Miss a deadline, and the best scholarship in the world is worth nothing to you for a year. That is the entire reason this page exists. Below is the scholarship deadline calendar for 2026-2027, month by month, covering every major fully funded scholarship we track, with its usual application window and a link to our full guide, where the exact current date always lives. Deadlines shift by a few days or weeks each cycle, so treat the months here as your planning map and the linked guides as the final word.
Two habits make this page work for you. First, plan one year: a September 2027 start is decided by applications you submit between August 2026 and March 2027. Second, let us watch the dates for you: join our WhatsApp channel or subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of this page, and we will tell you when a window opens instead of you refreshing portals.
| Month | Typically closing |
|---|---|
| January | Stipendium Hungaricum, Erasmus Mundus, US universities |
| February | Türkiye Bursları, GKS (graduate) |
| March | CSC China, GKS embassy rounds |
| April | Australia Awards, CSC university track |
| May | MEXT opens, Fulbright (many countries) |
| June | MEXT embassy deadlines |
| July | German universities (winter intake) |
| August | Chevening opens, Rhodes (first countries) |
| September | Commonwealth opens, Swiss Excellence |
| October | Commonwealth, Knight-Hennessy, Gates Cambridge (US) |
| November | Chevening, DAAD, Stipendium Hungaricum opens |
| December | NLNG, Gates Cambridge, Swiss Excellence |
January {#january}
The heaviest month of the year for Europe.
- Stipendium Hungaricum: Usually closes mid-January for the September intake. The HEC nomination for Pakistani applicants runs on its own earlier timeline.
- Erasmus Mundus: Most programmes close between October and January, and January is the busiest cluster. Each of the hundred-plus programmes sets its own date.
- US universities: Regular-decision admission deadlines at Yale, Stanford, and most need-blind schools fall in the first days of January, and the aid application travels with admission.
February {#february}
- Türkiye Bursları: Typically closes around 20 February. One application covers undergraduate through PhD.
- Global Korea Scholarship: The graduate embassy track usually opens in February, with closing dates set by each Korean embassy in late February or March.
March {#march}
- Chinese Government Scholarship: Most embassy-track deadlines land between January and March, country by country. University-track deadlines run a little later.
- GKS graduate rounds: Embassy deadlines conclude through March.
April {#april}
- Australia Awards: Applications typically close at the end of April for the following year’s intake.
- CSC university track: The last Chinese university deadlines fall through April.
May {#may}
- MEXT Scholarship: The embassy-recommendation round usually opens between April and May. Watch the Japanese embassy in your country.
- Fulbright: Country deadlines are scattered from February to October, and May is a common one. Pakistan’s USEFP round has typically closed in May. Your own country’s Fulbright commission page is the only date that matters.
June {#june}
- MEXT: Embassy deadlines commonly fall in late May or June, followed by the written screening tests.
- A quiet month otherwise, which makes it the right time to request transcripts, sit language tests, and draft your statement of purpose before the autumn rush.
July {#july}
- German public universities: 15 July is the standard application deadline for the tuition-free winter intake, covered in our study in Germany for free guide. Competitive master’s programs often close earlier.
August {#august}
- Chevening: Applications typically open in early August. Do not wait for autumn: the essays reward early drafts.
- Rhodes Scholarship: The earliest national deadlines begin in this window, running country by country into October.
- DAAD EPOS and study scholarships: Many programme deadlines run from August through November, each set individually.
September {#september}
- Commonwealth Scholarship: The application round for the following year usually opens in September. Nigerian and Pakistani nominations run through national channels with their own dates.
- Swiss Government Excellence: Deadlines are set by the Swiss embassy in each country, mostly between September and December.
- GKS undergraduate track: Typically opens in September, closing September–October by embassy.
October {#october}
The most expensive month to be unprepared.
- Commonwealth: The central application typically closes mid-October.
- Knight-Hennessy Scholars: Usually closes in early October, ahead of Stanford’s own program deadlines.
- Gates Cambridge: The US round closes in October; the international round follows with the course deadlines in December and January.
- Rhodes: Most national deadlines conclude by early October.
November {#november}
- Chevening: Typically closes in the first week of November. The interview stage follows months later, covered in our scholarship interview guide.
- Stipendium Hungaricum: The new cycle usually opens in November for the January deadline.
- DAAD: Several development-related master’s deadlines cluster in this window.
- PTDF: Nigeria’s scheme has historically advertised around this window, though the 2026/27 in-country round ran April to June instead, so watch the portal rather than the calendar.
December {#december}
- NLNG Postgraduate Scholarship: The most recent cycle closed in early December for the following September.
- Gates Cambridge international round: Application deadlines track the Cambridge course deadlines in early December and early January.
- Swiss Excellence: The last embassy deadlines close out the year.
Deadlines That Do Not Fit the Calendar
Some of the biggest awards refuse to sit in one month. Fulbright runs on a different date in every country. Erasmus Mundus is really a hundred separate deadlines. Mastercard Foundation deadlines belong to each partner university. For these, the rule is always the same: the official page of your specific programme or country round is the date, and our linked guides keep those current.
Never Miss a Deadline Again
This page is re-verified monthly, and the date stamp below the author box tells you when it was last checked. For the dates between checks, our WhatsApp channel posts openings and closings as they are announced, and the weekly newsletter rounds up every window that opened. One tap now saves you the annual tragedy of finding the perfect scholarship two weeks after it closed.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do most scholarship deadlines fall?
Two clusters dominate: October–January, when Chevening, Commonwealth, Gates Cambridge, Stipendium Hungaricum, Erasmus Mundus, and the US universities all close, and February–May, when Türkiye, GKS, CSC, Australia Awards, and MEXT run. If you are starting from zero, aim your preparation at the autumn cluster.
How far in advance should I start preparing?
Six months before the deadline for a competitive application: language tests booked, transcripts requested, referees warned, and essays drafted with time to rewrite. Documents from your university alone can take weeks.
Do deadlines change from year to year?
By days or weeks, usually, and occasionally a scheme moves its whole window, as PTDF did in 2026. That is why this page gives you the month and the linked guides give you the date, and why the verification stamp matters more here than on any other page.
What if the deadline in my country is different?
For country-quota scholarships it often is: Fulbright, MEXT, GKS, CSC, and Swiss Excellence all run through embassies or national agencies with their own dates, and national nomination deadlines usually fall before the international ones. The country-specific date always wins.
Can I apply to several scholarships in the same season?
You should. The autumn cluster lets one set of documents serve Chevening, Commonwealth, and Gates Cambridge in a single push, and nothing stops you applying to all of them. Our fully funded scholarships list is the place to build that shortlist.
