The Graduate Scholarship for Excellent Foreign Students (GSFS) is a merit scholarship funded by Seoul National University (SNU) for non-Korean students entering its graduate programs. It waives full tuition for up to four semesters and adds a monthly living stipend, and is awarded to roughly 20 students per intake across the colleges and schools that take part in the program. Applicants apply for the scholarship at the same time as SNU graduate admission, every semester. GSFS is one of several scholarships SNU lists for international graduate students — separate awards include the SNU President Fellowship (for Ph.D. applicants who are faculty from developing-country universities) and the externally funded Korean Government Scholarship Program (GKS) — but GSFS is the university’s own broad-eligibility award.
Benefits & funding
- Full tuition exemption for a maximum of 4 semesters.
- Living stipend of at least 500,000 KRW per month (the exact amount varies by major).
- Approximately 20 awards per intake.
- Awarded together with admission — no separate scholarship application process beyond opting in on the admission form.
- Note: GSFS does not include airfare or a settlement allowance (those are offered by other SNU/government scholarships such as GKS).
Eligibility
- Open to non-Korean applicants who are enrolled at, or have graduated from, a university in East, Southeast or Central Asia; students in China and Japan are not eligible.
- Countries covered by that grouping: Mongolia, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. SNU republishes the exact roster each semester in its scholarship finder.
- Must apply to, and be accepted into, a college or school at SNU that participates in the GSFS program.
- For graduate study at the Master’s, Doctoral, or Integrated level; applicants hold the prior degree their track requires (or are completing one) — a bachelor’s degree for Master’s entry, a master’s degree for Ph.D. entry — that qualifies them for SNU graduate admission.
- No separate work-experience, age, or language cut-off is published for the scholarship itself; standard SNU graduate admission requirements apply.
Can you apply?
Worth a closer look
Sign in and add your profile to check this against your nationality, residency, and studies.
Eligible nationalities
Mongolia · Taiwan · Brunei · Cambodia · Indonesia · Laos · Malaysia · Myanmar · Philippines · Singapore · Thailand · Timor-Leste
+ 6 more
Vietnam · Kazakhstan · Kyrgyzstan · Tajikistan · Turkmenistan · Uzbekistan
Not in your profile yet
Education required
Bachelor · Master
Not in your profile yet
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Apply for SNU graduate admission for the target semester through the online application system, and select the scholarship (GSFS) option within the application.
- 2Submit the required application documents, and have recommenders file letters through SNU’s online recommendation system, by the published deadline.
- 3Scholarship selection is made together with the admission decision; awardees are notified with their admission result.
Program timeline
July 6, 2026 (10:00 KST)
Spring 2027 international graduate application opens.
Application deadline.
July 9, 2026 (17:00 KST)
Recommendation-letter submission deadline.
July 10, 2026 (17:00 KST)
Admission and scholarship results announced.
Around November 2026
March 2027
Spring 2027 semester begins.