Most scholarship guides start with a form you have to fill in. This one does not, because there is no form. The African School of Economics (ASE) Merit Scholarship is a tuition discount that ASE considers for every applicant to its graduate programs in Benin. You apply for admission, and the scholarship decision arrives with your offer letter. You can see the full scholarship details on our site, but this guide is about whether ASE makes sense for you and how to put together a file that earns a bigger discount.
A short answer first. This is a partial award, not a full ride. It suits a Pakistani student with a strong maths, statistics or economics background who wants a research-heavy master's in English, at a lower cost of living than Europe or the Gulf, and who has some money of their own to cover what the discount leaves behind. If you need every rupee of tuition and living costs paid, this is the wrong scholarship to build your plans around.
What ASE is and why the Benin campus is unusual
ASE is a Pan-African graduate institution founded in 2014. It is headquartered in Abomey-Calavi, near Cotonou, in the Republic of Benin. The network has since opened campuses in Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Zanzibar and Angola, but Benin is the founding and flagship campus, and that is the one this guide covers.
The school was set up to train research-ready economists, statisticians and policy professionals. A large share of the faculty comes from North American and European universities, and the curriculum is modelled on the first years of a doctoral program in economics.
The detail that matters most for a Pakistani applicant is language. Benin's higher education system is almost entirely French-medium. The University of Abomey-Calavi, the country's largest public university, accepts international students but requires French for nearly all programs. ASE teaches its graduate programs in English on the Benin campus. That single fact is what makes graduate study in Benin realistic for most students from Pakistan.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Funding type | Partial funding (merit-based tuition discount) |
| Study level | Master's and PhD |
| Fields | Economics, mathematics and statistics, business administration, development studies, public administration |
| Deadline | Rolling, varies by program and intake. Check the official admissions portal for the current cycle |
| Country | Benin (Abomey-Calavi campus) |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Official site | africanschoolofeconomics.com |
The programs that come with automatic scholarship screening
Every graduate program on the Benin campus is covered by the same automatic merit review. Pick the program first, since the scholarship follows from it.
- Master in Mathematics, Economics and Statistics (MMES). This is the research track. Its first two years mirror a North American PhD sequence, and it expects a strong undergraduate background in mathematics, statistics or econometrics.
- Master in Business Administration (MBA).
- Master in Development Studies/Development Economics (MDS/MDE).
- Master in Public Administration (MPA).
- PhD in Economics, for students who complete the MMES or arrive with equivalent preparation.
My honest view: the MMES is where ASE is most distinctive. ASE publicises alumni who have gone on to funded PhD placements abroad, including at the University of Houston. If your long-term goal is a funded PhD in economics in North America or Europe and your profile from Pakistan is not yet strong enough for a direct admit, a rigorous quantitative master's like this can be a sensible stepping stone. If you just want a general MBA, compare ASE carefully against options closer to home before committing to a move to West Africa.
How much the merit award actually reduces your tuition
Here is the part applicants most often misread. ASE does not publish a fixed scholarship schedule with guaranteed amounts. The award reduces the tuition you are billed, and the percentage varies from one student to the next. It depends on your academic record, your quantitative preparation and your admissions test performance. You only learn the figure when your admission decision letter arrives.
What the award does not do is cover your living costs automatically. Plan for these expenses on your own:
- The share of tuition the discount does not cover
- Visa costs
- Accommodation and daily living in Abomey-Calavi or Cotonou
- Travel to Benin
Cost of living in Benin is low by international standards, which helps. Still, the sensible approach is to treat the merit award as a meaningful discount you plan around, not as funding you can count on. Before you accept an offer, email admissions and ask for the current tuition figure and the realistic scholarship range for your program, since these are not always published in full on the public website. Ask too whether accommodation and living costs are handled separately.
Is a Pakistani student eligible?
Yes. ASE has no nationality restriction, and its student body has historically included students from many countries beyond Africa. Past enrollment reports cite students from more than a dozen countries. Pakistanis apply directly through the official ASE admissions portal, the same as everyone else.
There are no separate scholarship eligibility criteria. If you submit a complete, competitive admission application, you are in the running. The admission requirements are what you need to meet:
- A completed bachelor's degree for master's applicants, or a completed master's or MMES-equivalent for PhD applicants
- A strong quantitative background, especially for the MMES, which expects prior coursework in mathematics, statistics or econometrics
- Competitive transcripts, plus standardized test scores (such as the GRE or equivalent) where the specific program requires them
- English good enough for graduate-level coursework
Check each program page for whether a test score is required. Do not assume the rule for one program applies to another.
