奬 Scholarship
GKS Graduate (Global Korea Scholarship, Master’s & PhD)
◎ Government (GKS) · NIIED
Who is it for?
Airfare: economy class flight ticket, actual expense, for all GKS scholars (not paid to scholars already residing in Korea, and round-trip airfare is not provided to scholars selected in China or the Czech Republic per bilateral agreement).
- You are applying for a graduate (master / phd) program.
- You want a monthly living allowance, not just a tuition waiver.
- You are from an eligible country (Citizens of NIIED-designated partner countries…).
Quick facts
Type
Government (GKS)
Level
Graduate (Master / PhD)
Who can apply
Citizens of NIIED-designated partner countries
Funding period
Master’s 3 years (1 language + 2 degree); Doctoral 4 years (1 language + 3 degree); Research program 6 months-1 year
Recipients
2026 GKS-G total quota: 2,000 scholars
Intake year
2026
What you get
Benefits
- Airfare: economy class flight ticket, actual expense, for all GKS scholars (not paid to scholars already residing in Korea, and round-trip airfare is not provided to scholars selected in China or the Czech Republic per bilateral agreement).
- Tuition: up to 5,000,000 KRW covered for GKS scholars in the degree program (admission fee separately covered by the university)
- not provided to Research Program scholars.
- Korean language training fee: 5,200,000 KRW per year (paid in four quarterly installments) for scholars in the Korean language program
- not provided to Global Network Program scholars, R&D Program applicants in a 100%-English-taught program, or professors exempted via the Korean Language Program Exemption Application.
- Monthly allowance (all-inclusive living stipend): Korean language program 14,400,000 KRW/year
- Degree program 16,560,000 KRW/year
- Research program 20,880,000 KRW/year.
- Scholars initially exempted from the Korean language program via TOPIK level 5/6 receive a Korean Proficiency Grant (not applicable to Global Network, Research program, exempted professors, or R&D English-track applicants).
- If a scholar withdraws within the first 3 months of university enrollment, the full scholarship received (airfare, settlement allowance, monthly allowance, tuition, etc.) must be repaid.
Monthly allowance
- 2026 GKS-G figures are given as annual totals: Korean language program period = 14,400,000 KRW/year (approx.
- 1,200,000 KRW / month)
- Degree program = 16,560,000 KRW/year (approx. 1,380,000 KRW / month)
- Research program = 20,880,000 KRW/year (approx.
- 1,740,000 KRW / month). (Amounts subject to budget availability.) Note: this is higher than the GKS-U undergraduate figures used elsewhere in this KB (language year 12,840,000 KRW / year, degree program 13,680,000 KRW / year for GKS-U).
Funding period
- Master’s 3 years (1 language + 2 degree)
- Doctoral 4 years (1 language + 3 degree)
- Research program 6 months-1 year.
Eligibility
Who can apply
- Age: under 40 (born after September 1, 1986)
- current academic professors from an ODA/DAC recipient country may apply up to age 45 (born after September 1, 1981).
- Degree: Master’s program requires a Bachelor’s degree
- Doctoral program requires a Master’s degree
- Post-Doc requires a Doctoral degree
- applicants may also be expected to graduate by July 31, 2026 with proof (certificate of expected graduation + grades so far), but must submit the final graduation certificate and transcript by July 31, 2026 or the acceptance is cancelled.
- GPA: cumulative GPA of the entire previous degree must be either in the top 20% of class rank OR score percentile 80%+ on a 100-point scale, OR CGPA at or above 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5, or 3.23/5.0.
- Nationality: must hold citizenship of an NIIED-designated partner country (except R&D, Global Network, and International Organization programs, which are open worldwide)
- applicant and both parents must NOT hold Korean citizenship (dual citizenship including Korean citizenship disqualifies).
- Applicants who graduated (or are graduating) from a Korean high school or Korean university, and former GKS scholars whose scholarship was cancelled or who withdrew/were disqualified within the past three years, are not eligible.
Nationalities
- Citizens of NIIED-designated partner countries (Embassy Track General: 143 countries / regions
- Overseas Korean / Adoptee: 8 countries
- University Track General / R-GKS: 54-56 countries
- Research program: 149 countries / regions).
- R&D, Global Network, and International Organization programs (University Track only) are open to applicants of any nationality worldwide.
