What fully funded and partial scholarships cover

By Farouk Yahaya · Updated 5 October 2026

A hand holding a phone with a calculator open above a folder of papers

“Fully funded” and “partial” are used loosely. Two scholarships that both describe themselves as full can cover quite different costs, and a partial award can still be worth a great deal, so the labels are a poor basis for ranking your options.

What each type usually covers

The table shows what is common, not what any particular award pays. Funders set their own terms, and the award letter or the funder’s terms and conditions are the only reliable source.

Cost	Generous full award	Basic full award	Typical partial award
Tuition fees	Paid in full	Paid in full	A fixed sum or a percentage, or not at all
Living stipend	Yes, set for the host country	Yes, sometimes low for the city	Sometimes, without a fee waiver
Return travel	Usually	Often not	Rarely
Health insurance	Often	Sometimes	Rarely
Visa costs	Sometimes	Rarely	Rarely
Settling-in or research allowance	Sometimes	Rarely	Rarely
Can be held with other awards	Often not	Varies	Often yes

Fully funded

A fully funded scholarship is meant to cover the main costs of study, but the package varies. The most generous include:

tuition fees in full
a living stipend for accommodation, food and day-to-day costs
travel to and from the host country
extras such as health insurance, a settling-in allowance, or a research or conference budget

Not every full award includes all of these. Some pay tuition and a stipend but not flights, and some set the stipend below what it costs to live in an expensive city. The label describes what the funder intends; the award letter tells you the amount.

Large programmes publish their terms, and it is worth reading them before you apply rather than after. Our funder guides to Chevening, DAAD and Erasmus Mundus cover what each programme offers, and our comparison of the three puts them side by side.

Partial

A partial scholarship pays some of your costs. That might be a fixed sum towards tuition, a percentage off the fees, or a stipend without a fee waiver. These awards are easy to overlook, but some are large, and they can often be combined: a partial tuition award alongside a separate living grant can come close to full funding.

Watch for awards expressed as a percentage. A reduction on a high fee can be worth more than a fixed sum from another university, and a large percentage off a low fee can be worth less than it sounds. Convert every offer into an amount in the same currency before comparing.

Questions to ask of any award

Does it pay tuition, and is that in full or in part?
Is there a living stipend, and is it enough for the city you would be living in?
Are travel, insurance and visa costs included, or do you pay them?
How long does it last, and is it renewed each year?

The answers turn a label into a figure you can compare. Renewal deserves particular attention. Some awards continue only if you keep a certain grade or make satisfactory progress, and a one-year award on a two-year course leaves the second year unfunded.

Weak"I have been offered a fully funded scholarship, so the money is sorted."

Stronger"The award pays my fees and a monthly stipend for twelve months. It does not cover flights or the visa fee. The stipend is below the university's own estimate of living costs in the city, so I need to find the difference."

The second version takes ten minutes with the award letter and the university’s cost-of-living page, and it shows you exactly what is left to plan for.

The gap

The size of the award matters less than the gap between what it covers and what your studies will cost. A partial award that leaves a small, manageable shortfall can be a better choice than a full award in a city so expensive that the stipend does not stretch.

Two illustrative bars. A full award in an expensive city covers most of a long cost bar but leaves a sizeable gap. A partial award plus a living grant in a cheaper city covers most of a shorter bar and leaves a smaller gap. — The award with the bigger label is not always the one that leaves you less to find.

Most universities publish an estimate of living costs for international students, and immigration authorities in some countries set a minimum amount you must show for a visa. Either gives you a starting figure for the cost side. Our guide to proving funds for a student visa explains how the second works.

Combining sources

Many students fund their studies from more than one source: a partial scholarship, a top-up grant and some part-time work can together cover what no single award would. When you look at a partial award, find out whether it can be held alongside others, since that often decides whether it is enough.

If the gap is still too large, our guide to funding your studies without a full scholarship goes through the other places money can come from and how to build them into a budget.