Degree pathways
Scholarships for Mechanical Engineers from Pakistan: What Fits
For BS/BE Mechanical, mechatronics and aerospace graduates in Pakistan: master's and PhD directions abroad and the funded programmes that accept your degree.
By the 47 Fellows team · Master's · PhD · 7 min read ·
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If you have a BS or BE in Mechanical Engineering from Pakistan, the funded routes that fit you best are Erasmus Mundus joint master's degrees built for mechanical graduates (in aeronautics, manufacturing, electric vehicles, energy systems, ship design and solid mechanics), research-based places such as the KAUST fellowship in Saudi Arabia, and broad schemes like HEC's overseas PhD scholarships and Chevening. Most mechanical graduates who go abroad pick one of five directions: energy, automotive and e-mobility, robotics and mechatronics, manufacturing, or materials and structures.
This guide maps those directions to named, funded programmes that say on their own websites that they accept mechanical (or mechatronics and aerospace) graduates. Dates were checked on programme pages on 19 October 2026.
What mechanical graduates in Pakistan usually do next
At home, mechanical engineers work in power generation, HVAC and building services, automotive assembly and parts, oil and gas, fertiliser and cement plants, textiles, and defence and aviation industries. To practise as an engineer in Pakistan you register with the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).
A master's abroad usually helps in one of two ways. It moves you into a specialist field that is hard to enter from a general BE (for example battery and electric-drive design, computational mechanics, or advanced manufacturing). Or it is the first step towards a PhD and a research or teaching career.
The common master's and PhD directions are:
- Energy and thermal systems: renewable energy, smart grids and storage, heat transfer, HVAC.
- Automotive and e-mobility: electric vehicle powertrains, vehicle dynamics, control.
- Robotics and mechatronics: automation, sensors, embedded control.
- Manufacturing: Industry 4.0, additive manufacturing, production systems.
- Materials and structures: composites, solid mechanics, fatigue and fracture, aerospace structures.
If you are weighing universities by subject strength, our subject rankings article explains how to read the engineering tables.
Funded programmes that accept mechanical graduates
The table lists programmes we could check today. "Check official page" means the 2027 deadline is not yet published or we could not confirm it, so do not plan around a guessed date.
Europe: Erasmus Mundus joint master's
Erasmus Mundus degrees last two years, move you between two or more countries, and offer EU-funded scholarships to students from any country. The TFMASA and E-PiCo+ scholarship pages both list the EU scholarship as €1,400 a month for living costs, with tuition (participation costs) covered on top.
| Programme | Field | Where | Next deadline | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TFMASA | Heat transfer, fluids and materials for aeronautics | Bordeaux (France), UCLouvain (Belgium), BTU Cottbus (Germany) | 1 December 2026 | tfmasa.com |
| E-PiCo+ | Electric vehicle propulsion and control | Centrale Nantes (France) and partners in Italy, Germany, Romania, Mexico | 31 January 2027 (opens 1 November 2026) | master-epico.ec-nantes.fr |
| DENSYS 2.0 | Decentralised smart energy systems | Nancy (France), then Sweden, Italy or Spain | 27 January 2027 (open since 12 October 2026) | densys.univ-lorraine.fr |
| META 4.0 | Smart and sustainable manufacturing | France and Italy, then Norway, Slovenia, Germany or France | Check official page | master-meta4-0.eu |
| EMship+ | Design of ships and offshore structures | Belgium, Romania, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain | Check official page (2027-28 applications open) | emship.eu |
| STRAINS | Advanced solid mechanics | France, Greece, Belgium, Italy, Poland | Check official page (2027-29 call opens autumn 2026) | master-strains.eu |
| EU4M | Mechatronics and robotics | Spain, Germany, France, Sweden | Check official page | eu4m.eu |
| AMASE | Materials science and engineering | Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, Austria, Italy | Check official page | eusmat.net |
A few details worth knowing:
- TFMASA opened on 1 September 2026 and closes at 10:00 CET on 1 December 2026, so it is the most urgent one here. Its scholarship page lists €4,500 a year in participation costs covered for scholarship holders.
- E-PiCo+ lists 20 EU scholarships for the 2027-2029 edition, plus a small number of tuition waivers ranked from the reserve list.
