"Fully funded" and "partial funding" are the two labels every scholarship list uses — and they hide more than they reveal. A partial award at a cheap public university can leave you better off than a "full" award with a small stipend in an expensive city. Here is how to read the real value.
What "full" and "partial" actually mean
On our scholarships database we mark an award fully funded when it includes a living stipend, and partial when it covers tuition only or a fixed contribution. That is a useful first filter, but the label alone can't tell you whether the money is enough to live on.
Add up the four cost lines
Every master's has four cost lines. Compare an award against all of them:
- Tuition — does the award cover it in full, a fixed amount, or a percentage?
- Living costs — is there a monthly stipend, and does it match the city? Our cost of living pages show the official student figures each country expects you to prove.
- Travel — return flights are a real cash line the best awards include.
- One‑off costs — visa, insurance, arrival allowance.
A scholarship that covers tuition but nothing else is "partial" — but if it's tuition at a tuition‑free German public university, the award is really about living costs, and a modest stipend goes a long way.
Watch the eligibility fine print
Value only matters if you're eligible. Two lines eliminate more applicants than any other: a work‑experience minimum (Chevening and several development awards require two years or more) and nationality rules (many national schemes are open only to specific countries). Every scholarship profile we publish states both.
Compare like‑for‑like
Line up two or three awards side by side: coverage, stipend vs local cost, eligibility, and deadline. The "smaller" award is sometimes the better deal.
Don't guess which awards fit you. The scholarship matcher screens our verified scholarships against your destination, level, work experience and nationality in five questions — free, no account.