The Decagon undergraduate scholarship, run by the Decagon Foundation as the Decagon Undergraduate Honours Program, pays full tuition for four years at a partner university in Nigeria. It is for Nigerian school leavers who scored 250 or more in JAMB UTME, have not started university, and cannot afford university fees on their own. Alongside the degree, scholars take a four-year online career and leadership programme run by Decagon.
The 2026 application window closed on 15 October 2026. Based on this year’s date, the deadline is 15 October 2027, so if you are writing UTME in 2027, aim for 250+ and keep this one on your list.
Decagon undergraduate scholarship summary
| Detail | Decagon Undergraduate Honours Program |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | Decagon Foundation |
| Award | Full tuition, paid to the university each semester |
| Length | Four years, renewed each semester on verified enrolment and academic progress |
| Universities | Accredited private partner universities in Nigeria (listings name Christopher University and Wellspring University) |
| Minimum UTME score | 250 |
| Who it is for | Nigerian citizens living in Nigeria with genuine financial need |
| Repayment | None; it is not a loan |
| Number of awards | Not published |
| Deadline | 15 October 2027 |
(based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens)
Tuition goes straight to the university against verified enrolment. You do not receive cash, and the listings do not mention accommodation, feeding or a stipend, so plan for those costs separately.
Decagon also runs a fee-paying version on decagon.institute, the Decagon Honours Program, which costs ₦275,000 a year and places students at partner private universities on a rolling basis. That is a different track. If you need the fully funded scholarship, apply through the Decagon Foundation’s student page and make sure the form you fill mentions financial need.
Who is eligible for the Decagon undergraduate scholarship?
- You scored 250 or above in JAMB UTME.
- You are a Nigerian citizen living in Nigeria.
- You have not started university yet.
- You have applied for, or hold an offer of, undergraduate admission to a partner university.
- You can show real financial need. The scholarship is for students who cannot fund university on their own.
- You commit to the full four-year programme that runs beside your degree.
Selection weighs academic merit (the 250 cut-off), financial need, character, commitment and how well you fit the programme. A high UTME score is not enough on its own, because financial need is part of the test.
If you have not yet seen your score, our guide on how to check your JAMB result walks through it. Once a partner university offers you admission, you will still need to accept it on JAMB CAPS; see our JAMB CAPS guide.
Eligibility edge cases
- Exactly 250: you meet the minimum. Remember that need and character are weighed too.
- Direct entry candidates: the call is built around a UTME score. If you are coming in with A level, IJMB or ND results and no UTME score, the published rules do not cover you.
- Admitted to a federal or state university: the scholarship is tied to Decagon’s partner universities. Taking it means taking admission at a partner school instead.
- Started and left another university: the rule is that you have not started university. A student who has already done a year elsewhere does not fit the wording.
- A 250+ score from an earlier year: the foundation has not said which UTME years it accepts. Your admission will run on your current JAMB record, so use the score that admission is based on.
- Nigerians living abroad: the call asks for Nigerian citizens living in Nigeria.
Who should apply, and who shouldn’t
Apply if you scored 250 or more, have not started university, your family genuinely cannot pay university fees, and you are happy to study at a private partner university while doing four years of extra career training. For a strong student from a low-income home, four years of private university tuition plus mentorship is a very good deal.
Think twice if you are set on a federal university, a course the partner schools do not offer, or if you cannot cover hostel and feeding costs on your own. Students below 250 and those already in school should look at the comparison table further down.
What the Decagon scholarship covers
| Benefit | What you get | When |
|---|---|---|
| Full tuition | Fees paid to the university each semester | Years 1 to 4 |
| Career Accelerator Track | Online courses in professionalism, critical thinking, business writing, project management and ethical AI, plus one specialisation: Tech, Design, Growth Marketing or Entrepreneurship | Years 1 to 4 |
| Leadership training | A structured leadership curriculum | From Year 1 |
| Decagon Honours Community | Digital badge, LinkedIn scholar status, peer groups and monthly fireside chats | From Year 3 |
| Career mentorship | Mentors from Nigerian business and tech | Throughout |
| Opportunities portal | Internships, vacation jobs, freelance projects and volunteer roles | Throughout |
Costs the scholarship doesn’t cover
None of the listings mention anything beyond tuition and the training programme. At a private university, these can still add up:
- Hostel accommodation, which many private universities require students to take
- Feeding, often charged per session
- Acceptance fees and other one-off charges, unless the university treats them as tuition
- A laptop and data for the online Career Accelerator Track
- Books, uniforms or clinic and development levies, depending on the school
Ask the partner university for its full fee schedule before you accept, and work out how much is left once tuition is removed.
Documents for the Decagon undergraduate scholarship
Listings give slightly different document lists. This is the fullest version; the Decagon Foundation’s form is final, so upload whatever it asks for.
