The Global Korea Scholarship for Graduate Degrees is administered by the National Institute for International Education under South Korea’s Ministry of Education. The 2026 program planned to select 2,000 scholars for master’s, doctoral, research and specialized graduate routes at participating Korean universities.
Standard master’s and doctoral awards combine Korean-language training with an in-person degree. Applicants applied through an Embassy Track or directly to a designated university.
Benefits & funding
- Economy-class airfare at actual cost; the guide lists exceptions for scholars already in Korea and for selections made under the China and Czech Republic government agreements.
- Degree tuition up to KRW 5,000,000, with the university covering the admission fee.
- Korean-language training fees of KRW 5,200,000 for four quarters where the language year applies.
- Annual allowance of KRW 14,400,000 during Korean-language training, KRW 16,560,000 during a degree program, or KRW 20,880,000 for a research program; amounts remain subject to budget availability.
- Standard duration: three years for a master’s award, four years for a doctoral award, six months or one year for research, and up to two years for the Global Network master’s route.
Eligibility
- For a master’s award, hold or expect to receive a bachelor’s degree by July 31, 2026. For a doctoral award, hold or expect to receive a master’s degree by that date. Research routes require a master’s or doctoral degree according to the category.
- Meet at least one academic threshold: 80% on a 100-point scale, top 20% of the class, or the published equivalent CGPA.
- Be under 40 on September 1, 2026. Current academic professors from listed ODA-recipient countries may be under 45. The structured age field is left blank because one number cannot represent this professor-only exception.
- The applicant and their parents or legal guardians must not hold Korean citizenship. Former Korean citizens must document renunciation.
- Most routes require citizenship of a country or region invited by NIIED. The 2026 guidelines list 143 countries and regions for the Embassy Track and state that 149 inviting countries and regions participate across the Embassy and University Tracks. Three University Track routes are worldwide: R&D with 403 places, Global Network with 80 places, and International Organization with 5 places.
- Graduates of Korean high schools or Korean universities are generally ineligible, and previous Korean-government degree scholarship recipients face additional restrictions in the guide.
- No residence country, work-experience or gender requirement is stated for the program as a whole.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor · Master Enrolled · Master · PhD
Appears to have an age limit “under 40”
confirm in the requirements
Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Read the current GKS-G guidelines, university information and track-specific restrictions.
- 2Choose one route: Embassy Track through the Study in Korea system, or University Track through one designated university.
- 3Complete the application, personal statement and study plan, enter academic and language records, identify a recommender, and upload the required authenticated documents.
- 4Submit before the relevant deadline. The 2026 Embassy Track closed at 18:00 KST on February 25; University Track deadlines were set separately by each university.
- 5Follow the first-round institution’s instructions for interviews and original documents. Embassy Track candidates then proceeded through NIIED review and university admission review.
Program timeline
Application guidelines announced.
February 2, 2026
Embassy Track online applications opened at 11:00 KST.
February 12, 2026
Embassy Track applications closed at 18:00 KST; University Track deadlines varied by university.
February 25, 2026
Embassy Track first-round results were scheduled in the Study in Korea account.
March 17, 2026
Embassy Track second-round results were scheduled.
Early May 2026
Embassy Track university review results were due.
June 6, 2026
Final scholars were scheduled to be announced.
Late June 2026
Not yet announced; this annual program is between cycles.
2027 cycle