Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), graduate
The Korean government's scholarship for a master's or doctorate, run by NIIED. In 2026 it offered 2,000 places, 800 through Korean embassies and 1,200 through universities (5 of them research places, not degrees). It pays tuition, a monthly allowance, a flight to Korea and a year of Korean language study first, unless you are exempt. The 2026 embassy call ran from 12 to 25 February.
Read the official page1 year of Korean language plus 2 years (master) or 3 years (PhD). TOPIK 5 or 6 skips the language year
- 1Watch the GKS Notice board on Study in Korea for the call and your country's quota. In 2026 embassy applications opened on 12 February
- 2Pick ONE track and ONE programme. Embassy track: apply online, choosing up to three universities, at least one of them Type B (a regional university). University track: one university and one department, handed in person or by post
- 3Prepare the application form, personal statement, study plan, ONE recommendation letter, applicant agreement, medical assessment and consent form, plus proof of citizenship for you and your parents and your degree certificates and transcripts, each with an apostille or consular confirmation
Embassy track: online on Study in Korea, up to three universities. University track: one university and one department, in person or by post. Pass the embassy's first round and you cannot also apply through a university; fail it and you still can.
NIIED, 2026 GKS-G Application Guidelines (revised 20 February 2026) ↗Checked 14 September 2026
Official sources. Waegook does not guarantee admission, funding or a visa.
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Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), graduate
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- We read the official notice and checked this page against it.
- Government of Korea (NIIED) decides who gets it, not Waegook.
- Rules can change. Check the official page before you apply.
What you pay
per program · official
per program · official
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once · official
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The school does not publish what a year costs to live, so we cannot say what share is left for you. We will not put a figure there until it does.
Read the official page →Official figures from the source page on the date checked. Estimates are Waegook's. Unknown is shown as not published, never as zero.
Who can apply
- You and both parents (or legal guardians) hold a nationality other than Korean. If you or a parent is a dual Korean citizen, you cannot apply
- Your country is on NIIED's list for the cycle. In 2026 the embassy track's General programme took 776 scholars from 143 countries or regions; the International Organization programme is open to every country
- Under 40: born after 1 September 1986. Current academic professors from a country on the OECD's list of aid recipients (ODA): under 45, born after 1 September 1981
- A bachelor's degree for a master's, or a master's degree for a doctorate, held or expected by 31 July 2026. Still finishing? Send the final certificate and transcript to NIIED by that date, or the offer is cancelled
- Grades from your previous degree: 80 or more out of 100, or the top 20% of your class, or a CGPA of at least 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5 or 3.23/5.0
- NOT eligible: anyone who graduated, or will graduate, from a Korean high school (international schools in Korea included) or a Korean university, online courses included, and anyone in their final year at a Korean university
- NOT eligible: anyone who already studied for a degree on another Korean government scholarship, a GKS scholar whose scholarship was cancelled after starting (the Korean language year counts) or on the IRTS Korean course, and any former GKS degree or research scholar. Former GKS exchange students and IRTS Korean course graduates can apply
- NOT eligible: a final GKS candidate from the past three years who withdrew or was disqualified before enrolling
- Good health, in body and mind, for the whole programme
From the official page. The provider decides, not Waegook.
Keeping it
Reach TOPIK 3 in the Korean language year to start the degree. Some departments ask for more, such as TOPIK 4: miss your department's requirement and cannot enrol, and the scholarship is cancelled. Follow NIIED's and your university's academic rules: repeated warnings can end the scholarship
From the official page. The provider decides, not Waegook.
Helpers for this
People in Trusted Help who list "Scholarship guidance". Waegook has reviewed their account information. Please still agree fees in writing first. The application itself always goes through the school or the embassy.
Where this comes from
- NIIED notice, 2026 GKS graduate degrees ↗Supports: the 2026 call, posted 2 February 2026, and its attachments · Checked 14 September 2026
- 2026 GKS-G Application Guidelines, English and Korean (zip, revised 20 February 2026) ↗Supports: eligibility, places, documents, the schedule and the benefits; the Korean guideline sets the tuition limit per semester (p.26) · Checked 14 September 2026
- POSTECH graduate admission guide, external financial aid ↗Supports: that POSTECH runs both GKS tracks, February to March · p.14 · Checked 9 September 2026
Each page above supports the part of this entry named beside it.
