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Report

The Global Scholarship

Comprehensive guide to global scholarships.

The Global Scholarship Landscape: A Strategic Funding Analysis

Prepared by Carlos Vargas, M.Ed
Founder, Societās Partnerships Panama

info@societaspartnership.com

September 2025

Executive Summary

In 2025, the internationalization of higher education is at a critical juncture in some regions of the world. Universities face intensified financial pressures and a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape that is fundamentally impacting global engagement. Sustainable internationalization now demands sophisticated and diversified financial strategies. This report analyzes the complex ecosystem of global funding—spanning government programs, corporate partnerships, philanthropic foundations, multilateral development banks, and the crucial role of self-funded students.

Key Trends and Strategic Imperatives:

  • The Politicization of Education Policy: Major education hubs (U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, Netherlands) are implementing restrictive visa policies and caps in response to domestic pressures, creating unprecedented volatility in student flows. Simultaneously, emerging players (China, Japan, and Korea) are aggressively expanding their influence through strategic scholarships.
  • The Shift from Aid to Investment: Corporate and government sponsors are increasingly moving away from broad philanthropy toward targeted investments. Funding is increasingly tied to specific R&D priorities (AI, Quantum, Sustainability), talent pipeline development, and measurable economic or geopolitical outcomes.
  • The Dominance of the Self-Funded Student: Representing the largest financial contribution to global higher education, the 7 million self-funded students are the decisive force in the sector. Universities must transition from treating them as revenue sources to recognizing them as strategic partners.
  • The Need for Risk Diversification: Over-reliance on single countries or funding streams exposes institutions to severe risk. A geographically balanced recruitment footprint and diversified funding sources are essential for resilience.

To thrive, universities must embed internationalization into their long-term financial architecture. The consulting firm Societās Partnerships helps institutions navigate this complex ecosystem by creating successful joint programs with funders, developing mechanisms for international student success, and building balanced recruitment plans. These strategies directly enhance an institution’s financial prospects while amplifying its capacity for global engagement.

The Funding Ecosystem

GovernmentSoft Power & Diplomacy
CorporateTalent & R&D
PhilanthropySocial Impact & Leadership
MDBsEconomic Development

Introduction

In an era where universities are navigating significant financial headwinds and intense global competition, securing sustainable funding for internationalization is paramount. Global engagement is a cornerstone of the modern university, positioning institutions as catalysts for innovation. Universities foster this through a variety of initiatives, yet funding consistently emerges as the most critical challenge.

Scholarships serve as vital engines. Millions of students and faculty participate in global education initiatives and programs shaping the very fabric of the higher education sector. These investments drive a worldwide movement of higher education capital and talent, directly influencing the success of universities’ internationalization efforts.

For university leaders and senior international officers, understanding this dynamic is essential. This analysis explores the diverse approaches of key scholarship sponsors—governments, corporations, philanthropic foundations, and multilateral development banks—and identifies critical trends shaping the landscape. More importantly, it offers strategic recommendations for universities to navigate this complex ecosystem, contributing with sustainable financial approaches in support of internationalization of higher education.

Scholarship Programs: Strategic Tools for Global Impact

Global scholarship programs offer more than just financial aid; they are sophisticated tools for sponsors to achieve strategic objectives. From degree programs, specialized training to global research collaborations, and more. These scholarships offer unique opportunities to equip students and faculty members with the knowledge, networks, and influence to drive positive changes both domestically and internationally.

These international experiences greatly accelerate the ability of universities to foster talent, advance global knowledge, and spark innovation. In recent years, sponsors increasingly provide additional support, beyond tuition and living expenses, in an effort to inject valuable training before, during, and after participants undertake a university program. While global scholarship trends have evolved over the decades, their orientation and intent remain consistent. To influence the creation of expertise ready to drive change. Today, scholarship programs have become more complex, accessible, and diverse. They are created to respond to specific needs beyond the direct benefit of the recipient.

Government Scholarship Programs

Governments play a crucial role in funding global scholarships and international research grants worth billions of dollars. A significant portion of these funds is reinvested in their domestic economies, making it a national tool for competitiveness. Scholarships serve as a tool of soft power for high-income nations with robust higher education systems, fostering geopolitical influence and economic competitiveness by attracting global talent, which boosts key emerging industries.

