NIIED has announced the application guidelines of the 2024 Korean Government Scholarship Program for Graduate Degree programs. On this page, we are trying to give all the important details about GKS graduate scholarships for Indian applicants.

For the year 2024, there are 2200 seats for GKS graduate scholarship for international students from all over the world who want to pursue Master’s or PhD degree in Korea.

What is GKS Scholarship?

GKS stands for Global Korea Scholarship. It's a prestigious scholarship given by Korean government to meritorious students from all over the world. The scholarship is managed by NIIED (National Institute for International Education), Govt. of Republic of Korea. 

GKS Scholarship is announced twice a year - once in January-February for graduate degrees (Masters and PhD) and once in September-October for undergraduate degree programs (Bachelor's degree).

On this page, we are giving you information about the GKS Graduate scholarship. CHECK THE GKS UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP DETAILS HERE.

What are the benefits of GKS Scholarship?

GKS is a fully funded scholarship and basically it covers all the costs of studying in Korea including your university tuition, hostel and living expenses, insurance, flight tickets, health insurance etc. 

■ Scholarship Benefits

※ Study Incentive : All-inclusive subsidy of Settlement Allowance, Monthly Allowance, Research Allowance, Korean Proficiency Grants, TOPIK Application Fee, Degree Completion Grants, Medical Insurance, and Publication Printing Fee

※ GKS Scholars who will be initially exempted the Korean language program with TOPIK level 5 or 6 will be given Korean Proficiency Grants automatically. (except for GKS scholars in Global Network program, Research program and Japanese applicants)

How to apply for GKS Scholarship?

There are two ways to apply for the GKS scholarships, they are called application tracks - 1. Embassy Track and 2. University Track.

Under the embassy track you submit your applications to the Korean embassy in India (or to MHRD) and for the universitythe universitythe university track, you send your applications directly to the Korean university.

If you are applying through the university track, go to the website of the university and check their notice section. They will have a notification regarding GKS scholarship in which they will specify the process, application deadline,deadline,deadline, etc. Note that the process and dates can be different for every university. They will also mention the name of an in-charge who you can contact if you have any queries. For university track, you need to send just one original set of application form and all documents.

If you want to apply through the embassy track, you need to send your application directly to Korean embassy in India. The application deadline for GKS graduate scholarship 2024 is 29th February 2024 ( Thursday). For embassy track, you need to send one original set of application form and all documents and 3 photocopy sets.

Applicants must submit their scholarship applications no later than 29th February 2024 (Thursday) to the below given address.

Ms. Jee Hyesoo

Second Secretary

Political Affairs Department

Embassy of the Republic of Korea

9, Chandragupta Marg,

Chanakyapuri Extension,

New Delhi-110021

Phone: 011-4200-7000

The selection process for GKS embassy and university tracks are as below:

Another important difference between embassy and university tracks of GKS scholarship is that under embassy track you can choose 3 universities in your order of preference but under university track you can apply to only one university.

But under embassy track if you are not shortlisted by embassy and NIIED your application never reached any Korean university. Under university track, you can be sure that your application will be seen by at least one university.

So both the tracks have their plus and minus points. It's your choice to choose one. Though there is one thing I would like to point out.

Sometimes the 1st round short-listing for the embassy track is over soon and the results are announced while the dates for university track applications are still open. In that you can apply for university track as well if you can't make it through the first round of the university track. 

How many seats are there for Indian students for GKS Scholarship?

The number of seats in GKS scholarship varies every year.

In year 2024, for India, there are 22 scholarship seats under the embassy track and 25 seats under university track.

What's the Period of GKS Graduate Scholarship?

○ Master’s Degree Program: 3 years

- 1 year of Korean language training + 2 years of degree program

○ Doctoral Degree Program: 4 years

- 1 year of Korean language training + 3 years of degree program

○ Research Program: 6 months or 1 year

What's the Eligibility Criteria for GKS Scholarship?

○ Nationality

- All applicants must hold citizenship of NIIED designated countries that are invited to take part in the GKS program.

