STUDY IN SOUTH KOREA : Korean Government Scholarship program 2020 for International Students who wish to pursue Master’s, Doctoral or Research in Korea.

STUDY IN SOUTH KOREA : Korean Government Scholarship program 2020 for International Students who wish to pursue Master’s, Doctoral or Research in Korea.

In 2020, Korean Government’s Global Korea Scholarship program aims to invite 1,276 international students from 153 regions who wish to pursue a graduate level degree (master’s or doctoral) or research in Korea.

To be selected as a GKS (KGSP) grantee, an applicant must successfully pass the 1st round of selection managed by the Korean embassy where he or she holds the citizenship or NIIED-designated Korean universities.

Research Program: 10 Candidates
○ The Research Program candidates are selected from 155 countries that are invited to take part in
2020 Global Korea Scholarship for Graduate degrees. There is no reserved quota per country.
○ The Research Program applicants must receive invitation from universities prior to applying to
this program.
○ The Research Program applicants submit their application either to the Korean embassy in the
country where they hold the citizenship or to one of our partner universities listed in III. Available
Universities and Fields of Study)

ELIGIBILITY
1. Nationality
○ All applicants and their parents must not hold Korean citizenship.
○ Korean citizens and dual citizenship holders (one who have Korean citizenship and citizenship of
another country) are NOT eligible to apply.
○ Applicants and their parents who had previously held Korean citizenship must submit the document
that proves their renunciation of Korean citizenship.
(※Exception: For overseas Korean applicants holding Japanese citizenship, if their parents hold
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„Permanent Residency Permit‟ within Japan while holding Korean citizenship, are eligible to apply.)

Age
○ Must be under 40 years of age as of September 1, 2020 (born after September 1, 1980)
○ Academic professors who are under 45 years of age as of September 1, 2020 (born after September
1, 1975) and hold citizenship of one of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipients listed
in the table below are eligible to apply.
3. Degree Requirements
○ Applicants must hold or must be expected to hold a Bachelor‟s, Master‟s or a Doctoral degree by
August 31st, 2020.
– Doctoral Program Applicants: Must hold a Master‟s degree or a level of education equivalent
to a Master‟s degree
– Master‟s Program Applicants: Must hold a Bachelor‟s degree or a level of education equivalent
to a Bachelor‟s degree
– Research Program Applicants: Must hold a degree or a level of education equivalent to or
higher than a Master‟s degree and must have received an invitation from one of NIIED‟s
designated Korean universities.
 Postdoctoral Research Program: Must hold a doctoral degree or a level of education
equivalent to a doctoral degree.
 Professor Exchange Program: Must hold a Master‟s degree or a level of education
equivalent to or higher than a Master‟s degree.
 Program for Education·Science·Culture·International Professionals: Must hold a Master‟s
degree or a level of education equivalent to or higher than a Master‟s degree.
< *ODA Recipients(107 countries) >
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize,
Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia,
Cameroon, China, Colombia, Comoros, DR Congo, Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d‟Ivoire,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon,
Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,
Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco,
Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Degree Requirements
○ Applicants must hold or must be expected to hold a Bachelor‟s, Master‟s or a Doctoral degree by
August 31st, 2020.
– Doctoral Program Applicants: Must hold a Master‟s degree or a level of education equivalent
to a Master‟s degree
– Master‟s Program Applicants: Must hold a Bachelor‟s degree or a level of education equivalent
to a Bachelor‟s degree
– Research Program Applicants: Must hold a degree or a level of education equivalent to or
higher than a Master‟s degree and must have received an invitation from one of NIIED‟s
designated Korean universities.
 Postdoctoral Research Program: Must hold a doctoral degree or a level of education
equivalent to a doctoral degree.
 Professor Exchange Program: Must hold a Master‟s degree or a level of education
equivalent to or higher than a Master‟s degree.
 Program for Education·Science·Culture·International Professionals: Must hold a Master‟s
degree or a level of education equivalent to or higher than a Master‟s degree.

○ Applicants who are expected to graduate at the time of applying must first submit the certificate of
expected graduation at the time of applying. The official degree certificate (or diploma) and final
academic transcript must be submitted by August 31st, 2020 at the very latest.
– In case an applicant fails to submit the above mentioned document by August 31st, 2020 or
does not fulfill the grade requirement, the scholarship will be forfeited.
○ Prospective applicants who have attained a Bachelor‟s, Master‟s, or a doctoral degree in Korea are
NOT eligible to apply. (※Exception: Overseas Korean Adoptees and GKS scholars)
○ Applicants who have previously studied in a Korean university as exchange or visiting students can
apply to this program.
○ [Applicants of Korean Language Teaching Professionals]: Korean language instructors in the
countries with allocated quota are eligible to apply for the program with the following conditions:
– Occupation must be elementary/secondary school teacher, university lecturer, or professor
teaching Korean language at a government-authorized education institution
– Must receive a recommendation letter from the chairman of the employed institution.

Must have at least 2 years of teaching career (as of February 29, 2020)
– Must hold (or be expected to hold) a bachelor‟s or above degree in Korean-related major
– Must hold a TOPIK level 4 or above (valid TOPIK score required as a proof)
– Must major in Korean Language Education under GKS (Applicants must apply as a
„Korean Language Education‟ major. **Korean Language Education includes Teaching
Korean to Speakers of Other Languages)
– Must apply to a higher level degree
ex) A master‟s degree holder cannot apply for the master‟s degree and MUST apply for the
doctoral degree.
○ [GKS Scholars re-applying to the program]: The former or current GKS scholars who have
attained or is expected to obtain the degree as of August 31st, 2020 are eligible to apply under
following conditions:
– Submit their applications either through the Embassy Track or the University Track and must
be selected from one of those two institutions in the 1st round of selection.
– Can only re-apply for a higher degree program once (Bachelor‟s→ Master‟s, Master‟s→
Doctoral) and must have overall grade point average equivalent to or higher than 90%.

Please first check the “2020 GKS-G Application Guidelines”, “2020 GKS-G University Information” and attached files below to learn about the list of countries invited to take part in our program, qualifications, available universities and majors, application procedures, application forms, and further more.

The deadline will be decided by each institution or office that accepts the application documents, i.e. the Korean Embassy, Korean Education Center, or Korean university.

*Application deadline may differ from one country to another or by each university; it is expected to be around mid or late March.
We highly advise you to make sure to check the calls for 2020 GKS application separately announced by relevant institutions or offices.

Wish you all the best!
GKS Team, NIIED

CLICK HERE TO APPLY