The Inlaks Scholarship is run by The Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation for young Indian graduates admitted to full-time postgraduate study overseas. It supports Master’s, MPhil, and doctoral programmes lasting nine months to four years at top-rated institutions in the UK, Europe, and the United States.
The scholarship looks for applicants whose achievements, character, motivation, and future potential stand out. The 2026 application cycle is closed.
Benefits & funding
- Course-dependent support covers tuition, living expenses, one-way travel, visa costs, and a health allowance, up to USD 120,000.
- The award is capped and may therefore be partial when total costs exceed USD 120,000; applicants must document how they will cover the balance.
- Joint scholarships with Imperial College London, the Royal College of Art, the University of Cambridge, King’s College London, the University of St Andrews, and Hertie School may exceed the standard cap.
- Supported courses may last from nine months to four years, and recipients do not have to repay the Foundation financially or in kind.
Eligibility
- Applicants must hold an Indian passport and reside in India when applying.
- For the 2026 cycle, applicants had to be born on or after 1 January 1996, corresponding to a maximum age of 30.
- Applicants must hold a degree from a recognised Indian university; final-year undergraduates awaiting results may apply. Those with an overseas undergraduate degree must then have lived, worked, or studied continuously in India for at least two years.
- A conditional or unconditional offer for the chosen course is required at application; any English-language condition must be satisfied before applying, and a deferred offer must be valid for 2026–27.
- Minimum grades are 65%, CGPA 6.8/10, or GPA 2.6/4 for social sciences, humanities, law, fine arts, architecture, and related subjects; mathematics, sciences, environment, and related subjects require 70%, CGPA 7.2/10, or GPA 3/4.
- Applicants with an overseas postgraduate qualification, or who have already begun postgraduate study abroad, are ineligible.
- Business and finance, computer science, most engineering, fashion design, most film and animation, hospitality and tourism, Indian studies without contemporary relevance, management, medicine and related therapies, and most music are excluded. Exceptions cover engineering and natural sciences at Imperial College London, documentary filmmaking, and Western classical singing.
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.
Eligible nationalities
India
Residence required
India
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor · Master
Age requirement
≤ 30 yrs
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Application process
- 1Secure admission to an eligible full-time postgraduate course and obtain the offer letter and official fee statement.
- 2Prepare the passport, CV, photograph, degree records, course-specific portfolio or samples, and proof of extra funding when total costs exceed the cap.
- 3Complete the seven-section online form in one sitting by 12:00 noon on 31 March 2026; the form cannot be saved or edited after submission.
- 4Nominate two referees and ensure their signed letters are uploaded through the emailed links by 7 April 2026.
- 5Eligible applications proceed to desk review, online preliminary interviews, and a final in-person interview in Mumbai.
Program timeline
Application deadline
Mar 31, 2026, 12:00 noon
Review of eligible applications
April 2026
Applicants without communication should assume they did not advance
Apr 30, 2026
Online preliminary interviews
May 2026
Final in-person interviews in Mumbai
Third or fourth weekend of May 2026