Scholarship deadline calendar: November 2026 to March 2027

Most scholarship applications are not lost on merit. They are lost on the calendar. A reference letter arrives a week late, an embassy round closes before anyone noticed it had opened, or a “January” deadline turns out to mean the sixth.

This scholarship deadline calendar puts the dates in one place. Every date below was checked against the official programme page on October 30, 2026. Where a programme has not yet published its next date, we say so rather than guess, and list it separately under the windows to expect.

Bookmark this page: we update it as new dates are confirmed.

How to use this calendar

• Work back from the date. Most applications need a motivation letter, references and an English test score. Start at least six weeks before the deadline.
• Check the time zone. Several deadlines close at a set hour in the programme’s own time zone, not yours.
• Confirm on the official page. Programmes can change dates. Each name below links to our listing, which links to the official page.

November 2026

• November 8: Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship. A fully funded four-week US business placement for entrepreneurs aged 25 to 35 from Latin America and the Caribbean. Closes at 11:59 pm EST.
• November 30: ETH Zurich Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme. Fully funded master’s at ETH Zurich. The application window runs from November 1 to 30 (11:59 CET).
• November 30: DAAD RISE Germany. A paid three-month summer research placement in Germany for undergraduates studying in North America, the UK or Ireland. Reference letters are due by December 15.

Opening this month: applications for the Amgen Scholars Program open on November 1, and the Heidelberg Laureate Forum opens on November 11.

December 2026

• December 1: Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme. Fully funded PhD study at eight Hong Kong universities, open to every nationality. The fellowship application closes at 12:00 noon Hong Kong time, and university applications close the same day at 11:59 pm.
• December 8: Gates Cambridge Scholarship, for courses with this funding deadline. Fully funded postgraduate study at Cambridge. Check your course’s funding deadline in the University Course Directory: for some courses it is January 6.
• December 15: EPFL Excellence Fellowships. CHF 10,000 per semester and guaranteed housing for master’s students at EPFL. Apply through IS-Academia in the first admission window.

January 2027

• January 6: Gates Cambridge Scholarship, for courses with this later funding deadline.
• January 6: Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Programme. Monthly allowances for master’s and PhD study in France. You do not apply yourself: your French university must submit your file to Campus France by this date, so its internal deadline will be earlier.

Opening this month: the spring window for the Heinrich Böll Foundation Scholarships opens on January 15.

February 2027

• February 1: Amgen Scholars Program. Summer lab research for undergraduates. The US, Europe and Asia programmes list this deadline.
• February 11: Heidelberg Laureate Forum. A week in Heidelberg with top prize winners in mathematics and computer science, with hotel and meals covered. Closes at 11:59 pm Berlin time.
• February 14: Harvard World Model United Nations 2027. The conference takes place in Riga, Latvia, with tentative dates of March 14 to 18.

Opening this month: the 2028 to 2029 Rotary Peace Fellowship application opens in February, and applications for the October 2027 European Commission Blue Book Traineeship open on February 15.

March 2027

• March 1: Heinrich Böll Foundation Scholarships. Monthly support for master’s and PhD study in Germany for students from developing countries. A second window runs from July 15 to September 1, 2027.
• March 12: European Commission Blue Book Traineeship. A paid five-month traineeship at the European Commission, mainly for EU nationals. Closes at 10:00 Brussels time.

Windows to expect later in 2027

These programmes have not yet published their next exact dates. The timing below is what their official pages say about past or usual rounds, so treat it as a guide and check the official page.

• Türkiye Scholarships: the official calendar gives the general application period as January 10 to February 20.
• Global Korea Scholarship: the graduate track is usually announced in February, the undergraduate track in September.
• ESA Young Graduate Trainee Programme: vacancies are usually published in February and March.
• World Bank Group Internship Program: spring and summer applications open in January and February; winter and fall applications in July and August.
• Schwarzman Scholars: for the class of 2028 to 2029, applications run from April to September 2027 for US and global applicants.
• European Parliament Schuman Traineeship: apply by May 31 for the October intake and by October 31 for the March intake.
• Mitacs Globalink Research Internship: student applications usually open around June.
• Knight-Hennessy Scholars: the application for the 2028 cohort opens in summer 2027.
• Chevening Scholarships: the last round opened in August and closed in October.
• Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting: applications normally open in September and October.
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters: each programme sets its own deadline, and most take applications between October and January.

Open all year

Some programmes take applications on a rolling basis, so there is no single date to miss:

• KAUST Visiting Student Research Program
• UNICEF Internship Programme, WHO Internship Programme and WIPO Internship Program, where each vacancy has its own deadline
• IAESTE Exchange Internships, through your national committee
• University of Melbourne Graduate Research Scholarships, considered automatically with your course application

Frequently asked questions

When do most scholarship deadlines fall?

In our listings, many fall between November and March for study starting the following autumn. Others, such as Chevening and Knight-Hennessy, open in the summer and close in the autumn, a year or more before the course starts.

What if I miss a deadline?

Most programmes run every year, so note the usual window and prepare for the next round. Meanwhile, look for a programme with a later date in this calendar or in our Scholarships listings.

Are these dates final?

They are the dates published on the official pages when we checked them on October 30, 2026. Programmes occasionally extend or move deadlines, so always confirm on the official page before you apply.

Get ready before the dates arrive

Most of these applications ask for a motivation letter and an English test score. Read how to write a scholarship motivation letter and our guide to IELTS, TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test, and see our Top 10 fully funded scholarships for international students.