Cheapest Universities With Scholarships for International Students

Affordable university study for international students combines low tuition structures with scholarship opportunities that can significantly reduce or even eliminate costs. Some public universities in countries like Germany offer little to no tuition for international students, requiring only administrative fees, and have major scholarship programs such as DAAD scholarships. Other institutions like Berea College in the United States automatically provide full-tuition scholarships to all enrolled students who qualify, effectively making education free, while many European universities couple low tuition with generous government or institutional scholarships that cut the cost of living and fees.

This guide explores these options in depth, presenting both tuition costs and the realistic scholarship structures that make education affordable.

1. Public Universities in Europe With Very Low Tuition and Strong Scholarship Pathways

Europe remains one of the most cost-effective places for international students to pursue higher education. In countries like Germany, public universities typically do not charge tuition fees even for non-EU students — students pay only modest semester administrative contributions to cover student services and insurance-related costs. These minimal contributions often fall in the range of €150–€300 per semester, compared to tuition costs of tens of thousands of dollars in many other parts of the world. Universities such as the University of Würzburg, University of Heidelberg, Technical University of Munich, and others exemplify this model, where the primary cost becomes living expenses and administrative fees rather than traditional “tuition” itself. (Sources: )

This structure alone makes these institutions among the cheapest academically reputable universities for global study. But the affordability narrative deepens when you consider scholarship pathways administered by Europe’s academic funding bodies. For example, the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) — one of the world’s largest scholarship organizations — offers a vast catalog of scholarships for international students coming to Germany, including monthly stipends, travel allowances, and even health insurance coverage. Students can find DAAD scholarships to support undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate studies, often making the cost of studying in Germany near zero once scholarships and living cost support are combined with tuition waivers.

Poland and Hungary also provide remarkably low tuition environments. Public universities like the University of Warsaw charge between €2,000 and €4,000 per year even for English-taught degrees, with scholarship opportunities such as those from the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) and Hungary’s Stipendium Hungaricum, which covers full or partial tuition and living stipends for qualified international students. In addition, countries like Norway and Austria have public institutions where nominal fees replace tuition altogether, though living costs may be higher; still, generous scholarship streams exist to help cover both fees and living expenses.

Because many of these scholarship systems are operated by national governments rather than individual universities, they scale across multiple institutions, meaning that once you qualify for scholarship eligibility you can access financial support across a broad range of universities and programs. This shifts the cost equation: you’re not just paying “low tuition” — you’re entering an ecosystem where government and institutional financial support fundamentally alters the affordability landscape for international students from around the world.

2. Tuition-Free or Reduced-Cost Universities in the United States With Strong Scholarship Frameworks

Although the United States is often perceived as one of the most expensive destinations for international study, several institutions offer programs that can reduce tuition to very low levels or even zero for qualifying students through robust scholarship policies. For example, Berea College in Kentucky provides full-tuition scholarships to every admitted student, meaning that no tuition is charged beyond what is covered by grants and scholarships. This model transforms the financial landscape for students who meet Berea’s criteria, a structure far closer to tuition-free education than typical U.S. college models. (Sources: )

Beyond Berea, many U.S. public universities focus on affordability and direct institutional aid for international students. A resource listing the cheapest universities in the U.S. shows that institutions like South Texas College, Minot State University, Delta State University, and Brigham Young University feature some of the lowest tuition rates for international undergraduates — often in the range of $4,000–$10,000 USD per year. These rates alone make them among the cheapest options for quality study in the United States, especially when combined with merit scholarships that can further reduce costs or even eliminate them for high-achieving applicants. (Sources: )

In addition to institutional structures, numerous universities in the U.S. offer significant merit-based scholarships for international students — scholarships that directly offset tuition or provide reductions based on academic excellence. Some universities publicly list specific scholarship programs for high-performing applicants, including full or partial tuition awards tied to GPA, test scores, or other criteria. While full-tuition scholarships in the U.S. are often competitive, they are not reserved only for the highest global elites; many institutions maintain structured merit award tiers that can bring costs down dramatically for students with strong academic profiles.

It’s also worth noting that major U.S. research universities — including Ivy League institutions — operate substantial need-based financial aid programs that can effectively bring the cost of attendance to zero for qualifying students from families under certain income thresholds. For instance, Harvard University in recent policy updates expanded its free tuition program to students from families earning less than $200,000, sometimes including additional cost categories like housing and health insurance. These need-based models are distinct from traditional scholarships but serve a similar financial accessibility function that dramatically reduces out-of-pocket costs for eligible students. (Sources: )

Overall, the U.S. landscape is more heterogeneous than it is often perceived: while some universities still carry high sticker prices, others pair low base tuition with structured aid in ways that make them some of the most affordable choices for international study with scholarship eligibility.

