A graduate in Amman with a strong final-year transcript and a job that touches development work often finds most “fully funded UK master’s” scholarships either restrict them to STEM subjects or quietly expect them to already hold a university offer before they can even start. The Saïd Foundation Scholarship is built around a narrower, more specific promise: one-year UK master’s funding, open to almost any subject, for candidates from four named countries, with a formal commitment to return home built into the award itself.
What Is the Saïd Foundation Scholarship
The Saïd Foundation is a UK charity that has run educational scholarships and training programmes since 1984, funded by Wafic Saïd. The scholarship programme is separate from — but historically connected to — Saïd Business School at Oxford, which the Foundation also supports through its own MBA scholarship track. The core scholarship programme funds one-year master’s degrees at UK partner universities for candidates from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine, aiming to build a pipeline of leaders who return to work on development in those countries. The Foundation offers roughly 20–30 new scholarships annually across all four countries and all eligible subjects combined — it is not a single-university award, but a nationwide (four-nation) competitive programme.
Eligibility Requirements
- Nationality and residency: You must hold Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese, or Palestinian nationality and be permanently resident in one of these countries. Temporary residence abroad for study or work doesn’t disqualify you as long as your permanent residence is in a target country. The Foundation applies more flexibility to Syrian applicants given the country’s current circumstances, and Palestinians living in Israel may apply.
- Dual nationals: Eligible, provided you upload a passport or national ID showing your Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese, or Palestinian nationality.
- Academic qualification: An undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK Upper Second Class (2:1) or higher, or you may apply while in your final undergraduate year (transcripts required). As a rough guide the Foundation uses for equivalency: roughly 75–91% or a 3.0–3.5 GPA in Jordan, 80–89% in Lebanon, 80–89%/”Very Good” in Palestine, and “Very Good” or 70–89% in Syria depending on the university type — though the Foundation notes these are guides only and it may accept a lower ranking in some cases.
- Prior study abroad: Having studied a previous degree outside your home country doesn’t disqualify you, but priority goes to candidates who haven’t previously had that opportunity.
- Work/voluntary experience: Some relevant experience is required, though there’s no minimum number of hours or years specified.
- Leadership potential and return commitment: You must demonstrate leadership potential and a clear career path tied to returning to your home country or the region after your studies.
- English language: IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each band, or Duolingo (minimum 105 overall and in each band), or TOEFL iBT (minimum 80 overall / 20 per section for tests taken before 21 January 2026, or 4.5 overall / 4.0 per section for tests taken from that date onward). You must already hold a valid test result when you apply — the Foundation will not accept applications without one, and for the 2027/28 cycle only certificates dated after 1 September 2025 count.
- Age: No age limit.
- Course level: Master’s only. Undergraduate and PhD applications are automatically excluded — the Foundation confirms it no longer funds PhD study at all.
What’s Covered / Benefits
- Full tuition fees
- Full maintenance/living costs for the duration of the course
- An arrival allowance
- Visa and healthcare surcharge fees
- One economy return flight
Note: family members are not covered. The Foundation explicitly states it cannot fund a scholar’s spouse or children and advises scholars to travel to the UK unaccompanied. Also, students selected for Oxford or Cambridge, or those on a joint Chevening partnership, are funded under a separate arrangement, not the standard package above — check with the Foundation directly if you’re pursuing one of those routes.
Required Documents
- Proof of nationality (passport/national ID) — especially important for dual nationals
- Undergraduate transcripts (final-year applicants must upload transcripts of study completed so far)
- Evidence of application to your chosen course at a partner university (or, if the course isn’t yet open for applications, a note in the application form and evidence submitted later by the stated deadline)
- Valid English language test certificate meeting the Foundation’s minimum score and dated within the accepted window
- Three references, uploaded before you submit: one academic, one from a current or recent employer, and one from voluntary activity. If you lack a professional referee, a second academic or voluntary reference is accepted instead. References cannot be added after submission, and the Foundation does not collect them on your behalf — securing all three is entirely the applicant’s responsibility.
How to Apply
- Apply to your chosen master’s course at one of the Foundation’s UK partner universities (a non-partner university is only acceptable if your specific course isn’t offered by any partner, and you must explain why).
