Seoul National University Graduate Scholarships for Foreign Students (GSFS)

Brief description:

Seoul National University (SNU), ranked 38th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, offers the Graduate Scholarship for Foreign Students (GSFS) to outstanding international students who are newly admitted to its Master’s and PhD programmes. Each scholarship covers full tuition for up to two years and a monthly stipend. There are two rounds a year, one for the Spring semester and one for the Fall semester, with about 20 to 25 scholarships in each.

Host Institution(s):

Seoul National University, South Korea

Level/Field of study:

Master’s, PhD and combined Master’s-PhD programmes in the colleges and graduate schools that take part in the GSFS. The participating schools change each semester. For Spring 2026, they were the Colleges of Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, Education, Pharmacy and Medicine, and the Graduate Schools of Public Health, International Studies, Dentistry, Convergence Science and Technology, International Agricultural Technology and Environmental Studies.

Number of Awards:

22 for Spring 2027 and 25 for Fall 2026.

Target group:

International students of any nationality other than Korean. Priority goes to nationals of developing countries, meaning countries that are not on the IMF’s list of advanced economies.

Scholarship value/duration:

Each scholarship includes:

• a full tuition waiver for up to two years (four semesters, including the first semester); the KRW 90,000 admission application fee is not covered;
• a monthly stipend of at least KRW 500,000, paid for at least one year to Master’s students and at least two years to PhD students; any further support is up to each college or graduate school.

To keep the scholarship, students must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 out of 4.3. Scholars are, in principle, not allowed to take a leave of absence.

Eligibility:

To be considered, applicants must:

• not hold Korean nationality, and have two parents who do not hold Korean nationality;
• have completed all of their education, from the first year of primary school to the end of their Bachelor’s degree, outside Korea;
• hold a Bachelor’s degree (for a Master’s or combined Master’s-PhD programme) or a Master’s degree (for a PhD), or the equivalent, from an accredited institution outside Korea;
• apply to one of the colleges or graduate schools taking part in the GSFS that semester, and be admitted to SNU.

Each graduate school selects its own scholars, looking at the applicant’s academic record, study plan, personal statement and other achievements.

Application instructions:

Applications are currently closed.

There is no separate scholarship application: you apply for the GSFS in the online SNU graduate admission application by ticking the scholarship box, and the scholarship deadline is the same as the admission deadline. For Spring 2027 entry, the deadline was 9 July 2026, 5:00 pm Korean time. For Fall 2026 entry, it was 5 March 2026. The call for Fall 2027 has not been published yet; check the SNU Office of Global Affairs notices for the next round.

It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Website:

Official Scholarship Website: https://en.snu.ac.kr/admission/graduate/scholarships/before_application

Latest call (Spring 2027): https://oga.snu.ac.kr/scholarship_notice-board/?mod=document&uid=574