2015 Korean Government Scholarships Program for Bachelors, Masters and PhD studies for Developing Countries

The 2015 Korean Government Scholarships Program for Bachelors, Masters and PhD studies for Developing Countries is now ongoing and interested applicants are advised to read the below guidelines to be able to send in their applications. 

The Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) is offered for international students who want to pursue Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees in Korean Universities. The scholarship is aimed to provide international students with an opportunity to conduct advanced studies at higher educational institutions in Korea, to develop global leaders and strengthen Korea-friendly networks worldwide.

The scholarship covers courses offered at one of the 60 participating Korean higher institutions. Around 110 undergraduate scholarships and 345 postgraduate scholarships will be awarded.

Scholarship Value

The scholarship Value for both the undergraduate and the graduate program is detailed below:

Undergraduate Program

• Airfare: A round-trip economy class ticket
• Monthly Allowance: 800,000 won per month
• Relocation (Settlement) Allowance: 200,000 won upon arrival
• Repatriation Allowance: 100,000 won upon completion of studies
• Language Training Fee : The full costs up to 1 year
• Tuition: The tuition fee up to 5 million won is exempted by the Korean Government, and if any, the tuition fee exceeding 5 million won and the entrance fee for the first semester by the host university
• Medical Insurance: The grantees will be provided with health insurance for major accidents and illnesses during their scholarship period.

Graduate Program

• Airfare: A round-trip economy class ticket
• Monthly Allowance: 900,000 won per month
• Relocation (Settlement) Allowance: 200,000 won upon arrival
• Language Training Fee : The full costs up to 1 year 
• Tuition: All admission fees are waived by the host institution. The full tuition is paid by NIIED.
• Medical Insurance: 20,000 won per month(limited insurance coverage) will be provided to the university for students.
• Research Allowance: 210,000 won for students in human and social sciences; 240,000 won for students in natural and mechanic sciences per semester
• Dissertation Printing Costs: 500,000 ~ 800,000 won for the costs related to a printing dissertation.

Special Allowance for ALL students proficient in Korean language – (TOPIK level 5 or 6): 100,000 won per month.

Duration of Scholarship

• Undergraduate course: 1 year Korean language course + 4 year bachelors course.
• Master’s course: 1 year of Korean language + 2 years of Master’s course.
• Doctoral course: 1 year of Korean language + 3 years of Doctoral course.

Eligibility

Undergraduate program
Prospective applicants must meet the following qualification criteria;

1. Must be a citizen of the country to which the scholarship is offered, which also applies to the applicants’ parents
2. Have graduated or will be scheduled to graduate from high school as of March 1st of the invitation year
3. Must possess above 80% (out of 100%) cumulative grade point average (CGPA), or must be within the top 20% (out of 100%) in rank in high school.

Graduate program

1. The applicant and his/her parents must hold foreign citizenships. (* Applicants who hold Korean citizenship are not permitted to apply for this program.)
2. Applicants must be under 40 years of age as of Sep. 1st, 2013 (born after Sep. 1st, 1973).
3. Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree as of September 1st of the selection year.
* Applicants who have enrolled in or graduated from a university in Korea are not eligible for the KGSP program. Specifically, applicants who have previously enrolled in or graduated from an undergraduate program, a Master’s program, or a doctoral program in Korea cannot apply for this program.
4. Applicants must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.64 on a 4.0 scale, 2.80 on a 4.3 scale, 2.91 on a 4.5 scale, or grades/marks/score of 80% or higher from the previously attended institution. If the applicant does not satisfy the above GPA requirements, he/she will be ineligible to apply to this program.

Eligible Countries

The 2015 Korean Government Scholarships Program is open to the following countries:

China, Japan, Russia, Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Turkey, USA, Ethiopia, Colombia, Nepal, Senegal, Bangladesh, Ukraine, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Egypt, Tanzania, Germany, France, Dominica, Chile, Iran, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Pakistan, Gabon, Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Czech, Guatemala, Ecuador, Algeria, Yemen, Uganda, Belize, Honduras, Italy, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Ghana, Georgia, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, NIGERIA, Republic of South Africa, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Rwanda, Libya, Lithuania, Moldavia, Bahrain, Barbados, Bahamas, Venezuela, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Brunei, Serbia, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Slovenia, Armenia, Argentina, Haïti, Ireland, Afghanistan, Angola, Oman, Austria, Uruguay, Iraq, Israel, Zambia, Cameroon, Qatar, Kenya, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Panama, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Fiji, Hungary, Australia, Jordan.

Application Procedure and Deadline

Applicants can only apply for the scholarships through the Korean Embassy in their home country or a participating Korean University. Visit the official Scholarship website (link found below) for detailed information on how to go about applying for the Scholarship.

Official Scholarship Website – http://www.niied.go.kr/eng/contents.do?contentsNo=78&menuNo=349