Does Korea Offer Scholarships To International Students?

Korea, majorly South Korea, is popular for its movie and music industry, however very few know that it is a good choice when considering International studies.

Korea boasts of high ranking universities which are well deserved as 7 of its universities are listed in the World University Rankings’ top 200.

So to answer your question; does Korea offer scholarships to international students? Yes.

There are very generous scholarships being offered by universities in Korea and her government. We would list such scholarships here along with the requirements and documents you need if you do want to pursue further studies in Korea.

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Korea Offer Scholarships To International Students in South Korea;

1. Global Korea Scholarship (GKS)

This is created and funded by the Korean government to foster good relationships with different countries of the world as well as promote international education between them for mutual purposes.

This scholarship is favourable for international students because it covers a lot of costs such as resettlement allowance, living allowance, medical insurance, and language course fees. 

Value of Scholarship;

The GKS scholarship covers the full tuition fee for the entire academic study and is only open to candidates who are under the age of twenty-five (25) and are studying for a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral Degree in one of the Select Korean Institutions open for the GSK awards.

In addition, Graduate students are also entitled to research support, dissertation printing costs, and a complete grant of KRW 100,000 (USD 80), and exceptional candidates who are not citizens of Korea, yet exhibit excellent Korean Language proficiency will be awarded an additional prize of KRW 100,000. Yes, this would be in addition to the original scholarship.

I better start learning Korean now, eh?

Qualifications;

As stated, you must be under 25 years (undergraduate) or 40 years (graduate) of age with a GPA of at least 80% from your previous institution as well.

2. UST Scholarships in South Korea 2022

The University of South Korea has announced its release of 300 Masters and PhD. Scholarships on 16th March 2022. 

The university is offering scholarship opportunities to postgraduate students and faculty members.

UST is offering multiple scholarships in different categories such as;

• UST Research Paper Award: This scholarship is for students who have achieved outstanding research results as a means to foster excellent scientists and enhance the quality of education by rewarding such students.

• Excellent Research Paper Advisor Awards: This is given to the advisor of the student who has received the UST Research Paper Award.

• Excellent Professorship Award: This is awarded to the advisors of an excellent graduate who has achieved considerable research results while enrolled in UST(such as publications and patents)

Value of Scholarship;

This scholarship was birthed as a program to enhance motivation together with providing practical support by awarding students for their excellent research results to both faculty members, professors and students.

However the exact figure of the award is given, but it would surely be received by the candidates including an award eradicate.

UST is one best and most highly paid scholarship programs in the world, so you should prepare for a bit of competition 

3. Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology. (GIST) University Scholarships: 

The school of engineering and computer sciences in Korea is offering tuition assistance to all students, international or not to be full tuition supported with 3,415,000 won per semester.

Value Of Scholarship:

International students who are selected for this scholarship would be entitled to a monthly stipend, an International student allowance of 120,000 won per month and a meal allowance og nearly 100,000 won per month.

Qualifications:

The students should have completed at least 9 credits in the previous semester for the above two and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher (out of 4.5) in the previous semester

4. Seoul National University (SNU) President Fellowship

We are pleased to announce the call for the SNU President Fellowship Program for Fall 2022. Please read the details of the scholarship below carefully and apply within the designated period.

 The SNU President Fellowship Program scholarship is a highly revered scholarship launched to provide opportunities to faculty members of major universities in developing countries to pursue PhD degrees at SNU.

 Value of Scholarship:

– Full tuition fee for six semesters

-Monthly stipend for 3~4 years

– A round-trip airfare(economy class based on the GTS system)

– Korean language training (only evening class during regular semesters)

– National Health Insurance coverage(amount of coverage can differ depending on the recipient’s situation)

Eligibility:

• To be considered eligible, all applicants must be faculty members of a major university in a developing country without a PhD degree, this scholarship is only for first time entrance students looking to obtain a Ph.D.degree for the first time.

• The student must have been admitted into the SNU as a PhD student for the Fall 2022 semester

• Applicants from other countries may apply but preference will be given to faculty members from major universities in developing countries in Asia, Africa, South America etc.

The above four are the most favourable among the few scholarships offered to international students to study in South Korea. Now if you have decided from the above which of the scholarships is best for you and which you are going to apply for, you should know the requirements and the required documents to study in South Korea as a foreign noncitizen.

Visa Requirements To Study In South Korea;

These consists of the demanded documents and eligibility bars hon would have to reach and provide to get a visa to study in Korea; 

• Declaration of account or financial statement which serves as proof of a student’s budget for expenses while staying in Korea. Financial Statement worth $20,000 (USD) including tuition fee (with receipt), and scholarship (if applicable)

• Application form (for visa)

• Evidence of acceptance to the said Korean university and the Certificate of Admission (issued by the International Education Team at Korea University)

• Passport, and one copy of the passport ID page (the page with your photo) and a passport-sized photo 

• ID card (personal ID in the residing country)

• Certificate of Completion for Korean language training (with the attendance rate during the training period stated) if demanded.

• Tuberculosis Test Certificate (required to the students from 19 countries listed below ONLY):
  • Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

It is advised that students contact the Korean embassy or consulate in their home country before applying for the visa to check if there is any additional documentation required for the application.

All international students are strongly advised and instructed to obtain a student visa (D-2) at the Korean embassy or consulate in their home countries.

The Korean embassy or consulate in your residing country will ask for the documents needed for the student visa (D-2) application, so prepare them in advance to get the visa on time.

If your application is approved, the Korean embassy or consulate will issue a D-2-2 (for undergraduate students) visa under the name of Korea University.

However, for freshmen who may be already in Korea with a student visa (D-2) issued with the Certificate of Admission (CoA) from another university, you must depart and apply for a new student visa (D-2) with the Certificate of Admission (CoA) issued from Korea University at the Korean embassy or consulate in your home country.

Conclusion:

You can study in Korea even without knowing the language completely as long as you can pick up basic phrases and speak English fluently.