Compare / Chevening vs Fulbright
Chevening vs Fulbright
The UK and US flagship scholarships compared: destinations, funding, eligibility, timelines — and which one fits your profile.
| Chevening Scholarship | Fulbright Foreign Student Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office | U.S. Department of State |
| Funding | Fully funded | Fully funded |
| Study destinations | United Kingdom | United States |
| Degree levels | master (max 12 months) | master, PhD |
| Who can apply | 160+ Chevening-eligible countries/territories; 2+ years work experience | Country quotas; each national commission or embassy recruits independently |
| Current cycle | 2027/28: closes 6 Oct 2026 | 2027/28: see notes |
| Cycle notes | Opening date subject to the official August announcement; sources differ on 6 vs 7 October — re-verify against the official timeline once applications open | No single deadline: each country sets its own, roughly February–October 2026 (e.g. Sierra Leone 5 Apr, Nepal 31 May, Tunisia 30 Jun, Bangladesh 11 Jul) — check your national Fulbright commission or US embassy |
Data verified 15 Jul 2026 against official sources. Nothing here is a paid placement.
Our read
The real difference is structural, not prestige. Chevening is one centralised competition with one deadline for a one-year UK master's; Fulbright is a family of national competitions — each country's commission sets its own deadline, quota and process, and it can fund two-year degrees including PhDs.
Choose Chevening if you want speed (one year out of your career) and a leadership-narrative selection; choose Fulbright if your field needs the deeper US graduate system or a research degree. Ambitious applicants from eligible countries often enter both — the cycles barely overlap, with Fulbright national deadlines typically running February–October and Chevening closing in early October.
Chevening Scholarship
Fulbright Foreign Student Program
Global Study Prep is independent and not affiliated with either programme. Rules change every cycle — confirm on the official pages before applying.