Royal Holloway GREAT Scholarship for Nigerian Students — January 2027

Royal Holloway is offering one GREAT Scholarship for a Nigerian student joining a full-time taught Master’s programme in January 2027. The award is provided in partnership with the British Council and the GREAT Britain Campaign. A separate scholarship is available for a student from India.

For you, the first practical check is whether you hold the required course offer and meet both the Nigerian passport and residence conditions. The scholarship application comes after the course application; applying for admission alone does not constitute a scholarship application.

The £10,000 award reduces tuition fees. It is not a fully funded scholarship, so you need a separate plan for any remaining fees and other study expenses. Before preparing your statement, also confirm the application timetable: the published November dates do not explicitly include a year.

Opportunity Summary

About the Opportunity

The Nigerian award covers any taught Master’s subject at Royal Holloway with a January 2027 start, provided you meet the course and scholarship requirements. There is only one scholarship allocated to a student from Nigeria.

The published timetable says to apply for your chosen Master’s by Monday 9 November, then submit the scholarship application by 11.59pm UK time on Sunday 15 November after receiving an offer. Neither deadline explicitly states a year. Do not treat these as verified dated deadlines or assume applications remain open without checking with the university.

The same timetable gives 20 November for notification of the outcome and 24 November for accepting an award, again without explicit years. Confirm all four dates together so that you understand both the application window and the response period. The separate September 2027 award described for a student from Turkiye is not this Nigerian opportunity.

Funding and Benefits

• A £10,000 tuition fee reduction for one Nigerian student beginning an eligible full-time taught Master’s in January 2027.
• The award is not fully funded. Living costs, travel and other expenses are not stated as covered.
• You may not hold another Royal Holloway scholarship alongside the GREAT Scholarship.

Who Can Apply?

• You must hold a Nigerian passport and be resident in Nigeria to apply for the Nigerian allocation.
• You must hold an offer for a full-time Master’s at Royal Holloway starting in January 2027.
• You must have applied for your chosen Master’s by the published 9 November course deadline; its year needs confirmation.
• You must have completed an undergraduate degree and demonstrate motivation and interest in your proposed subject.
• You must meet Royal Holloway’s English language requirement. The supplied information does not specify accepted tests, scores or exemptions.
• You must be willing to engage with the UK through personal and academic fulfilment and undertake the GREAT Scholar activities.

What Nigerian Applicants Should Know

• Citizenship and residence are separate conditions: the Nigerian allocation requires both a Nigerian passport and residence in Nigeria. Nigerian nationality alone does not establish eligibility if you live elsewhere.
• Visa sponsorship, immigration permission and permission to work are not specified in the supplied scholarship information. Do not treat the fee reduction as confirmation of any of these; verify the applicable arrangements separately.
• The information does not establish professional recognition of any particular degree in Nigeria. If recognition matters for your intended career, check the exact course with the relevant professional body before committing.
• No remote-study eligibility is stated. The opportunity concerns study at Royal Holloway in the United Kingdom; do not assume you can take it remotely from Nigeria.

Required Documents

• A supporting scholarship statement of no more than 400 words explaining your academic achievements, degree choice, future aspirations and how the scholarship would help you achieve your goals.

How to Apply

1. 1. Verify the timetable before proceeding. Ask Royal Holloway to confirm the years attached to the November deadlines and whether the relevant application window remains available.
2. 2. Check your course position. If you already hold an offer, confirm that it is for an eligible full-time January 2027 Master’s. If you have not applied, establish whether you can still meet the course-application requirement rather than assuming late applications qualify.
3. 3. Read the scholarship guidelines and full terms. Check the English language requirements separately and establish what evidence your course application requires; the supplied scholarship information does not provide a complete course-document checklist.
4. 4. Prepare and submit your scholarship application, including the supporting statement, through Royal Holloway’s applicant portal after receiving your course offer. Follow the portal’s current instructions; no additional scholarship uploads are specified in the supplied information.
5. 5. Monitor the outcome and acceptance timetable. Confirm the years for the published 20 November notification and 24 November acceptance dates, and respond according to the instructions you receive.

Visit the official application page

Application Tips

Your supporting statement must explain why you should receive the scholarship in no more than 400 words. Statements exceeding that limit are automatically rejected. The university assesses how effectively and convincingly you address academic achievements, your degree choice and your future aspirations.

Optional preparation advice: organise your draft around those three topics. Choose a specific achievement, explain why it matters to you, connect your chosen degree to a clear learning need, and show how the scholarship would support your goals. Avoid spending most of the statement on broad praise of the university.

Hypothetical example: if your undergraduate project examined a business problem, explain what you contributed, what you learnt and how the proposed Master’s would help you investigate that problem further. Use only achievements and ambitions that are genuinely yours; the example is not a required subject or format.

Prepare a separate budget for the remaining tuition balance, accommodation, living expenses and travel. These are planning categories, not confirmed scholarship benefits. Check the full terms before making financial commitments, including whether any other support you hold is compatible with this award.

Final submission check: confirm your offer is for full-time January 2027 entry, verify the deadline year and UK-time cut-off, check that your statement addresses all three prompts, and count the words after your final edit. Keep your own copy of the submitted text as an optional precaution.

Information checked 11 November 2026.