Fully Funded Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) 2018

Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) is one of the most prestigious and fully funded scholarships in the world just like Fulbright or Erasmus+. It invites talented international students to pursue their higher studies in Korea with an aim to promote international cooperation and produce future global leaders.

Host Country:

• South Korea:

Host Universities:

• 64 universities designated by NIIED.

Course Level:

• Doctoral Degree
• Master’s Degree
• Research Program
  • Postdoctoral Research Program
  • Professor Exchange Program

Fields of Study:

• For, detailed information on majors (fields of study) offered by the 64 universities designated by NIIED, refer to the “University Information” file attached under the GKS Notice post in our Study In Korea website.
• Applicants must choose their majors (fields of study) that are only listed in the “University Information” file.
• Night School, Short-term seasonal programs, online and distant-learning programs are not available to apply.

No. of Scholarships:

• For the year 2018, we will invite 780 international students from 156 countries, for degree(Master’s & Doctoral) and non-degree research programs.

Scholarship Value:

• Airfare Round : Trip economy class ticket
• Monthly Allowance : 900,000 KRW per month
• Research Allowance : 210,000 KRW for scholars in the field of humanities and social sciences, 240,000 KRW for scholars in natural and mechanic sciences (ONLY FOR GRADUATE PROGRAM)
• Settlement Allowance : 200,000 KRW upon arrival
• Language Training Fee : Full coverage
• Tuition : All admission fees are waived by the host institution (university)The tuition is covered by NIIED and the university.
• Dissertation Printing Costs : Reimbursement of 500,000 ~ 800,000 KRW depending on actual costs (ONLY FOR GRADUATE PROGRAM)
• Medical Insurance : 20,000 KRW per month (limited coverage)
• Korean Proficiency Grants : 100,000 KRW per month for scholars with TOPIK Level 5 or 6

Eligibility Criteria:

The criteria of the Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) 2018 is given below:

• Both an applicant and his/her parents must be citizens of their country of origin.
• Applicants should not hold Korean citizenship.
• Applicants should have adequate health, both mentally and physically, to stay in a foreign country for a long time.
• Should be under 40 years of age at the date of entrance. (Graduate)
• Applicants must hold or must be expecting to hold a Bachelor’s, Master’s or a Doctoral degree by August 31st, 2018.
• Research program applicant must hold a degree or a diploma equivalent to or higher than a Master’s degree and must have received invitation from a Korean university that participates in our program.
• Postdoctoral research applicant must hold a doctoral degree or a diploma equivalent to a doctoral degree.
• Professor Exchange Program applicant must hold a Master’s degree or a diploma equivalent to or higher than a Master’s degree.
• Applicants who have previously achieved in any undergraduate program, master’s program, or doctoral program in Korea cannot apply for this program.
• However, a KGSP scholar who has graduated can apply for this program again only via the embassy and only if he/she holds a TOPIK score of at least Level 4 and obtains another recommendation from the Korean Embassy of his/her respective country of origin (re-application is limited to one instance).
• Possess a grade point average (G.P.A.) above 80% from the last educational institution attended.

For more information about the eligibility criteria please 2018 Korean Government Scholarship Program for Graduate Degrees FAQ’s file available on the official website.

How to Apply:

You can apply Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) 2018  by only one of the two ways:

1. Embassy Track:

NIIED invites the Korean Embassy in the invited country or a domestic university to recommend potential candidates.
Applicants should submit all documents related to their scholarship application to the Korean Embassy in their country of residence to or the domestic university concerned.
The Korean Embassy or the domestic university sends proper candidates to NIIED with the required documents.
NIIED evaluates potential candidates and notifies the Korean Embassy of the final selected KGSP grantees.

      2. University Track:

Applicants who plan to apply for the KGSP scholarship through the University track must submit their applications to the designated Korean universities

Application Deadline:

Each Korean Embassy and university decides its own deadline. Although most deadlines fall between late February and March, you must contact the Korean Embassy in your home country or the university of your choice, regarding the deadline.

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