For countries that primarily send their higher education students abroad, scholarships provide an opportunity to enhance their global standing. Over 50 countries offer scholarships to attract talent, train students abroad, and establish new international partnerships, reflecting the global competition for intellectual capital, innovation, and groundbreaking discoveries. In addition, the global scholarship landscape is shifting due to the rise of strong players (such as China, the Middle East, etc.) and the limitations of traditional education hubs (restrictive visa policies, housing crisis, etc., in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia, among others).

This new dynamic development in global higher education and research is making more diverse the availability of players in the global scholarship landscape, ultimately impacting how universities navigate funding opportunities in their pursuit of internationalization goals. All governments’ international higher education strategies are driven by a combination of key priorities. These objectives include driving economic growth and competitiveness, attracting and retaining global talent, and increasing the diversity and volume of international student mobility. Furthermore, nations use international education to strengthen diplomacy and soft power while also enhancing the quality and global reputation of their institutions.

Global Strategic Investment

European UnionHorizon Europe
€95.5B
ChinaNSFC Research
$4.48B
United StatesPublic Diplomacy
$741M
GermanyDAAD Annual
€752M
* Figures represent selected annual or multi-year program budgets.

Trends in 2025:

  1. The Pivot to Domestic Priorities: There is a clear shift in the Global North toward prioritizing domestic stability over international growth. In Canada, Australia, the UK, and the Netherlands, concerns over housing, migration, and service pressures have led to restrictive government policies, caps on international students, and budget cuts, fundamentally challenging the financial models of their universities.
  2. Funding as Foreign Policy: Global scholarships are key tools of foreign policy, used to project soft power and build strategic networks. Countries advance their interests by aligning funding with specific goals, whether it’s supporting economic projects like China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), securing regional influence like Australia’s focus on the Indo-Pacific, or promoting global values like Sweden’s alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  3. The Research and Innovation Arms Race: Beyond mobility scholarships, significant capital is being deployed to secure leadership in strategic sectors. This is evident in the multi-billion-dollar research funds managed by China’s NSFC and the EU’s Horizon Europe program, signaling that research collaboration is as critical as student mobility.
  4. Targeted Talent Acquisition: High-income nations facing demographic challenges are scaling investments to attract and retain specific global talent needed to fuel their innovation economies.

Examples of Global Scholarship Programs:

European Union

Focus: Fostering a shared European identity, supporting mobility, and building collaborative research networks across 33 countries.

Erasmus+: €26.2 billion budget (2021-2027).

Horizon Europe: €95.5 billion budget.

Germany

Focus: Bolstering Germany’s role as a global leader through comprehensive support for international academic exchange.

DAAD: €752.8 million annually supporting >100,000 individuals.

China

Focus: Geopolitical influence (BRI), advancing domestic innovation, and facilitating significant two-way mobility.

CSC: >$469 million annually. Supports ~130,000 students annually.

NSFC: $4.48 billion budget driving research collaboration.

Japan

Focus: Countering demographic decline, strengthening the innovation economy, and increasing outbound student exchange.

Target of 400,000 inbound students by 2033 (MEXT).

JSPS provides funding for international research fellowships.

France

Focus: Bolstering industrial and technological leadership across strategic sectors ("France 2030").

France 2030: €54 billion investment plan. Eiffel France Excellence Scholarship.

The Netherlands

Focus: Balancing talent attraction with housing/service pressures ("Balanced Internationalization" Act).

Severe budget cuts (€1.2 billion reduction to the sector).

The United States

Focus: Public diplomacy, need-based support, and international research.

ECA: $741 million annually (Fulbright, Gilman). NSF/NIH: >$200 million for research.

The United Kingdom

Focus: Soft power, emerging leaders, and post-Brexit research partnerships.

Chevening (£59M), Commonwealth Scholarships (£28M), UKRI (£337M).

Australia

Focus: Foreign policy tool and economic engagement (Indo-Pacific).

Australia Awards: $348.6 million (2024-25).

Canada

Focus: Decentralized approach fostering research collaboration and attracting global talent.

International Education Strategy, IDRC ($282.8M), Mitacs. Two-year cap on new international student permits.

Sweden

Focus: Sustainable development (UN 2030 Agenda) and innovation.

Swedish Institute (SEK 250M), Swedish Research Council (~SEK 1.64B).

South Korea

Focus: Soft power ("Korean Wave") and innovation in strategic sectors.

Global Korea Scholarship (GKS): KRW 200 billion. NRF: KRW 10.5 trillion.

To explore a comprehensive database of nearly 300 funding sources, visit the Societās Partnerships internationalization funding dashboard.