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Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), graduate. An admin checks the official page before anything changes.
All dates
What do I need?
- Form 1, application form (filled in online on the embassy track) Study in Korea
- Form 2, personal statement
- Form 3, study plan
- Form 5, ONE recommendation letter, completed and signed by your recommender (a scan on the embassy track, the original after round one)
- Form 7, Korean language program exemption application. Optional, only for current academic professors
- Form 8, GKS applicant agreement
- Form 9, personal medical assessment
- Form 10, consent to collect and use personal information
- Proof of citizenship for you and your parents, and proof of your family relationship, such as a birth certificate or family register
- Bachelor's graduation certificate or diploma, showing the date you graduated
- Bachelor's transcript
- Master's graduation certificate or diploma. Doctoral applicants only
- Master's transcript. Doctoral applicants only
- Proof of overseas Korean or Korean adoptee status, if it applies to you
- Proof that you (and your parents) gave up Korean citizenship, if it applies
- Proof of being a Korean War veteran's descendant, if it applies
- Certificate of employment or experience, if it applies (for example, faculty at a partner university of an international organization)
- TOPIK or TOPIK IBT score report (original) or English test score report (copy). Optional
- Awards and other certificates (copies). Optional
- Passport copy. Optional, and useful when your citizenship proof does not show your nationality
Items 9 to 17 are the "required certificates": each needs an apostille or a Korean consular confirmation, on the original or on its certified translation. Plain photocopies, or notarised copies of apostilled papers, are refused; a certified true copy from a Korean embassy or from the office that issued the apostille is accepted.
EMBASSY TRACK, ROUND ONE is online: fill in the forms on Study in Korea and upload scans of everything else, including the signed recommendation letter.
UNIVERSITY TRACK, ROUND ONE: each university decides what it accepts (copies, electronic files, translations) and how many sets.
IF YOU PASS ROUND ONE, NIIED needs ONE set of originals: the forms printed and signed by hand, the original recommendation letter, and the apostilled or consular-confirmed certificates. Hand them in the way your embassy or university tells you. NIIED does not take papers from applicants directly, and anything sent to it by mistake is excluded and not returned.
Expected to graduate by 31 July 2026? Apply with a certificate of expected graduation and your grades so far, then get the final certificate and final transcript, apostilled or consular-confirmed, to NIIED by 31 July 2026 or the offer is cancelled. Provisional or completion certificates are not accepted.
A missing required document or an unsigned form can get your application excluded. Anything extra a university asks for, such as a portfolio, goes straight to that university.
Some countries' certificates have extra rules in the guideline (p.21). Check yours there.
From the official guide. The school decides what it accepts, not Waegook.
How do I apply?
Embassy track: online on Study in Korea, up to three universities. University track: one university and one department, in person or by post. Pass the embassy's first round and you cannot also apply through a university; fail it and you still can.
- 1Watch the GKS Notice board on Study in Korea for the call and your country's quota. In 2026 embassy applications opened on 12 February
- 2Pick ONE track and ONE programme. Embassy track: apply online, choosing up to three universities, at least one of them Type B (a regional university). University track: one university and one department, handed in person or by post
- 3Prepare the application form, personal statement, study plan, ONE recommendation letter, applicant agreement, medical assessment and consent form, plus proof of citizenship for you and your parents and your degree certificates and transcripts, each with an apostille or consular confirmation
- 4Apply in time. In 2026 the embassy track ran online from 12 February at 11:00 to 25 February at 18:00, Korean time; each university set its own deadline, between February and April. Failing the embassy's first round does not stop you trying a university
- 5In 2026: embassy first-round results in mid-March (the guideline gives both 16 and 17 March), and the embassies' files reached NIIED by 1 April (universities' by 1 May). NIIED's round was announced in early May, the universities' by early June, winners picked their university by 12 June at 18:00, and the final list came in late June
- 6POSTECH is one of the designated universities and runs both tracks, with applications from February to March each year