- META 4.0 asks for a bachelor's of at least 180 ECTS in mechanics, mechanical engineering, or materials science and engineering (mechatronics may be considered), and English at B2 level shown by IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC.
- EMship+ asks for a degree of 180 ECTS or more in mechanical engineering, naval architecture or a similar field.
- EU4M tracks are taught in the language of each host university, so it suits you only if you already speak, or are learning, Spanish, German or French.
See every programme on our Erasmus Mundus page, and the full engineering list at engineering scholarships.
Middle East, UK, China and global awards
| Programme | Where | Funding | Next deadline | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAUST Fellowship | Saudi Arabia (MS and PhD) | KAUST says over 90% of admitted students get full tuition support, with a monthly stipend, housing, medical cover and relocation help | 3 January 2027 for Fall 2027 (KAUST calls it tentative) | admissions.kaust.edu.sa |
| Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowship | Any accredited university (women PhD students) | USD 12,000 | 15 November 2026 | zonta.org |
| HEC Overseas Scholarships for PhD in selected fields | Abroad, through HEC | Fully funded, with a service bond in Pakistan | Check official page | hec.gov.pk |
| IsDB Merit Scholarship | Leading universities abroad (PhD and postdoc) | Fully funded research study in applied sciences and high technology | Check official page | isdb.org |
| Chevening | UK, one-year master's | Fully funded | 2027/28 round closed in October 2026 | chevening.org |
| Chinese Government Scholarship (Type A via HEC) | China | Government scholarship | The 2026-27 call closed on 5 January 2026; the next call is not out yet | hec.gov.pk |
| Bestway Foundation Scholarship, Bradford | UK, STEM master's | About £35,000 each, five awards (2026-27 round) | 2027-28 round not announced yet | bradford.ac.uk |
Notes on fit:
- KAUST is a good match for mechanical graduates who want research: its fellowship comes with admission, and you name the faculty you want to work with. The Spring 2027 PhD round already closed on 27 September 2026.
- The Amelia Earhart Fellowship is only for women already enrolled in a PhD with research applied to aerospace engineering or space sciences.
- HEC's overseas PhD scheme works through a published list of priority areas. That list includes robotics and system design, renewable energy, new materials and nanotechnology, fluid mechanics, and modelling and simulation, which suits most mechanical research topics. HEC announces batches irregularly, so watch the official page.
- Chevening suits engineers with at least two years of work experience who want a one-year UK master's, for example in energy or engineering management. Applications for 2027/28 have closed; Chevening's timeline shows rounds opening in August.
Choosing your direction
A short way to decide:
- Pick the field first, then the scholarship. A thermal or fluids final-year project points to TFMASA or DENSYS 2.0. A manufacturing internship points to META 4.0. Final-year work on vehicles or control fits E-PiCo+.
- Check the language. Most programmes above teach in English. EU4M is the main exception.
- Line up your documents early. Erasmus Mundus programmes want degree transcripts, an English test, a motivation letter and references. Get your degree attested by HEC before you need it, using our HEC attestation guide, and read how to write a motivation letter.
- For a PhD, contact supervisors. At KAUST and for HEC or IsDB funding, a supervisor who wants you matters. Our guide to funded PhDs and contacting professors and the sample email to a potential supervisor show how.
- Check your eligibility rules. Age limits, CGPA cut-offs and work experience differ a lot between these schemes. Run them through our eligibility checker.
Nothing here guarantees a place or a scholarship. These programmes are competitive, and each consortium sets its own selection rules.
Careers in Pakistan and abroad
We have not found official salary data for mechanical engineers in Pakistan that we can stand behind, so we do not quote pay figures here. In broad terms, a specialist master's opens roles in design and simulation, energy and HVAC consulting, automotive and battery engineering, and manufacturing process engineering, in Pakistan and abroad. A PhD leads to research labs, industry R&D and university teaching. Visa and work rules after study differ by country, so check them with the embassy or the university.
Your next step
Run Find my matches to see which of these programmes fit your CGPA, degree and plans, then add the closest dates to your calendar from our deadlines page. TFMASA (1 December 2026) and the Amelia Earhart Fellowship (15 November 2026) close first.
Dates and rules change every year. Always confirm the deadline and eligibility on each programme's official page before you apply.