Corporate, Philanthropy and Multilateral Development Banks

The Corporate Pillar

Corporate engagement in international higher education is increasingly characterized not by open-ended philanthropy, but by strategic investments aimed at securing talent pipelines and fostering innovation relevant to specific industries. This reflects a broader trend toward addressing critical skills gaps and aligning academic research with immediate labor market demands.

Rather than offering broad scholarships, corporations often establish meticulously designed fellowship programs—particularly at the PhD and postdoctoral levels—targeting exceptional candidates whose research directly supports the companies’ R&D priorities. This effectively creates a conduit between elite academic research and corporate innovation labs, representing a long-term investment in human capital and intellectual property.

These strategic partnerships take various forms across different sectors, focusing on specialized talent acquisition, capacity building, and network development. In the technology sector, initiatives like the Google PhD Fellowship target top-tier international students in fields such as AI and data science, ensuring early access to emerging talent and research. Similarly, the Intel Foundation prioritizes diversifying the STEM pipeline, supporting programs for women and underrepresented minorities. In biotechnology, the Amgen Foundation cultivates long-term capacity by supporting hands-on research and developing global science education ecosystems.

Energy companies like ExxonMobil often support STEM programs and research centers in regions critical to their operations. Furthermore, some global corporations utilize scholarships for broader market development; Banco Santander stands out, having committed over €2 billion and awarded over 630,000 scholarships and grants in the past 25 years, fostering a vast international university network and enhancing brand allegiance across key markets.

The Philanthropic Pillar

The philanthropic sector plays a crucial role in internationalization by investing in future leaders who will drive positive change in their respective fields and communities. This funding includes mentorship, networking opportunities, and specialized leadership training. The focus on leadership is often accompanied by the expectation that scholars will leverage their education and experiences to contribute to the development of their home countries or regions, creating a multiplier effect from the initial philanthropic investment. Unlike corporate sponsors seeking strategic advantage, philanthropic funders are driven by social impact, global understanding, and equity. Examples include the Rhodes Scholarship and the Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

Other major philanthropic initiatives use scholarships for broad-based human capital development and public diplomacy. The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program has invested over $3 billion in education and transitions programs in Africa and aims to award 100,000 scholarships by 2030. It operates through a collaborative network of partner universities and non-profit organizations across Africa, America, and Europe. These partnerships are crucial for delivering a holistic educational experience that combines rigorous academic training with practical skills development and a strong emphasis on ethical leadership.

A diverse array of other philanthropic entities plays a crucial role in sponsoring international education and fostering global leadership. These organizations often have specific thematic or regional focuses, contributing to the broader landscape of educational philanthropy. For example, the P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship (IPS) Fund supports international women pursuing graduate degrees in the U.S. and Canada. The Stephen Young Global Leaders’ Scholarship Programme at the University of Strathclyde aims at developing global leaders. The Rhodes Scholarships enable outstanding students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.

The Multilateral Development Banks

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) provide funding to support the internationalization of higher education primarily as a means of economic development, building human capital in developing nations, and addressing skill shortages. This development-centric mission influences scholarship programs, from candidate selection and study fields to controversial mechanisms like “return-to-home” clauses to mitigate brain drain. Examples of MDBs include the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), among others.

MDBs invest in higher education to strengthen the workforce, enhance national innovation systems, and build institutional capacity. Their funding is rarely for broad academic exploration; instead, it is highly targeted to specific fields deemed critical for a country’s development. This makes MDB-funded scholarships a direct intervention in the labor markets and policy-making apparatus of their member nations.

For instance, the ADB-Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP) exemplifies an MDB-led education initiative. It actively supports and enhances human resource development in the ADB’s developing member countries. Another notable example is the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP). This program aims at empowering professionals from developing countries by providing them with the opportunity to pursue master’s degrees in development-related fields at top universities.

The Overlooked Force: Self-Funded International Students

While scholarships are tied to specific goals and formal processes, the largest and most consistent source of financing for global higher education comes from self-funded international students. Numbering over 7 million worldwide, this group represents not just a funding stream but a transformative force in shaping the scale, direction, and nature of global academic mobility. Their tuition fees and living expenses sustain universities, inject billions into host economies, and underpin critical areas of institutional growth.

At a time of financial strain across the higher education sector, reliance on this group has intensified. Their contributions extend well beyond tuition: they stimulate housing markets, support local businesses, and create demand for skilled jobs in education, technology, and services. In Australia alone, international education — driven overwhelmingly by self-funded students — is worth over AUD 36 billion annually.

The Decisive Force

78%Self-Funded

7M+ international students fund their own mobility.

