How I Secured A Scholarship For My European Master’s

Although leading MBA programs are among the most expensive graduate degrees in the world, there are scholarships that can help to offset the cost.

One is the Laidlaw Foundation Women in Business Scholarship, which covers up to 100 percent of tuition costs for exceptional female MBA students.

Here, we lay out which schools offer the scholarship, who is eligible for an award, and how much you could receive. In addition, former recipients offer insights on how the award supported their education and—in some cases—transformed their lives.

What is the Laidlaw Women in Business Scholarship?

The Laidlaw Women in Business Scholarship is an initiative of the Laidlaw Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to enrich lives through education. The foundation has a particular focus on providing support to individuals from underserved communities.

According to the organization’s CEO, Susanna Kempe, the Women in Business Scholarship “provides extraordinary women from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to earn their MBA from one of the world’s top business schools.

“Successful applicants will join a community of ambitious women with the capacity and character to lead with impact and integrity across sectors and geographies,” she adds. 

Which business schools offer the Laidlaw Scholarship?

The Laidlaw Foundation partners with five leading European business schools to offer the Laidlaw Women in Business Scholarship. Those schools are:

• HEC Paris
• IE Business School
• IESE Business School, University of Navarra
• London Business School
• Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

It’s important to note that although this is a Laidlaw Scholarship, the prize is awarded individually by each school, which all have slightly different awarding criteria. You have to apply for the prize through the school website.

Who is eligible?

According to the Laidlaw Foundation, eligibility for the Laidlaw Women in Business Scholarship is divided into five criteria:

• Paying it forward: A desire to help other women succeed
• Financial need: A clear explanation of financial circumstances that would make pursuing an MBA out of the question without support
• Exceptional academic merit: A proven record of academic excellence, evidenced by transcripts, test scores, and relevant achievements
• Strong leadership potential: A desire and ability to lead, demonstrated through achievements and positions held to date, entrepreneurial endeavors, overcoming personal challenges and other notable experiences
• Ethical commitment: A sense of obligation to act with integrity and drive positive change

However, each partner school has a slightly different application process and awarding criteria.

For example, London Business School asks you to prepare three brief essays for your scholarship interview. They will address your family financial background, how those financial circumstances have impacted your life, and how you plan to make an impact in the future should you receive an award.

IE Business School does not provide specific questions for you to answer. Instead, it asks applicants to demonstrate a record of academic excellence and professional success, strong leadership potential, and high financial need.

Some schools and programs include the scholarship application within your main MBA application; others require you to apply separately. Check the website of your target school to ascertain its requirements.

How much could I receive?

The exact amount of financial support you could receive depends on the school.

• IE Business School awards a minimum of 14 Laidlaw Scholarships to International MBA students, split between half-tuition and full-tuition awards
• IESE Business School awards 13 full-tuition scholarships to MBA students
• London Business School offers 12 scholarships to MBA students, split between half-tuition and full-tuition awards
• HEC Paris offers up to 10 full-tuition scholarships
• Oxford Saïd offers eight full-tuition scholarships and two half-tuition scholarships

However, according to former recipients of the award, the benefits of the Laidlaw Scholarship go way beyond financial support.

“It was a vote of confidence—someone believed in my potential and invested in my future,” says Haila Asefa, who was awarded a Laidlaw Scholarship to join the International MBA program at IE Business School.

Midhat Fatima, another Laidlaw Scholarship recipient and 2025 graduate of the London Business School MBA, says, “Being part of the Laidlaw community added another layer of momentum, connecting me with an inspiring network of women leaders and broadening my perspective far beyond the classroom.”

How the Laidlaw Scholarships helps with business school affordability

It goes without saying that receiving a scholarship removes a huge financial barrier between you and an MBA. But it does much more than simply making an MBA program affordable—it will continue to benefit you long after you graduate.

Oghenekaro Faith Isiorho of the HEC Paris MBA Class of 2027 notes that the scholarship “gave me the freedom to immerse myself fully in the MBA experience” without having to take on “the weight of tuition debt” after graduation.

To put that into context, a full-tuition scholarship for the HEC Paris MBA would save the recipient €102,000 (US$118,000) in tuition fees.

“Without the financial support of the Laidlaw Foundation, pursuing an MBA at Oxford alongside my medical training would not have been possible,” she says.