Scholarships
Top schools that offer fully funded scholarships for master’s degrees to international students without IELTS requirements:
If you’re an international student interested in pursuing a master’s degree program in the United States, you have several excellent scholarship options available that do not require IELTS or TOEFL scores. Many top American universities offer full scholarships, including tuition fees and a living stipend, making higher education financially accessible for talented international students. Here are some of the top schools with excellent funding opportunities:
University of Southern California: USC offers highly competitive merit-based scholarships through its graduate programs. The USC Merit Scholars Award provides full tuition support plus a $20,000 annual stipend for international students enrolled in select master’s and doctoral programs across various fields. Applicants are not required to submit English proficiency test scores.
Cornell University: The Cornell Presidential Research Scholars program fully funds international students pursuing a master’s in any field at Cornell. This includes full tuition support as well as a living stipend and health insurance. English tests are waived for Presidential Scholars applicants with a very strong academic background from a university where English is not the primary language of instruction.
University of Michigan: The International Graduate Fellowships at UMich cover full tuition and provide a $24,000 annual stipend for one or two years of graduate study. No GRE or English scores are required to apply for this competitive fellowship. UMich also guarantees teaching or research assistant jobs to all international fellows to help them earn additional funding.
University of California, Berkeley: Berkeley’s Graduate Opportunity Fellowship offers full funding to incoming international students including tuition support and $28,000 per year for living expenses. One of the benefits of this fellowship is that it does not require IELTS, TOEFL, or GRE scores to apply, focusing primarily on academic merit and research potential.
Georgia Institute of Technology: The Georgia Tech Presidential Fellowship Program provides full tuition waivers and $30,000 annual stipends to exceptional international students pursuing master’s and PhD programs. English proficiency tests are optional for GIT Presidential Fellowship applicants who meet certain waiver conditions.
University of Washington: UW offers full tuition waivers and an annual stipend starting at $30,000 to international students through its Centennial Scholarship program. Centennial Scholars are not required to submit GRE or English test scores; they only need a strong academic background and research proposal.
This covers some of the top universities where international students can pursue fully funded master’s degrees without taking IELTS or TOEFL exams upfront. These schools’ quality of education and funding make them excellent options for gaining a world-class education at minimal personal cost.
All the best!