About GKS ProgramGlobal Korea Scholarship
is offered by NIIED, not by KAIST, the institute that administers the Korean government’s scholarship programs. As for detailed information on 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.
GKS Scholarship details
- Country: Korea
- Level of study: master and Ph.D.
- funding: fully-funded
- date of apply: mid-Feb. 2021
- total number of scholarships: 700
- language requirement: no required language
Scholarship Benefit
- Full tuition fee: tuition exemption for 8 semesters
- Living expenses: 800,000 KRW per month
- Airfare: one economy round trip
- Korean language training fee: one year
- Korean language training is mandatory and when the student does not achieve TOPIK grade 3 within a year, she/he is not eligible to enter the degree program.
- Others: medical insurance, settlement, and returning expenses
| Categories | Amount (KRW) |
|---|---|
| Airfare | Actual cost |
| Resettlement Allowance | KRW 200,000 |
| Living Allowance | Under graduate: 800,000 Graduate: 900,000 |
| Medical Insurance | KRW 20,000 (per month) |
| Language Courses | KRW 800,000 per quarter |
| Tuition Fees | Actual cost (No more than 5 million KRW per semester) |
| Award for Excellent Korean Language Proficiency | KRW 100,000 |
| Research Support | KRW 210,000 – 240,000 (per semester) |
| Printing Costs (Dissertation) | KRW 500,000 – 800,000 |
| Completion Grant | KRW 100,000 (Once) |
Purpose
To provide international students with opportunities to conduct advanced studies in undergraduate & graduate programs at higher educational institutions in the Republic of Korea in order to promote international exchanges in education and mutual friendship between countries.
Available Options in Universities
Graduate course: Master’s or Ph.D. courses at general graduate schools of Korean universities
※ Transferring between universities is not allowed. (e.g. Starting studies at the junior year is not allowed.)
Korea Language Training
Grantees are required to take Korean language training courses for 1 year at a language institution located on-campus of the domestic universities. (Those who have attained a Korean language fluency score higher than level 5 in TOPIK are exempt from this requirement.)
Application Procedure
| Time line | Graduate |
|---|---|
| Announcement released | Feb. in the year of planned studies in Korea |
| Recommend candidates (Korean Embassies, designated universities) | Mar.-Apr. in the year of planned studies in Korea |
| Results released | June in the year of planned studies in Korea |
| Arrival in Korea | Late Aug. in the year of planned studies |
Qualifications
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 25 years of age at the date of entrance. (Undergraduate)
– Should be under 40 years of age at the date of entrance. (Graduate)
– Have finished or be scheduled to finish formal education of all elementary, middle, high school courses by the date of arrival. (Undergraduate)
– Possess a grade point average (G.P.A.) above 80% from the last educational institution attended.
– Hold a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree by the date of arrival. (Graduate)
※ Applicants who have previously acheived in any undergraduate program, master’s program, or doctoral program in Korea cannot apply for this program.
However, a former or current KGSP scholar who holds an overall grade of 90% or above can reapply to this program once either through the embassy or university track.
How to apply
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.