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| JAMB UTME result slip | PDF or image, showing 250+ |
| WAEC or NECO result | PDF or image |
| Valid ID or NIN slip | National ID card, NIN slip, international passport or voter’s card |
| Birth certificate or declaration of age | Either one is accepted |
| School-leaving certificate or testimonial | From your secondary school |
| State of origin certificate | From your local government |
| Passport photograph | Formal, plain background |
| Proof of financial need | A short explanation with supporting evidence |
| Personal statement | 200 to 400 words |
The state of origin certificate and a declaration of age (if you have no birth certificate) take the longest, because they come from your local government and a court or registry. Start on those first.
How to write the Decagon personal statement
Your personal statement carries the financial-need case, so be specific. Say who pays your bills now, roughly what they earn, and what the scholarship would change. Two honest paragraphs beat a page of general hardship language.
With only 200 to 400 words, every sentence has to do work. The selection criteria name merit, need, character, commitment and fit with the programme, so I would build it like this:
- Merit (one or two sentences): your UTME score, WAEC grades and the course you want.
- Need (the longest part): who supports you, their work and rough income, and why university fees are out of reach. Match it to the evidence you upload.
- Commitment and fit: why a four-year career track alongside your degree appeals to you, and which specialisation (Tech, Design, Growth Marketing or Entrepreneurship) you would pick.
- Character: one example of responsibility, such as caring for siblings, a school leadership role or a part-time job.
A sample opening
“I scored 271 in the 2026 UTME and had six A1s and three B2s in WAEC, and I want to study Economics. My father is a commercial bus driver in Ibadan and my mother sells pap; together they earn about enough to feed our family of six. They paid my WAEC fee in instalments, and university fees are beyond them.”
That opening covers merit and need in under 70 words, which leaves room for commitment and character. Write yours with your own facts and figures.
How to apply for the Decagon undergraduate scholarship
- Check the four basics: 250+ in UTME, Nigerian and resident in Nigeria, financial need, and an application or offer for a partner university.
- Gather your documents: scan each one clearly and keep them in one folder on your phone or computer.
- Write your statement offline: draft it, count the words (200 to 400) and proofread it before you open the form.
- Open the student page: go to decagonfoundation.org/for-students for programme details, then the application form at decagonfoundation.org/apply.
- Fill in the form: personal, academic and institutional details, including your preferred partner university and course.
- Upload your documents: use clear scans in the formats the form accepts.
- Review and submit: check every field, then submit before the deadline and screenshot the confirmation.
Questions can go to folashadem@decagonfoundation.org, the contact given with the scholarship call. Applying is free; never pay anyone to apply or to be selected.
Common mistakes
- Applying to the fee-paying track by accident: the ₦275,000-a-year Honours Program on decagon.institute is not the scholarship.
- Applying after starting 100 level elsewhere: the award is for students who have not started university.
- A statement with no numbers: “my parents are poor” says little; their jobs, rough income and the number of children they support say a lot.
- Going over 400 words: the limit is part of the test of whether you follow instructions.
- Forgetting CAPS: an offer from a partner university still has to be accepted on JAMB CAPS before it is real.
What happens after you apply
Applications go through a structured review of merit, need, character, commitment and fit. The listings do not mention a test or an interview, and the Decagon Foundation has not published how many awards it makes or when results come out. If you are selected, the foundation pays tuition to your partner university each semester once your enrolment is verified, and keeps paying as long as you make academic progress. No minimum CGPA has been published for renewal, so treat every semester’s result as part of keeping the award.
Similar scholarships for new university students
| Scholarship | Who it is for | What it pays | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decagon (this page) | School leavers with 250+ UTME and financial need, at partner private universities | Full tuition for four years | 15 October 2027 |
| Rebecca Charles Trust Scholarship | Freshers at federal and state universities with 200+ in UTME | Full tuition and a monthly stipend | 31 August 2027 |
| ICON Scholarship | Students newly admitted into Nigerian universities | First-year tuition | 15 November 2026 |
| Ejiro M Ukiri Scholarship Fund | SS3 leavers with admission to a Nigerian institution | Up to ₦150,000 toward first-year costs | 30 September 2027 |
If you are also weighing awards for students already in school, read our guide to the Wole Ogunyemi Foundation undergraduate scholarship.
FAQs on the Decagon undergraduate scholarship
What JAMB score do I need for the Decagon scholarship?
At least 250 in UTME. Applicants below 250 are not eligible.
Can I use the Decagon scholarship at a federal university?
The listings only name private partner universities. They describe the award as tenable at Decagon’s accredited partners, such as Christopher University and Wellspring University. Choose from the partner list on the application form.
When is the Decagon undergraduate scholarship deadline?
The deadline is 15 October 2027. The 2026 round closed on 15 October 2026.
Can I apply if I am already in 100 level?
No. The scholarship is for students who have not yet started university.
Sources and updates
Eligibility, benefits, documents and the 15 October 2026 deadline come from the Decagon Foundation’s scholarship call as published by ScholarshipAir, MySchoolGist and After School Africa. The fee-paying Honours Program details come from decagon.institute. The foundation has not published the number of awards, a results date, a renewal CGPA or what non-tuition costs it covers. Checked on 24 October 2026. I will update this page when the Decagon Foundation opens the 2027 round.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
