An MBA is one of the most expensive degrees you can buy. Tuition is only part of it. Rent, flights, and a year or two without a salary add up too.
Timing is tight. Two awards I checked already closed. One has a deadline on December 7, 2026. Two more have no date I could confirm yet.
I checked these dates in November 2026. Confirm every date on the official site before you apply.
What ‘Fully Funded’ Usually Covers
- Full tuition for the whole program, not just the first year.
- A monthly or yearly living grant. The amount depends on the city.
- Flights, usually one round trip or one trip each way.
- Health insurance, or money toward it.
- Extra costs like visa fees or a moving payment, which only some awards pay.
Most MBA awards in this field pay only part of the cost. INSEAD, for example, lists a fee of EUR 109,860 and an average scholarship of about EUR 24,000. Read what each award covers before you count on it. Add up the gap between the award and the full bill. Then decide if you can pay that gap with savings, a loan, or a second award. A scholarship that leaves a large gap isn’t a full ride, even when its name says so.
Deadlines at a Glance
- Weidenfeld-Hoffmann (Oxford, UK): Not confirmed. A guide says the December or January deadline for your course. Check the official page.
- Oxford-Pershing Square (Oxford, UK): No date for 2027 entry on the page I read. The last date shown was January 6, 2025. Check the official page.
- INSEAD scholarships (France and Singapore): December 7, 2026 for Round 2, at 23:59 CET. Partial awards only.
- Chevening (UK): Closed October 6, 2026. Next round is likely August to October 2027, likely, not official.
- Knight-Hennessy Scholars (Stanford, US): Closed October 6, 2026. Stanford says the next call opens in summer 2027.
Open Now or Opening Soon
1. Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme (University of Oxford, UK)
This award is for graduate study only. Oxford says it’s for graduates and professionals from developing and emerging economies. Guide sites say the MBA counts, but Oxford’s own page doesn’t mention it, so check the official page.
- Deadline: Not confirmed. A guide says it’s the December or January deadline for your Oxford course. Oxford’s page showed no date, so check the official page.
- What it covers: Oxford calls it fully funded but lists no amounts on the page I read. A guide site says 100 percent of course fees and a living grant of at least GBP 21,805, plus a leadership program.
- Watch-out: You need an Oxford offer first. The scholarship is a separate choice in the funding section. You must live in an eligible country now and plan to return home after. Deferred offers and current Oxford students can’t apply. A guide says interviews come in April 2027. Oxford also says a second route runs through the Chevening site, and that round closed on October 6, 2026.
2. Oxford-Pershing Square Graduate Scholarships (University of Oxford, UK)
This award is for graduate study only, and only for the Oxford 1+1 MBA. That’s a one-year master’s followed by the MBA.
- Deadline: Not confirmed for 2027 entry. The page I read showed January 6, 2025 for the 1+1 MBA, which is old. Check the official page.
- What it covers: Course fees for both the master’s and the MBA. It also pays a living grant of at least GBP 19,237 a year for both years. There are up to five awards.
- Watch-out: You must be admitted to both a 1+1 partner program and the MBA. Waitlisted applicants aren’t considered. You also write a scholarship essay of up to 500 words in the funding section. Oxford looks for a clear plan to tackle large social problems.
3. INSEAD MBA Scholarships (France and Singapore)
This award is for MBA study only, and it’s partial. INSEAD’s page doesn’t list any award that covers full tuition.
- Deadline: Round 2 for the August 2027 intake closes December 7, 2026 at 23:59 CET. Round 3 closes February 24, 2027. Late applications aren’t accepted. Round 1 closed October 22, 2026.
- What it covers: Partial. The average scholarship is about EUR 24,000. One named award, for two Sub-Saharan African candidates, pays at least EUR 30,000. Another pays EUR 20,000 to 25,000 to a French woman with financial need.
- Watch-out: You submit your MBA application first. The scholarship form opens after that, in the same portal. You can apply for up to four scholarships. Need-based awards depend on your finances, so they aren’t a guaranteed full ride. Merit awards look at your country, your work history, and your leadership. Some spot awards go to strong profiles with no separate form.
Closed for 2027: Plan for Next Year
4. Chevening Scholarships (UK)
This award is for graduate study only. MBAs can qualify, but there’s a fee cap.
- Deadline: Closed October 6, 2026 at 11:00 UTC. The next round will likely open in early August 2027 and close in early October. That’s likely, not official.
- What it covers: Partial for most MBAs. Chevening pays tuition up to GBP 22,000, and you pay anything above that. For the rest of what it pays, check chevening.org.
- Watch-out: The MBA must be full-time, taught, in the UK, and 9 to 12 months long. It must start in autumn. Part-time and distance MBAs don’t qualify. You need two years of work experience and citizenship of an eligible country.
5. Knight-Hennessy Scholars (Stanford University, US)
This award is for graduate study only, and it runs alongside a Stanford degree. MBA students can apply.
- Deadline: Closed October 6, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. Stanford says the next call opens in summer 2027. MBA applicants also had to meet Stanford’s Round 1 deadline.
- What it covers: Full, for up to three years. It pays tuition, a living stipend, one economy round trip each year, and a one-time moving payment.
- Watch-out: You must be admitted to a Stanford program through a separate application. Stipends are taxable. For the JD/MBA, years after the first three depend on need-based aid, and that isn’t a guaranteed full ride. Spots are few. The largest cohort so far was 90 scholars across all Stanford graduate programs.
How to Choose the Right Scholarship
Match it to your profile
- If you have two or more years of work experience, Chevening fits. It asks for that.
- If you’ve led teams or projects and want a top school, look at Knight-Hennessy.
- If you come from a developing or emerging economy, look at Weidenfeld-Hoffmann.
- If you care about social problems at scale, look at Oxford-Pershing Square.
- If you need most of your tuition covered and can’t get a full award, apply to INSEAD too. A partial award still cuts the bill.
- If you plan to apply to several schools, keep one sheet with each school’s round dates and each scholarship’s own date.
Check your country first
- Chevening only takes citizens of listed countries.
- Weidenfeld-Hoffmann goes by the country where you live now. The list is long, so find yours early.
- INSEAD’s named awards are tied to a region or a country.
- Knight-Hennessy’s dates page didn’t list country limits. Read the full rules before you plan around it.
Watch the deadline rush
- Business schools run application rounds. Scholarships often follow the early rounds.
- INSEAD’s Round 2 is a month away. Round 1 already passed.
- Oxford’s funding deadline can come before the final MBA round.
- Stanford’s early round was the only way into Knight-Hennessy as an MBA applicant.
- Chevening and Knight-Hennessy both closed on the same day this year. Put early October in your calendar for 2027.
- Plan your references, essays, and test scores before the round opens. A rushed file hurts you more than a late start.
Three Mistakes That Sink Good Applications
Waiting for a late round
Many awards only look at early applicants. Apply in the first round if you want funding.
Assuming the MBA is covered
Chevening caps MBA tuition. Weidenfeld-Hoffmann’s MBA status isn’t on Oxford’s page. Check each one before you plan. Ask the school if you can’t find the answer.
Skipping the second step
Knight-Hennessy needs a Stanford offer. Oxford awards need an Oxford offer. A scholarship alone won’t get you in.
Conclusion
The nearest deadline is INSEAD Round 2 on December 7, 2026, and that award is partial. The Oxford awards follow, likely in December or January, but Oxford’s pages didn’t confirm dates for 2027 entry. Chevening and Knight-Hennessy both closed on October 6, 2026.
Tonight, open INSEAD’s MBA application page and write down what Round 2 needs. Then open Oxford’s page for the MBA and note its deadline.