we have we are not able to provide feedback on why individuals have been shortlisted or not. 

Applicants sent the application form must apply by 1pm (UK time) on Tuesday 1 June 2027. Applications will not be accepted after this time. 

All scholarship applicants will be contacted regarding the outcome of their application before the end of the day on Friday 2 July 2027.  

Selection process

This is a competitive process and not all applications will be successful. 

Shortlisted applicants will be chosen based on their course application. A panel of senior members of staff will select the strongest applications and will be looking to see that applicants have:

• a strong academic profile;
• provided a clear rationale for applying for a postgraduate course at the University of Sheffield;
• outlined examples of work experience in the field of International Development;
• clearly articulated future ambitions; these goals relate to the postgraduate degree you have applied for, and how your learning may benefit others;
• where applications are of equal standing priority will be given to under represented groups.

Terms and conditions

• All decisions made by the University are made in good faith. By applying for the scholarship you are confirming that you meet the eligibility criteria. If the information provided is incorrect or false the University reserves the right to remove the award.
• Your programme must be full time and commence, in person, at the University of Sheffield in Autumn 2027.
• Your offer must become unconditional before Monday 2 August 2027. If it doesn't the scholarship will be offered to a reserve candidate.
• For tuition fee purposes you must be self-funded and required to pay the overseas tuition fee.
• This scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with any other funding awards, either from the University of Sheffield or external organisations. You must not be a sponsored student*.
• The scholarship cannot be deferred.
• The University of Sheffield reserves the right to review and change scholarship provision.
• This scholarship is only eligible for the one-year Masters degree courses listed above.
• If you take a period of leave of absence your scholarship will be suspended.
• Any repeat periods will not be funded.
• The maintenance award will be paid in four equal instalments.
• The decision of the scholarship panel is final. No scholarship applications or decision appeals will be considered.
• No funds will be paid to the scholarship recipient until they have fully registered in person and have opened a UK bank account.
• If you withdraw from the University you will no longer be eligible to receive the scholarship. You may be required to repay part or all of your scholarship.
• The scholarship does not include any support for pre-sessional English courses or assessments.
• Receipt of the scholarship is subject to successfully meeting any condition(s) attached to your offer before the deadline provided by the Admissions Service.
• Receipt of the scholarship is subject to successfully receiving a visa to study at the University in September 2027.
• Successful applicants will be asked to accept their course offer and evidence their visa application by set dates. These dates will be confirmed as part of the award notification. 

* A sponsored student is defined as an individual who is in receipt of a total sum of funds that matches or exceeds the original tuition fee required by the University.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this award, please email internationalscholarships@sheffield.ac.uk