How to apply
Application period
- 2026 round: Embassy Track online application from 11:00am Thursday, February 12, 2026 to 6:00pm Wednesday, February 25, 2026 (KST), via studyinkorea.go.kr.
- University Track deadlines are set individually by each university.
- Application Guidelines were announced February 2026 on studyinkorea.go.kr.
- General annual pattern: guidelines and applications open annually, typically February-March, with final results by late June.
How to apply
- Embassy Track: online application through the Study in Korea website (www.studyinkorea.go.kr)
- applicants may select up to THREE different universities (from Type A and / or Type B institutions) and MUST include at least one Type B university
- cannot select more than one department within the same university.
- University Track: applications submitted in person or by post directly to ONE chosen university and ONE department only (no alternates).
- Selection is a 3-round process for Embassy Track (Embassy 1st round -> NIIED 2nd round -> the applicant’s up-to-3 universities 3rd round) and a 2-round process for University Track (University 1st round -> NIIED 2nd round).
- Applicants who fail the Embassy Track 1st round may re-apply via University Track (but not vice versa, and not both tracks simultaneously).
- China and Czech Republic applicants apply through their national education ministry/agency rather than the Korean Embassy, even though their quota is categorized under Embassy Track.
- US and Vietnam applicants may submit to their nearest Korean Consulate rather than only the Embassy.
Required documents
- Application Form, Personal Statement, Study Plan (Forms 1-3, required for all)
- Research Proposal (Form 4, required only for Research program applicants)
- ONE Letter of Recommendation (Form 5)
- Letter of Invitation from the research program university (Form 6, Research program only)
- Korean Language Program Exemption Application (Form 7, optional, for current academic professors only)
- GKS Applicant Agreement (Form 8)
- Personal Medical Assessment (Form 9)
- Consent to Collect and Use Personal Information (Form 10)
- Proof of Citizenship and family relationship for applicant and parents
- Bachelor’s Graduation Certificate/Diploma and Transcript (required for Master’s track)
- Master’s Graduation Certificate/Diploma and Transcript (required for Doctoral track)
- Doctoral Graduation Certificate/Transcript (Post-Doc research applicants only)
- Certificate of Employment (professional / research program applicants)
- optional: Proof of Overseas Korean/Adoptee, Proof of Korean Citizenship Renunciation, Proof of Korean War Veteran’s Descendant, TOPIK/English test score report, awards/certificates, passport copy.
- Required certificates must be apostilled or consular-confirmed (with certified translation if not in English / Korean).
- The Study Plan should at least outline the general direction of academic goals
- a full detailed research proposal is a separate, required document (Form 4) only for Research program applicants.
Keeping the scholarship
Renewal conditions
- All GKS scholars must achieve at least TOPIK level 3 during the one-year Korean language program to proceed to the degree program (exceptions: Research Program, Global Network Program, TOPIK level 5 / 6 holders, exempted professors, IRTS graduates with TOPIK 3+, and R&D English-track applicants).
- Some university departments require TOPIK level 4 or higher for enrollment.
- If a final successful candidate withdraws from the program within the first 3 months after university enrollment, they must repay the FULL scholarship amount received (entry airfare, settlement allowance, monthly allowance, tuition, etc.).
- Even after 3 months, a change in scholarship status can require partial repayment or deduction from future payments.
- Renouncing the scholarship before enrollment bars the candidate from reapplying to GKS for the next three years, and repeated renunciations from a country can reduce that country’s future GKS quota.
Track record. Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), the Korean government’s flagship international scholarship, administered by NIIED under the Ministry of Education.
Contact & where to study
Official page
Contact
- Apply at studyinkorea.go.kr.
- Embassy Track applicants: contact the Korean Embassy/Consulate in your country.
- NIIED (GKS): [email protected].
Participating universities
- Embassy Track and University Track General/R-GKS/International Organization programs: 74 total institutions (Type A: 33 institutions, Type B: 41 institutions).
- Specialization programs: R&D track has 60 departments across 25 universities
- Global Network track has 7 departments across 6 universities.
Before you apply — verify.
- Scholarship amounts, quotas, dates, and eligibility can change every cycle — always confirm the current details with the official source before you apply.
- For GKS, country quotas, deadlines, and required documents differ by country. Confirm the specifics with the Korean Embassy or Consulate in your country.
- The official notice is published in Korean only — use an official translation and double-check key dates.
Data from official sources · last updated 2026-07-03
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