The Ashesi-ETH Masters Scholarship covers full tuition, accommodation, health insurance, a monthly living stipend, a laptop, and a return trip home every year. It is open exclusively to African students, and the deadline is June 30, 2026.
Imagine earning two internationally recognised Masters degrees at the same time, one from ETH Zurich in Switzerland, consistently ranked among the top ten universities in the world, and another from Ashesi University in Ghana, one of Africa’s most respected institutions. Now imagine doing all of that on a full scholarship that covers every single expense from tuition to housing to health insurance to a new laptop.
That is not a fantasy. That is the Ashesi-ETH Masters Scholarship in Mechatronic Engineering, and applications for the 2026 cohort are open right now.
If you are an African graduate in engineering and you have been looking for the opportunity that changes everything, this is a serious contender for exactly that.
What Makes This Scholarship Different From Everything Else Out There?
Most scholarships give you funding to study at one institution in one country. The Ashesi-ETH programme is built differently from the ground up. It is a genuine joint programme between ETH Zurich and Ashesi University, meaning you are not just studying in Switzerland with an African connection on paper. You are enrolled in a curriculum designed and delivered by faculty from both universities, taught in block courses that run across both Ghana and Switzerland.
You graduate with two certificates. A Master of Advanced Studies from ETH Zurich and a Master of Science from Ashesi University. Both are internationally recognised. Both carry serious academic weight. And you earn them simultaneously, through a single three-year programme that has been carefully structured to give you the depth of a European technical education alongside the contextual grounding of an African institution that truly understands the problems this continent needs engineers to solve.
Since its launch in January 2022, 40 students from seven African countries have already gone through this programme. These are not numbers from a pilot phase. This is a programme that works, and the 2026 cohort is your opportunity to join it.
What Does the Scholarship Actually Cover?
This is the part that makes the Ashesi-ETH Scholarship genuinely hard to walk past. It is not a partial award or a tuition-only grant. It is a comprehensive, all-in funding package that eliminates financial barriers from the first day to the last.
Here is the full list of what you receive. Full tuition and academic fees for the entire three-year programme. A laptop and all necessary equipment so you have the tools you need from day one. Accommodation throughout your studies so you are never scrambling for housing in a new country. Full health insurance coverage for the duration of the programme. One return trip home every year so you stay connected to your family and your roots. And a monthly living stipend to cover daily expenses across both countries.
The scholarship does not just fund your education. It funds your life while you get that education. That distinction matters enormously for African students who often carry the weight of family financial expectations alongside their academic ambitions.
On top of all of that, the programme includes mentorship from professional experts and experienced career guides, hands-on internship placements, and direct job opportunities from global industry partners after graduation. You are not just getting a degree and a stipend. You are being plugged into a network and a career pipeline.
Who Can Apply?
This scholarship is exclusively for African students, which makes it one of the most intentionally Africa-focused engineering scholarships available from a European institution of this calibre.
To be eligible, you must be African by nationality. You must hold a Bachelor of Science or Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Process Engineering, or Mechatronics Engineering. Your degree must be at Second Class Upper level or better. And you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in English.
No IELTS is required for eligible applicants, which removes one of the most common logistical barriers African applicants face when applying to European universities.
How Will You Be Selected?
The selection process goes beyond your grades alone, which is actually good news for well-rounded candidates. The Ashesi-ETH programme assesses applicants across five dimensions. Your academic qualifications come first, but your curriculum vitae, extracurricular achievements, working and internship experience, and a clear demonstration of personal motivation are all factored into the final decision.
This means your personal statement and CV carry real weight. The programme is looking for engineers who have not just performed in the classroom but who show evidence of initiative, curiosity, and a genuine drive to use technical skills in service of something bigger. If that describes you, put that story together clearly and let it speak for itself in your application.
Why ETH Zurich and Why Ashesi?
ETH Zurich is not just a prestigious university. It is one of the institutions where some of the most consequential scientific and engineering work of the last century has happened. Albert Einstein studied there. The institution has produced over 20 Nobel Prize winners. Its engineering programmes are routinely ranked among the best in the world. Access to ETH Zurich’s academic environment, faculty, and research culture is genuinely rare, and this scholarship gives African engineers exactly that access, fully funded.
Ashesi University, on the other hand, represents something different but equally important. It is an institution built on the belief that Africa’s future will be shaped by ethical, entrepreneurial leaders who are technically excellent and deeply grounded in the African context. The combination of these two institutions is not accidental. It reflects a vision of what African engineering education at its best can look like: globally rigorous, locally rooted, and thoroughly practical.
Together, they are not just offering you a Masters degree. They are offering you a particular kind of engineer. One who can work at the highest international level and return home with the skills and networks to help solve Africa’s most pressing technical challenges.
How to Apply
The application process is entirely online. Visit the official Ashesi-ETH Masters programme page using the link at the end of this article. From there, you will be directed to Ashesi University’s application portal where you create an account and submit your documents. Make sure your academic transcripts, degree certificate, CV, and motivation materials are all ready before you begin filling out the application.
The deadline is June 30, 2026. That is close enough to take seriously and still far enough away to prepare a strong, complete application if you start today.
Do not rush a half-finished submission through the portal just to beat the clock. Give yourself the time to make every part of your application count.
This Is the One to Apply For
Two globally recognised degrees. Full funding from day one to graduation. Studies split between Ghana and Switzerland. A laptop, housing, health insurance, an annual trip home, and a monthly stipend. Industry job opportunities waiting at the end. And a cohort of exceptional African engineers around you throughout.
The Ashesi-ETH Masters Scholarship in Mechatronic Engineering is one of the most complete, most ambitious, and most Africa-specific postgraduate opportunities available to African engineers in 2026. The deadline is June 30, 2026, and it will not extend for anyone who missed it.
Apply today. Make sure the version of yourself that exists five years from now looks back on this moment as the one where everything changed.
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