Field Reports
Times of Palestine maps the world's scholarships for Palestinian students
Graphic: Times of Palestine
Original Reporting
More than a hundred universities in at least twenty-five countries currently fund Palestinian students — bachelor's, master's and doctoral, in every field from medicine to music — yet no single Palestinian front page has kept the map in one place, updated, in both languages. This guide is that page. The community database Academic Solidarity with Palestine alone lists around one hundred and fifty scholarship schemes; the British Council's HESPAL program has sent two hundred and fifty-six Palestinian scholars to British universities — one hundred ninety-six master's degrees and sixty PhDs — and currently places its scholars across thirteen UK institutions at once. Times of Palestine will keep this guide alive as a standing service: deadlines refreshed as they move, new programs added as they open, dead ones retired. Verify every deadline on the program's own page before planning around it — windows shift year to year — and check back here as cycles open.
The flagship channels#
These are the established government and institutional programs that fund Palestinians year after year. Most run one application window annually.
| Program | Where | Level | The essentials |
|---|---|---|---|
| HESPAL — British Council | UK | Master's + PhD | 256 scholars to date across UK universities; the 2026/27 round ran for Gaza MA applicants; annual cycle |
| Chevening | UK | Master's | The UK government's flagship; applications open each August–November; a STEM partnership adds 5 awards/year for Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria |
| Ireland–Palestine Scholarship Programme | Ireland | Master's | 30 full scholarships a year from Irish Aid; next cycle opens toward winter |
| DAAD | Germany | Master's + PhD | In-country postgraduate scholarships for the West Bank (2026 window: 1 June–31 August) plus the EPOS development-studies track |
| Türkiye Bursları | Türkiye | Bachelor's + Master's + PhD | Among the world's most comprehensive packages: placement, tuition, stipend, housing, language year, flights; opens each winter |
| MEXT — Government of Japan | Japan | Master's + PhD (research) | The 2027 round is open now via Japan's office to Palestine, for residents of the West Bank and Gaza and Gazans in Egypt |
| Fulbright (via AMIDEAST) | US | Master's | The US flagship for West Bank and Gaza graduates; annual cycle |
| Al Fakhoora / Education Above All | Qatar & region | Bachelor's + Master's | Qatar's Gaza-focused pipeline rebuilding a generation's access to university |
| DAFI — UNHCR | Multiple countries | Bachelor's | The UN refugee scholarship program, open to registered Palestinian refugees |
| Taawon | Palestine & Lebanon | Bachelor's | The Welfare Association's long-running student funds |
| Islamic Development Bank | Multiple countries | Bachelor's + Master's + PhD | STEM-weighted scholarships open to Palestinians |
| UNRWA scholarships | Region | Bachelor's | Donor-funded university places for refugee students, including Türkiye's standing offer |
| Tomorrow's Leaders (MEPI) | Egypt & Lebanon | Bachelor's | Full undergraduate rides at partner universities, open to Palestinians |
| Phoenix Space — LEAP HIGHER | Egypt | Bachelor's | 27 Gaza students already placed in Egyptian universities on full scholarships |
Universities with named Palestine scholarships#
Beyond the big channels, individual universities — many moved by their own students since 2023 — now fund Palestinians directly. A selection with active or annual schemes:
| University | Country | Level | The essentials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield | UK | Master's | Gaza scholarship: full tuition, university housing and a £5,000 award |
| Sussex | UK | Master's | Full overseas-fee waiver plus £17,460 living costs, aimed at students displaced from Gaza |
| Glasgow | UK | Bachelor's + Master's + PhD | Up to 3 taught + 2 research awards for 2026/27, plus the Dima Alhaj Scholarship honoring a killed alumna |
| Edinburgh | UK | Master's | STEM MSc awards for students from Palestine and the region |
| Leicester | UK | Multiple | Sanctuary Seekers' Unit runs dedicated Gaza support |
| Bath & Southampton | UK | Master's | Standing HESPAL partner universities |
Where to hunt beyond this page#
Three community-run databases go deeper than any single article can: Academic Solidarity with Palestine (the largest scheme-by-scheme list), the Friends of Palestinian Universities student hub, and Dutch Scholars for Palestine; the Bseisu Foundation maintains its own fund and pointers to others. A practical word from this desk to every applicant: the single most common reason qualified Palestinians lose these awards is the calendar, not the competition — the flagship cycles cluster between August and February, reference letters take weeks to secure under the best conditions, and Gaza's connectivity makes everything slower. Start the file months early, apply to several programs in parallel, and treat every deadline on this page as a date to verify at the source. This guide will be here, current, in both languages, every time you check back — that is its job.