- Applicants’ parents (or legal guardians) must hold citizenship from another country other than Korea. If applicants or their parent hold dual citizenship (one who has both Korean citizenship and citizenship of another country), such applicant is NOT eligible to apply.

-Applicants and their parents who had previously held Korean citizenship must submit documentation issued by the Korean government that proves their renunciation of Korean citizenship.

-If an applicant’s citizenship is changed during the selection process, he or she will be excluded from the evaluation. (Not applicable to R&D program)

- For Overseas Korean applicants (Embassy Track) holding Japanese citizenship, if their parents hold „Permanent Residency Permit‟ within Japan while holding Korean citizenship, they are exceptionally eligible to apply.

-Applicants from all countries around the world can apply to R&D program.

○ Degree Requirements

- Master’s Program Applicant: Must hold a Bachelor's degree or a level of education equivalent to or higher than a Bachelor's degree.

- Doctoral Program Applicant: Must hold a Master's degree or a level of education equivalent to or higher than a Master's degree.

- Research Program Applicant: Must have received an invitation from one of the partner universities and must meet the criteria below;

※Applicants who are expected to graduate by July 31st , 2024 can also apply for the program with a certificate of expected graduation. Such applicants must submit their official graduation certificate (or diploma) and final academic transcript to GKS Center, NIIED by July 31st , 2024. Failure to do so will result in the cancellation of your acceptance

○ Grades

- Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of the entire curriculum from the previous degree program * must meet one of the conditions below;

*For example, previous degree for a doctoral degree program applicant is a master’s degree program

• CGPA must be above 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5 or 3.23/5.0
• Score percentile should be 80% or above on a 100-point scale or be ranked within the top 20% within one's class

*Applicants must submit an academic transcript with CGPA or ranking information.

* If a transcript does not provide CGPA in any one of the accepted GPA scales (4.0, 4.3, 4.5, 5.0 or 100 point scale), then the applicant must submit a transcript converted into one of the above GPA scales as a supplementary document.

○ Age

- Must be under 40 years of age (born after September 1, 1984)

- Academic professors in one of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) recipients* who are under 45 years of age (born after September 1, 1979) are eligible to apply.

* DAC List of ODA Recipients on 2024 and 2025 flows (www.oecd.org)

○ Health

- All applicants must be in good health, both mentally and physically, to study in Korea for the full duration of the program.

What Documents do I need to submit for GKS Scholarship?

Contact Information

○ Embassy of the Republic of Korea in India

Email: [email protected]

Phone no. : 91-11-4200-7000

Fax :  91-11-2688-4840

○ Korean Universities for 2024 GKS Graduate Degrees: CLICK HERE !

○ Other useful websites

What would be your ONE BEST ADVICE to GKS aspirants?

Please go to all the links below, download all the documents and read them. It may take a few hours or even a few days but PLEASE DO IT.

Whatever doubts you have should be cleared after reading these documents properly.

 Do not ask questions to random experts on internet. If you have any query, contact the embassy, Korean university or NIIED.

Wish you all the best.

Check the guidelines carefully for further information such as the eligibility requirements, required documents and directions to submit the application.

The deadline will be decided by each office that accepts the application documents, i.e. the Korean Embassies or selected universities. Please make sure to check their separate announcement for the deadlines.

Thank you and good luck!

To understand how to read and write the Korean alphabet and join our online certificate course in order to fulfill your dream to work in Korea or appear for the TOPIK exam.

Please check these pages :

1. Learn Korean Script Hangeul in 1 Hour
2. Join our Level 1 online certificate course
3. TOPIK - The complete guide

If you are going to appear for the TOPIK test or just need a boost in Korean language we would strongly advise you to join our online certificate course. One reason is that this course is developed and taught by people who are not only top level experts in Korean language but also are passionate about teaching Korean and helping learners like you achieve their dreams.

If you're new to Korean language we would advise you to buy our KOREAN LANGUAGE FOR INDIAN LEARNERS book available on Amazon and Flipkart. Also available on Kindle.

Thank you.

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