The institutions that thrive will be those that treat these students as strategic partners rather than passive consumers or revenue sources. This means integrating them into research teams, advisory boards, and innovation initiatives; offering tailored academic programs and interdisciplinary pathways; and designing clear, credible global career pipelines. Strategic alignment with their aspirations will be a differentiator in an increasingly competitive global market.

Yet, this reliance comes with vulnerabilities. Heavy dependence on a small number of sending countries, such as China and India, exposes institutions to sudden policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, or currency fluctuations. Global disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic showed how quickly international student flows can collapse. Diversifying both source markets and program delivery modes is essential to building resilience.

Beyond finances, self-funded students are soft power multipliers. They become cultural ambassadors, strengthen diplomatic ties, and open trade and investment channels between nations. Alumni networks of self-funded graduates can be leveraged for research collaboration, industry partnerships, and philanthropic investment back into the institution. Sustaining this benefit demands deliberate strategy. Recognizing and reinforcing this relationship is no longer optional — it is a core pillar of modern higher education strategy.

Global Higher Education Funding Ecosystem: Drivers & Objectives

Self-Funded International Students
  • Enhanced Career Prospects and Employability
  • Cultural Immersion and Expanding Worldviews
  • Personal Growth and Independence
  • Diverse Educational Opportunities and Academic Enrichment
  • Language Acquisition
Government
  • Soft Power & Diplomacy
  • Economic Competitiveness
  • Attracting Global Talent
  • Domestic Innovation (R&D)
  • University Global Reputation
Corporate
  • Talent Pipeline (Strategic Hires)
  • R&D Priorities (PhD/Post-doc)
  • Addressing Specific Skills Gaps
  • Intellectual Property Development
  • Global Competition for Talent
Philanthropy
  • Leadership Development
  • Global Social Impact & Equity
  • Fostering Global Understanding
  • Human Capital (Broad-based)
  • Mission-Aligned Giving
Multilateral Development Banks
  • Economic Development
  • Targeted Skill Shortages
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Mitigating Brain Drain
  • Policy-Making Apparatus Support

Strategic Road Map

In the current climate, universities can no longer approach the financing of internationalization as an opportunistic add-on; it must be embedded into their long-term financial architecture. The institutions best positioned to thrive are those that treat international engagement as a portfolio of interlinked investments.

Key Steps:

  • 1.Map the full landscape of funding opportunities beyond traditional scholarships. Identify and actively cultivate relationships.
  • 2.Diversify risk with a geographically balanced recruitment footprint. Pair mature markets with high-growth emerging ones.
  • 3.Shift from passively receiving funds to co-creating value with funders. Design joint programs that address funders' priorities (e.g., climate, digital).
  • 4.Cultivate philanthropy aligned with the institutional mission. Develop targeted campaigns that speak directly to donors' values.
  • 5.Treat international students as long-term strategic partners. Tailor program portfolios to global demand and ensure success/integration.
  • 6.Embed funding strategy into institutional governance. Financial KPIs for global engagement and inclusion in financial decision-making.

Conclusion

The global scholarship landscape is a complex, dynamic ecosystem that universities must navigate with strategic foresight. By diversifying funding portfolios, aligning initiatives with sponsor objectives, and—critically—prioritizing a robust return on investment for self-funded students, institutions can secure their financial future while amplifying their global influence. Targeted partnerships and the integration of international research collaborations are not just supplementary activities but essential revenue streams that enhance institutional prestige. Ultimately, universities that skillfully leverage both scholarships and self-funded student revenue will not only build financial resilience but will establish themselves as global leaders in higher education.

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Illustration for Global Scholarship Landscape report on funding analysis

The Societās Partnerships’ Approach

Societās Partnerships (Panama) offers expert guidance, strategic assessment, and hands-on implementation to support universities in elevating their global profile. Our research- and experience-based approach transforms how institutions navigate funding strategic plans in support of their global objectives.

We focus on:

  • Strategic Partnerships with Global Scholarship Sponsors: We facilitate the design and implementation of joint programs tailored to funders’ priorities.
  • Building International Students-Centric Partnerships: We help your university build comprehensive strategies that elevate the role of international students as key partners.
  • Diversified & Resilient Recruitment: We guide you in building a geographically balanced recruitment footprint, strategically pairing mature markets with high-growth emerging ones.
Societās Partnerships advises universities on strategic funding and international scholarship development. Learn more about our approach, or contact our team to explore how these insights apply to your institution.