- Secure your three references and English test result before starting your scholarship application — both are required at submission, not after.
- Submit the online Saïd Foundation scholarship application during the open window, uploading all required documents.
- Eligibility check, followed by assessment by Foundation staff and external experts. Candidates who don’t meet eligibility are notified by email roughly a month after the window closes.
- Interviews for shortlisted candidates take place in March.
- Final selection by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, with outcomes communicated by early June.
If you receive a university offer after submitting your scholarship application, you upload it separately to the application portal rather than resubmitting.
Deadlines
This is a fixed annual cycle, not rolling. For the 2027/28 scholarship year, the published dates are:
- Applications open: 1 September 2026
- Applications close: 30 October 2026, 5pm UK time
- Deadline to provide evidence of course applications: 29 January 2027
- Interviews: March 2027
- Final selections communicated: beginning of June 2027
Because these dates shift by a year each cycle, confirm the live dates on the Foundation’s own timetable page before building an application plan around them.
Common Mistakes / Why Applications Get Rejected
- Applying for undergraduate or PhD study. The Foundation states plainly that these applications simply won’t be considered — it funds one-year master’s degrees only.
- Missing references at submission time. References cannot be added retroactively once you’ve submitted, and late referee letters aren’t accepted under any circumstances — this trips up applicants who assume they can follow up later.
- An English test taken too early or without meeting the score bar. Certificates outside the accepted dated window, or below the Foundation’s minimum bands, won’t qualify — and you cannot apply without a valid result already in hand.
- Choosing a two-year master’s or a course starting outside the funded window. The Foundation does not fund two-year master’s programmes, and for the 2027/28 cycle it will not consider courses starting before September 2027.
- Assuming family costs are covered. Applicants who plan around bringing a spouse or children to the UK on the scholarship will find no funding exists for that; the Foundation is explicit that scholars are expected to travel alone.
- Weak justification for subject choice. Because there are no subject restrictions, the Foundation instead weighs how convincingly you connect your chosen field to your home country’s development — a generic personal-interest justification is weaker than one tied to a specific return-and-contribute plan.
How This Compares to Similar Alternatives
- the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships: Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are open to a much wider set of Commonwealth-eligible developing countries and multiple subject clusters, but they’re typically tied to specific partner-university course lists each year. Saïd Foundation’s pool is narrower by nationality (just four countries) but broader by subject, since there’s no restricted list of eligible fields.
- the joint Chevening Scholarship (UK) partnership route: The Saïd Foundation runs joint scholarships with Chevening for eligible candidates, which is worth knowing if you qualify for both — but doing so means meeting both programs’ eligibility criteria and submitting to both application processes before their respective deadlines, not just one combined form.
Both alternatives fund living costs and tuition similarly, but neither carries Saïd Foundation’s explicit binding return-commitment structure, which is a distinguishing feature of this program specifically.
FAQs
Do I need a university offer before I apply for the scholarship?
No — you need to have applied to your course and show evidence of that application, but a formal offer isn’t required at the time you submit your scholarship application.
Can I bring my spouse or children to the UK on this scholarship?
No. The Foundation does not fund family members and expects scholars to travel unaccompanied.
Does the scholarship cover PhD study?
No. The Foundation states it no longer offers PhD scholarships at all, and PhD applications aren’t considered.
What if my English test result is too old?
For the 2027/28 cycle, only certificates dated after 1 September 2025 are accepted — an older result won’t meet the requirement even if the score itself is high enough.
I already have a degree from a university outside my home country — can I still apply?
Yes, but priority goes to candidates who haven’t previously studied abroad, so this may affect your competitiveness rather than your eligibility.
What happens if I can’t get all three references in time? Your application won’t be considered without three references uploaded before submission — late references, for any reason, aren’t accepted.
Next Step
If you meet the nationality, academic, and English-language bars, the realistic next step is to line up your three references and a qualifying English test result well before the 1 September 2026 window opens, since both are submission requirements rather than something you can add later. For related preparation once you’re weighing UK partner universities, see mcqsworld’s guide to fully funded 1-year master’s scholarships in the UK & Europe, and for reference-writing specifics, see the guide to experience letter format for post-graduate scholarships.
Official Website: Saïd Foundation Scholarships
