The Federal Government has announced the commencement of applications for the 2026 Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Overseas Scholarship Scheme, giving Nigerian postgraduate students the chance to pursue studies in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Malaysia.
The announcement was made on Monday via a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
PTDF explained that the scholarship is open to candidates seeking MSc and PhD degrees in oil and gas–related fields and provides comprehensive funding. The package includes tuition fees, return air tickets, accommodation, living allowances, health insurance, and bench fees where applicable. The fund stated that the programme is designed to expose scholars to global expertise and advanced research facilities while strengthening local capacity in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
For PhD candidates studying in the United Kingdom, PTDF disclosed that the programme will operate under a split-site model. This arrangement allows scholars to carry out their research at the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna (CPESK), alongside selected partner universities in the UK, such as Robert Gordon University, the University of Strathclyde, and the University of Portsmouth.
The fund emphasised that the scholarship scheme is highly competitive and will be awarded strictly on merit. Selection criteria include academic performance, quality of research proposals, membership of relevant professional bodies, and the relevance of the proposed course of study to the oil and gas industry.
PTDF outlined that MSc applicants must possess at least a Second Class Lower (2.2) degree, have completed the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, be computer literate, and hold five O-Level credits, including English Language and Mathematics. PhD applicants are required to submit a detailed research proposal of not more than five pages outlining their objectives, methodology, and data collection approach.
The agency further cautioned that all applicants must have a verified National Identity Number (NIN), noting that multiple applications or the submission of falsified documents will lead to automatic disqualification.
Interested candidates are expected to apply online through scholarship.ptdf.gov.ng, with the application deadline set for February 27, 2026.
