Fully-Funded vs Partially-Funded Scholarships: What's the Difference?

"Scholarship" can mean very different things depending on the programme. Before you build a shortlist, it helps to understand what each type actually covers — so there are no surprises once you're accepted.

Fully-funded scholarships

These cover tuition in full, plus a living stipend, and usually additional costs like flights, health insurance, and a settling-in allowance. Government-funded programmes like Chevening, Fulbright, and Chinese Government Scholarships fall into this category. Competition for fully-funded awards is typically the highest, since they remove almost all financial barriers.

Partially-funded scholarships

These cover part of the cost — often just tuition, or just a percentage of it — leaving the student responsible for living expenses, travel, or the remaining tuition balance. University-specific merit scholarships frequently work this way. They're usually less competitive than fully-funded national scholarships, since fewer applicants and simpler criteria are involved.

Tuition waivers

Some universities offer a waiver on tuition fees only, with no stipend attached. These are worth applying for even if you're also targeting a fully-funded scholarship, since they can be combined with other funding sources or personal savings to cover living costs.

How this should shape your shortlist

If your budget can't cover living costs on your own, prioritize fully-funded government or foundation scholarships even though they're more competitive — a partial scholarship you can't actually afford to accept isn't useful. If you have some family or personal budget for living expenses, partially-funded and university-specific scholarships open up a much wider set of options with better odds.