Korean Government Scholarship Program for International Students

Scholarship Overview

The Korean Government Scholarship program provides international students with opportunities to conduct advanced studies in undergraduate and graduate programs at higher education institutions in the Republic of Korea.
This scholarship program aims to promote international exchanges in education and mutual friendship between Korea and other countries.
KGSP supports future global leaders while promoting international cooperation in education by inviting talented international students to the Republic of Korea to advance their studies.

Host School(s)

Designated universities in Korea, as listed below:

Ajou Univ., Changwon National Univ., Chonnam National Univ., Chung-Ang Univ., Chungbuk National Univ., Chungnam National Univ., Daegu Univ., Daejeon Univ., Dong-A Univ., Dongguk Univ., Dongseo Univ., Ewha Woman’s Univ., Gyeongsang National Univ., Handong Global Univ.,Hankuk Univ. of Foreign Studies, Hallym Univ., Hannam Univ., Hanshin Univ., Hanyang Univ., Hoseo Univ., Inha Univ., Inje Univ., Jeju National Univ., Jeonju Univ., KAIST, Kangwon National Univ., Keimyung Univ., Kongju National Univ., Konkuk Univ.(Seoul), Konkuk Univ.(GLOCAL campus), Kookmin Univ., Korea Polytechnic Univ., KOREATECH., Korea Univ., Kyongpook National Univ., Kyunghee Univ., Kyungsung Univ., Myongji Univ., Pai Chai Univ., Pukyong National Univ., Pusan National Univ., Sangmyung Univ., Semyung Univ., Seoul National Univ., Seoul National Univ. of Science and Technology, Sogang Univ., Sookmyung Women’s Univ., Sung Kyun Kwan Univ., Sun Moon Univ., Univ. of Seoul, Yeungnam Univ., Yonsei Univ.

Fields of Study

The four-year undergraduate program is available at designated universities. The scholarship is however not applicable to courses that take longer than four years, e.g., Medicine, Dentistry, Architecture, and Pharmacy.
Grantees must take a preliminary Korean language course for at least a year, at a language institution located on campus within domestic universities.
On completion of the 1-year Korean language course, grantees can begin their four-year undergraduate degree.
Grantees must take a preliminary Korean language course at the institution designated by NIIED. The institution will be specified in a letter of invitation after the announcement of final successful candidates.
Grantees must reach level 3 in TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) after the completion of a one-year preliminary Korean language course in order to take a bachelor’s degree course. Alternatively, the grantee may take an additional 6-month Korean language course WITHIN the scholarship period stipulated in a letter of invitation.
Grantees with level 5 or higher in TOPIK can begin a bachelor’s degree course from 2018 spring semester without the preliminary Korean language course.

What does the Scholarship cover?

Successful recipients of this award are entitled to:

A round-trip economy class airfare
A monthly allowance of KRW 800,000
A settlement allowance of KRW 200,000 on arrival
Tuition fees are waivered by the host university. All the tuition costs are covered by NIIED and the host institution.
Medical insurance of KRW 20,000 per month (limited coverage)
Provision for Language Training fee
Korean proficiency grants: KRW 100,000 is given to scholars with TOPIK level 5 or 6

How many scholarships are given?

Which countries are targeted?

Applicants from all countries that have diplomatic relations with Korea are welcome to apply.
Only those who hold a citizenship of the countries below are eligible for the program.
The list below shows the countries and the scholarship quota for each one.

Afghanistan – 1 El Salvador – 1 Mexico -2 Singapore – 2

Angola – 1 Ethiopia – 2 Mongolia – 2 Sri Lanka – 2

Azerbaijan – 2 Gabon – 2 Mozambique – 1 Sweden – 1

Bangladesh – 2 Ghana – 2 Myanmar – 1 Tajikistan – 1

Bolivia – 2 Guatemala – 1 Nepal – 2 Tanzania- 2

Brazil – 3 India – 2 Nigeria – 2 Thailand – 3

Brunei – 1 Indonesia – 3 Pakistan – 2 Timor-Este – 2

Bulgaria – 2 Iran – 2 Panama – 3 Trinidad – 1

Bhutan – 1 Iraq – 1 Paraguay – 2 Turkey – 2

Cambodia – 3 Japan – 2 Peru – 3 Turkmenistan – 1

Chile – 2 Jordan – 2 Philippines – 2 Uganda – 1

Colombia – 3 Kazakhstan – 2 Poland – 1 Ukraine -2

Conge DRC – 2 Kenya – 2 Russia – 2 Uzbekistan – 2

Dominican Rep – 1 Kyrgyzstan – 2 Rwanda – 2 Venezuela – 1

Ecuador – 3 Laos – 2 Senegal – 1 Vietnam- 2

Egypt – 1 Malaysia – 3 Sudan – 1 Yemen – 2

Am I Eligible to Apply?

Prospective applicants must meet the following qualification criteria;

Must be a citizen of the country to which scholarships are offered – this also applies to his/her parents
Should not hold Korean citizenship
Should be under 25 years of age as of March 1
Have adequate health, both physically and mentally
Have graduated or be scheduled to graduate from a high school as of March 1
Should have finished or be scheduled to finish formal education (up to high school) by the date of arrival.
Must possess above 80% (out of 100%) cumulative grade point average (C.G.P.A.), or must be within 20% (out of 100%) in the rank during their entire high school period
Must not at any time have ever received a Korean government scholarship for an undergraduate course
Must not have enrolled in an undergraduate course in Korea before
Must have no limitations in traveling abroad

Note: There may be preferential selection for applicants who have proficiency in Korean or English

How Do I Apply – Next Steps

For detailed information on the application deadline and submission of required documents, applicants should contact the APPROPRIATE KOREAN EMBASSY (or Korean Education Center) in the country of applicant’s origin (or in the neighboring country), the organization in charge of the 1st round of selection.
Applications that are DIRECTLY FROM AN APPLICANT or THROUGH FOREIGN EMBASSIES IN KOREA without the recommendation of the organization in charge of the 1st round of selection will NOT be accepted.

The required documents include:

One completed application form (Form 1)
One NIIED pledge (Form 2)
One personal statement (Form 3)
One study plan (Form 4)
Two recommendation letters (from two different recommenders – high school teacher, principal, academic advisor, etc.) (Form 5)
Consent for verification of the Record of D2 Visa (Form 6)
One personal medical assessment (Form 7)
High school graduation certificate
High school grade transcript
Certificates of citizenship for the applicant and his/her parents (either Birth certificate, Parent’s passport, etc)
Certificate of English or Korean proficiency (where applicable)
Certificate of health authorized by a medical doctor (Form 8, only for candidates who make it through the 2nd round of selection)
A copy of the applicant’s passport (only for applicants who successfully pass through the 2nd round of selection)

Closing Date

How do I get more information?