Scholarships in Mexico

Mexico offers opportunities to study and opportunities to fund your studies however you prefer.

When you start looking into the alternatives available in your country regarding degrees to study, institutions to choose and procedures to complete, at some point you will have to stop to think about a crucial point: how to fund your studies.

Currently, to study for a Bachelor's degree in Mexico you can choose public or private universities and the main difference between them will lie in the managing body: the state or a private entity.

In the first case, they may be more affordable study programs in terms of costs, considering that state institutions are partially subsidized, which allows greater accessibility for admission to their degrees. In the case of private universities, as they are private, generally their main source of income and support is through the money they charge their students and therefore, to study in these places you will have to expect a greater expense.

Before you start to despair thinking that you will not be able to study at the university you want because you cannot afford the fees they require there, remember that you still have a great opportunity ahead of you to fund your studies: getting a scholarship.

CNBES Scholarships in Mexico

You do not have to waste time on endless searches from university to university, of course this is a viable option, since most higher education institutions in Mexico have their own scholarship programs that benefit their students with more accessible funding for their studies.

But if you want to access a national scholarship system, open to all students in Mexico, the CNBES can be of great help to you.

Coordinación Nacional de Becas de Educación Superior, that is the original name by which the CNBES is known, which belongs to the Subsecretaría de Educación Superior of the Secretaría de Educación Pública.

This entity is responsible for facilitating access to Higher Education in the country, through its various scholarship programs, designed to counter university dropout in public institutions.

The CNBES programs are: PRONABES, Titulación Scholarship, Excellence Scholarship and the scholarships for national and international mobility, among others.

PRONABES

This is the most important university scholarship program in Mexico, the Programa Nacional de Becas y Financiamiento (PRONABES), intended to provide financial support to students in conditions of economic vulnerability who are studying at public higher education institutions.

With this scholarship, the student receives a benefit of between $750 and $1,000 Mexican pesos per month.

If you wish to access this scholarship, you will have to meet a series of requirements. The general ones consist of: registering in the Sistema Único de Beneficiarios de Educación Superior; having passed the entirety of any study program prior to the scholarship application (secondary studies or university modules and credits); having an average of 8, on a scale of 0 to 10; having a monthly family income equal to or less than four minimum wages per person (this will depend on the geographic area in which the candidate lives); and not being a beneficiary of another scholarship.

Incoming students will also have to have successfully completed secondary education and have entered a higher education institution.

Graduation Scholarship

The Graduation Scholarship has been designed for students from public Higher Education institutions who have finished their studies and have to carry out an activity, such as the thesis, in order to obtain their degree.

This scholarship provides two payments of $4,500 Mexican pesos.

The requirements to obtain this financial aid are: registration in the Sistema Único de Beneficiarios de Educación Superior; a certificate issued by the university institution accrediting that 100% of the subjects have been passed; Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP); and a certificate of the chosen graduation method.

Excellence Scholarship

The Excellence Scholarships offered by CNBES are intended for students from public Higher Education institutions and research centers who have obtained the highest average in the last academic period. In fact, they will have to prove they have obtained an average of 10.

Since there may be new entrants to the higher education system who wish to access this scholarship, in those cases, they must prove they have obtained an average of 10 in the last high school cycle.

The financial benefit the recipient will receive will be $9,000 Mexican pesos, paid in a single installment.

To obtain this scholarship, the applicant must be enrolled in the Single System of Higher Education Beneficiaries; be a regular student at a university or higher education institution, in a Bachelor's degree or Higher Technician program; present the certificate indicating the student's grade average of 10; and have a Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP).

National Student Mobility Scholarship

This program benefits students who can demonstrate high academic performance at public higher education institutions and who wish to complete part of their education at another institution in the country.

What the scholarship recipient receives is financial support to join another university in Mexico for a set period, to deepen their knowledge and experience university life in other locations.

The amount awarded under this scholarship is $30,000 Mexican pesos to be distributed in 6 monthly payments of $5,000.

To be eligible for this scholarship, the requirements are: have a minimum overall average of 8.5; have completed 50% of the credits of the study program; be a regular student with no outstanding subjects from previous terms; and attach a letter explaining the reasons for seeking the benefit.

A similar scholarship is the International Student Mobility scholarship, which provides $84,000 Mexican pesos to be paid in 6 monthly installments of $14,000.

In this latter case, in addition to the requirements listed for the National Mobility Scholarship, the applicant must have been accepted into an educational exchange program at a foreign university.