3. Affordable Universities Outside the U.S. With Strong Scholarship Cultures

If you broaden your view beyond the United States, many public and private universities around the world combine low tuition with scholarship opportunities in ways that make them highly affordable for international students. For example, public universities in Eastern Europe — such as Charles University in the Czech Republic — charge tuition as low as $2,000–$4,000 per year for English-taught programs, and they often provide merit or government-sponsored scholarships that further trim costs so that the net cost of study becomes competitive with other global options. (Sources: )

Similarly, in Scandinavia — particularly in countries like Finland — some universities charge no tuition to EU students and offer substantial scholarship support for non-EU internationals, including funding that can cover tuition fully for qualifying applicants. While living costs in Nordic countries can be higher, the delivery of high-quality education in fields like life sciences, engineering, and business, combined with scholarship support, often balances that expense. (Sources: )

Asia also has emerging options for affordable universities with scholarships. Some universities in Bangladesh, such as Southeast University, offer partial to full tuition waivers for high-achieving students, linking institutional scholarship directly to academic excellence. Combined with modest living costs, this makes them practical choices for students from other developing regions who want quality education on a budget. (Sources: )

In South America, options like the University of Buenos Aires illustrate another model — extremely low tuition (often in the range of $1,000–$2,000 per year) paired with scholarship opportunities for eligible international applicants. While scholarship systems may vary by institution, these low fixed tuition models provide an inherently affordable baseline, and merit-based awards or government incentive programs can edge total costs even lower.

Across these regions, the combination of public education models, external scholarships (often government-funded or agency-administered), and institutional scholarship programs create an ecosystem of affordability that competes with — and in some cases surpasses — cost structures found in the U.S. or U.K., especially when scholarship funding is layered into the total cost equation.

4. How Scholarships Make Cheap Universities Truly Affordable (Mechanics and Caveats)

Understanding why these universities are considered affordable requires distinguishing between base tuition costs and net cost after scholarships — a difference that fundamentally changes the financial landscape for students. Public universities in countries with state-funded education systems often eliminate tuition altogether for both domestic and international students, meaning base costs are already minimal. When you add in scholarships that cover living stipends, travel allowances, or research funding, the net cost to the student can become extraordinarily low relative to global standards. (Sources: )

Scholarship mechanisms are typically categorized as merit-based or need-based. Merit-based scholarships reward academic excellence, leadership, or specific talents; they can cover full tuition or significant portions of it depending on the institution and the competitive award structure. Need-based scholarships evaluate an applicant’s financial situation and often provide funds that help bridge gaps between cost and ability to pay. Many government scholarship programs — such as DAAD, Stipendium Hungaricum, or national excellence awards — combine both approaches to ensure that high-achieving students with financial challenges can access tuition and living support.

Institutional scholarships — awards managed by the universities themselves — operate differently from government schemes because they reflect a university’s own priorities for talent attraction, diversity, and academic strength. Some institutions reserve a portion of their annual budget specifically for international students, offering tiered awards that reduce net tuition costs even for students who do not win full rides. These institutional scholarships can often be stacked — meaning a student can combine a need-based award with a merit-based one — to bring down the net cost even further.

It’s worth noting that not all scholarships cover living costs, and some only reduce tuition fees. That’s an important distinction for students to understand: the total cost of attendance includes both tuition and living expenses, and scholarship coverage varies by award type and institution policy. Some scholarships, however, especially those tied to government programs or major institutional endowments, can include living stipends, travel grants, and even health insurance coverage.

Choosing an affordable program, therefore, involves analyzing both tuition fee structures and available scholarships, including eligibility criteria, application requirements, and renewal expectations. A university with low base tuition but minimal scholarship opportunities may still be less affordable overall than a mid-range tuition institution that awards generous scholarships that cover most of the cost of attendance.

Table: Examples of Low-Tuition/Scholarship-Friendly Universities

Table: Scholarship Types and What They Cover

In Summary

The notion of cheap universities nearly always ties back to how tuition and scholarships interplay. Countries with publicly funded education systems like Germany, Poland, and parts of Scandinavia make affordability not an anomaly but a structural reality for international students. In the U.S., where official tuition prices are high, scholarships and institutional aid — such as full-tuition awards at Berea College or need-based aid at major research universities — provide pathways that make otherwise expensive education accessible.

Affordability isn’t simply about a low sticker price. It’s about net cost after scholarship, living cost management, and a realistic understanding of how financial aid transforms the total expense of study. Scholarships that cut tuition costs or contribute stipends can turn a “cheap university” into a life-changing opportunity for students from around the world.