Putting your ASE application file together
Because the scholarship decision is made from your admission file, the quality of that file decides the size of your discount. These are the documents ASE asks for:
- Completed online admission application
- Official undergraduate transcripts (plus graduate transcripts for PhD applicants)
- Copy of your degree certificate(s)
- Valid passport copy
- Statement of purpose or motivation letter
- Letters of recommendation, typically two to three, academic or professional
- CV or resume
- Standardized test scores where the program requires them
For Pakistani applicants, get your transcripts and degree in order early. If you are unsure about attestation for documents going abroad, our IBCC and MOFA attestation guide walks through the process. Confirm with ASE what form of verification it actually needs before you pay for anything.
For the MMES in particular, your transcript has to show advanced mathematics or statistics coursework clearly. If your degree was in economics but light on maths, say so honestly in your statement of purpose and point to any extra courses you have done. Reviewers for a quantitative program will look for evidence that you can handle a PhD-level first year. A vague statement about loving economics will not help you there.
Applying, from program choice to offer letter
- Read the graduate program pages on the official ASE website and on the ASE Benin campus page. Choose between the MMES, MBA, MDS/MDE, MPA or PhD in Economics based on your background.
- Prepare transcripts, test scores, recommendation letters and your statement of purpose well before the intake deadline for that program.
- Submit the online application through the ASE admissions portal. There is no separate scholarship form.
- Reply quickly if the admissions office asks for an interview or more documents.
- Read your offer letter closely. It states whether you received a merit scholarship and what portion of tuition it covers.
- If you accept, start visa and travel arrangements for Benin and confirm the remaining tuition balance and payment deadlines with admissions.
Timing a rolling deadline in your favour
There is no single fixed date. Deadlines are rolling or program-specific and vary by intake, so confirm the current schedule on the official portal before you plan anything. The general sequence looks like this: the program pages and portal open, you submit (and merit consideration happens automatically at that point), a decision with scholarship notification follows several weeks after a complete application, and enrollment and visa processing happen ahead of the academic year start.
Apply as early in the cycle as you can. Merit allocation is tied to how strong your file is relative to others in the same intake, and an early file is reviewed while more funds remain. Leaving it late does not disqualify you, but it may cost you some of the discount.
Leave enough room for the visa stage too. Students from Pakistan often underestimate how long visa and financial paperwork takes. Our guide to bank statements and proof of funds is useful here, especially since a partial award means you will likely need to show money of your own.
Mistakes I see applicants make with ASE
The first is treating "automatic" as "guaranteed". Every applicant is considered. That does not mean every applicant gets a large discount, or any discount at all. Your offer letter tells you the real number.
The second is ignoring French. Classes are in English, but daily life and some administrative processes in Benin run in French. A short French prep course before you travel will make renting a room, shopping and dealing with offices much easier. Infrastructure and support services for non-Francophone foreigners are also more limited than in larger regional hubs like Ghana or Nigeria, so expect to be more self-reliant.
The third is being unclear about the PhD route. If you are aiming for the PhD in Economics, ask admissions whether you must finish the MMES first or whether direct entry is possible with your current degree. The answer changes both your timeline and your funding.
The fourth is not asking. Tuition figures and scholarship ranges are not always published in full. The ASE admissions email is admissions@africanschoolofeconomics.com, and a clear, polite question about your program's tuition and typical award range is entirely reasonable.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate scholarship application for ASE?
No. Every applicant to an ASE graduate program is automatically considered for the merit scholarship during the normal admission review. There is no extra form, essay or nomination.
Is the ASE Merit Scholarship fully funded?
No. It is a partial tuition discount whose percentage depends on your academic file. It is not a full ride and does not automatically cover living costs.
Do I need to speak French to study at ASE in Benin?
Not for your classes, which are taught in English on the Benin campus. Everyday life in Benin is conducted in French, though, so some basic French will help a lot.
Can Pakistani students apply?
Yes. ASE has no nationality restriction. Apply directly through the official ASE admissions portal.
When will I know how much scholarship I get?
The admission decision letter states whether you received a merit scholarship and what portion of tuition it covers. Decisions come several weeks after a complete application is submitted.
Is the GRE required?
Standardized test scores such as the GRE or equivalent are required only where the specific program asks for them. Check the page for your program on the official website.
Before you apply, confirm the current intake dates and tuition on the official ASE website, and keep the ASE Merit Scholarship page handy for the key details in one place.