Fully-Funded PhD Programs

Students are interested in pursuing a PhD program for a number of reasons. These reasons include accessing unique research opportunities, a chance to study at globally renowned universities, expanding your horizons, and having new experiences. Various countries and universities offer students the chance to pursue doctorate degrees at no or very little cost. Some programs even provide a stipend, living costs, maintenance costs, visa costs, health insurance, and research and travel costs. Countries like Germany, France, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Saudi Arabia, the Czech Republic, Denmark mostly offer fully-funded PhD programs to their students. Apart from these countries, the USA, the UK, and Australia also offer fully-funded programs for selected courses. This blog explores the fully-funded PhD programs provided by top universities!

Top Universities Offering Fully Funded PhD Programs

University	QS World Ranking 2022	Location
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	1	Cambridge, United States
University of Oxford	2	Oxford, UK
Stanford University	3	Stanford, USA
University of Cambridge	3	Cambridge, USA
Harvard University	5	Cambridge, USA
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	6	Pasadena, USA
Imperial College London	7	London, UK
UCL	8	London, UK
University of Chicago	10	Chicago, USA

PhD in Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT Sloan School of Management offers a fully-funded PhD scholarship to students with excellent academic performance wanting to pursue management courses. The benefits cover the full tuition fee along with a monthly stipend of $4,035.50 (~INR 3 Lakhs). The funding package is valid for a period of five years. It covers your medical insurance ($3,269 or INR 2.42 Lakhs per year). In addition, a new laptop computer is provided at the beginning of the first and fourth years (estimated value of $2,000 or INR 1.48 Lakhs each). Additionally, a conference travel budget of $4,500 (INR 3.34 Lakhs) is allocated over the 5 years you spend in the program.

Also Read: Top 10 Reasons to Study at MIT

Graduate Scholarships Offered by the University of Oxford

The University of Oxford offers several scholarships that allow students to pursue fully-funded PhD programs at the university. A few such scholarships that are eligible for Indian students are Commonwealth Shared Scholarships, Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Scholarships, Felix Scholarships, etc. All these scholarships cover the entire tuition and also grant living costs. These scholarships are usually offered on the basis of academic performance.

Also Read: Reasons to Study at the University of Oxford

PhD in Education at Stanford University

The Stanford Graduate School of Education offers all admitted PhD students a five-year funding program. It provides tuition aid, fellowship stipend, and assistantship salary. It also covers the standard cost of attendance (campus housing rent, health insurance, food, books, and supplies). You can choose from a range of academic areas like curriculum studies and teacher education, developmental and psychological sciences, and cross-disciplinary specializations. This scholarship is contingent upon satisfactory academic progress by the students.

PhD Scholarships by the University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge offers a number of scholarships to students wanting to pursue PhD courses. These scholarships are offered on the basis of academic excellence and/or financial need. Most of these scholarships cover the entire tuition for the course, and some also cover living costs, maintenance, visa costs, etc. The scholarships offered include Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Wellcome Sanger Institute 4-Year PhD Studentships, EMBL International PhD Studentships, Ivan D Jankovic PhD Studentship, Peterhouse Postgraduate Studentship Competition and Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust 3 year research scholarship, to name a few. Check the application deadlines on the official website of the University. For some scholarships, students are automatically considered at the time of applying.

Also Read: How to Get an Education Loan for Studying Abroad?

Funding for PhD Students at Harvard University

For select PhD and masters courses, Harvard University provides funding to students in the form of research assistantships and teaching assistantships. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard provides support to PhD students, including tuition, health fees, and basic living expenses for the duration of the program. It also includes stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments.  The funds are granted to students on the basis of academic excellence and/or financial support.

Also Read: How to Get Into Harvard University?

Funding by California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

All doctorate students wanting to study at Caltech receive full financial support in the form of internal or external fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, or some combination of fellowship and assistantship support. The funds are awarded on an annual basis and are contingent upon satisfactory academic progress. There is no separate application required; you are automatically considered when applying.

Scholarships by Imperial College London

The Imperial College London offers scholarships at the doctoral level to both home and overseas students. The scholarships provide tuition fees and a grant for living costs. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic performance and to students who require financial support.

Graduate Research Scholarship at UCL

The University College London offers graduate research scholarships in various disciplines. The scholarship is awarded based on academic excellence and research potential. It covers the tuition fees, provides a maintenance stipend of £17,609 (INR 17.77 Lakhs) and a research cost of  £1,200 (INR 1.21 Lakhs) per year for the duration of the program. You need to submit the application before the deadline to avail the scholarship. Check the university’s official website for additional details.

Also Read: University College London Notable Alumni

University of Chicago

University of Chicago aids graduate students by offering funding opportunities for PhD programs. Students pursuing doctoral degrees receive competitive funding packages, which cover tuition and student health insurance. In addition, as the cost of living is comparatively low in Chicago, the students are also provided with a stipend to cover living costs and research support. The funding is provided for the entire duration of the course. Also, several opportunities are available, like prestigious fellowships, which support language study, travel, or dissertation research. On- and off-campus positions such as internships that allow students to explore other career paths are also available.

Want to find out your living expenses for studying abroad? Our Cost of Living Calculator makes it simple.

Other Fully Funded PhD Programs in the USA

• PhD in Business at Rice University
• PhD in Business at the University of Iowa
• PhD in Chemical Engineering at Cornell University
• PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University
• PhD in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University
• PhD in Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University
• PhD in Computer Science at Brown University
• PhD in Computer Science at Georgetown University
• PhD in Computer Science at Washington University, St. Louis
• PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
• PhD in Economics at Emory University
• PhD in Education at New York University
• PhD in Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• PhD in English at Boston University
• PhD in English at the University of California, Los Angeles
• PhD in English at the University of Notre Dame
• PhD in Management at Binghamton University, SUNY
• PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Duke University
• PhD in Nursing at Duke University
• PhD in Nursing at Johns Hopkins University
• PhD in Nursing at the University of Virginia
• PhD in Nursing at Yale University
• PhD in Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• PhD in Social Work at Bryn Mawr College
• PhD in Special Education at Vanderbilt University

Other Fully Funded PhD Programs in UK

• Commonwealth Scholarships for Developing Countries (For masters and PhD programs)
• PhD Programs in various disciplines at the University of Edinburgh
• Postgraduate research funding at The University of Manchester
• International PhD Scholarships at King’s College London
• PhD in Business at London Business School
• Fully-funded PhD programs for international students at the University of Warwick
• PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool
• PhD in Physics at the University of St Andrews

Other Fully Funded PhD Programs in Australia

• Australia Awards Scholarships
• Australian Government Research Training Program
• Australian National University Fully Funded Phd Scholarships 
• University of Melbourne Research Scholarships
• Sydney University Research Scholarships
• International Research Scholarships at University of New South Wales 
• Fully funded PhD Scholarships in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University
• University of Adelaide International Scholarships 
• Flinders International Postgraduate Scholarships

A fully-funded PhD program provides an excellent opportunity for scholars to pursue research abroad without incurring any cost. Students also stand to benefit from the stipend provided during these courses.