Academic Scholarship
Masters PhD Post Doctorate

Korean Government Scholarship for Masters & PhD, Post doc & Exchange: GKS 2025

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WB

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February 08, 2025
Korean Government Scholarship for Masters & PhD, Post doc & Exchange: GKS 2025

Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) 2025 has been announced for Masters/MPhil and PhD Scholarships, Also General Exchange & Research Exchange for Post Doc. and University Professors, Lecturers, Global Affairs Students/People in almost Every Field and Major in South Korea Fall 2025

(READ it FULLY FIRST , PLEASE PLEASE)

اس سال جنوبی کوریا کی گورنمنٹ اسکالرشپ نہ صرف ماسٹرز اور پی ایچ ڈی کے اسکالرشپس دے رہی ہے

نیز ماسٹر ڈگری ہولڈرز یونیورسٹی کے اساتذہ اور تعلیم، ثقافت، سائنس اور بین الاقوامی تعاون آفس کے لوگ ، پوسٹ ڈاکٹریٹ بھی چھ ماہ سے ایک سال کی ایکسچینج اسکالرشپ پر جا سکتے ہیں۔ اس کے علاوہ، اگر آپ ہائی ٹیک فیلڈ سے تعلق رکھتے ہیں تو آپ ماسٹرز اور پی ایچ ڈی کے لیے علیحدہ درخواست دے سکتے ہیں۔ گلوبل افیئرز کے لوگ اور اس کے علاوہ گلوبل افیئرز کے سٹوڈنٹ ، انٹرنیشنل ارگنائزیشن اور انٹرنیشنل ایجوکیشن اداروں کے نامزد لوگوں کے لیے ماسٹرز ڈگری پروگرام  


Yes NEW Programs Launched under GKS. Professionals in Education, Culture and International Cooperation and University Professors with at least Masters Degree can go on Exchange or Research to South Korea under GKS. Also Post Doctorate fellows can go. Also International Organizations people can go for it 

Age Limit is 40 years and for exchange of teachers or research it can be 45 years. No age limit for Global Network Track applicants or International Organization Track Applicants.
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You can apply in it by only one of the two ways for any of the given below modalities

1) Embassy track
2) University Track
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1) Embassy Track
Under Embassy track you can apply for any of these 02 programs
  1. Masters (full degree)
  2. PhD (full degree)
The deadlines of applications for GKS from Embassy of Korea in Pakistan is 28 February and apply there with documents required. Embassy normally invites students with high CGPAs and IELTS/ TOEFL scores normally and selects final number of students from the list. But it is not the exact requirement for Teachers or Researchers.
Details about Embassy Track
https://gradwinner.com/articles/gks-2025-embassy-track-application

a. Masters
You can apply for full Masters degree in South Korea according to the process given in the guide to get nominated by the Korean embassy in Islamabad. If you apply through this track you cannot apply by university track
b. PhD
You can apply for full PhD degree in South Korea to according to the process given in the guide to get nominated by Korean embassy in Islamabad. If you apply through this track you cannot apply by university track
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2) University Track
Under University track you can apply for any of these 06 programs
  1. Masters (full degree)
  2. PhD (full degree)
  3. Research (Exchange)
  4. Global Network (Masters) 
  5. R & D (Masters & PhD full degree)
  6. International Organization (new)
a. Masters
You can apply for full Masters degree in South Korea according to the process given in the guide and to get nominated by Korean University. If you apply through this track you cannot apply by embassy track
b. PhD
You can apply for full PhD degree in South Korea to according to the process given in the guide and below to get nominated by Korean University. If you apply through this track you cannot apply by embassy track
c. Research
University Professors (even only Master Degree holders), Post Doc., Professionals in Education, Science, Culture, or International Cooperation can go on can go on exchange from 06 months to one year duration to South Korea. If you apply through university track for this, you cannot apply for it through embassy track
d. Global Network (Masters Only) 
Current/Prospective officials, professionals or students in the field of global affairs (e.g. Working for Diplomatic Strategy in G7 or ODA countries) in 05 universities. If you apply for this, you cannot apply for degree through embassy track. Also see details about it in GKS-G University information files of the 05 universities 
e. R & D
You will apply in fields in nominated 21 universities in South Korea for Full Masters and PhD. The fields are high tech fields in those universities. If you apply for this, you cannot apply for degree through embassy track
f. International Organization
Further details about it will be added further. Please keep on checking this post, we shall update soon. This is for the people who are working for international organizations and nominated by their organization.  If you apply for this, you cannot apply for degree through embassy track
Process to follow for University Track
You will contact professors/university officials (for exchange) in Korean Universities by starting a nice and good conversation after finding your relevant Korean Professor and see if he is willing to accept you as his student in his/her lab and then tell him that you will apply for GKS in that university. If professor agrees to accept you in his lab. (Remember: you dun need acceptance letter for it as you need in Chinese Scholarships). You need to have professor consent in emails. When you will fill university admissions form of GKS, then you will mention that professor name in it. University will then nominate you as its GKS candidate after your admission application submitted there and will send your name to GKS headquarters. Where GKS will select the students from all the nominations of university track.
***Universities normally take low CGPA students, if professors are willing in emails to accept them in their labs
The deadlines to apply for university track depends on university, so start visiting university websites and emailing them. Normally universities announce GKS procedures with in this month
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You must try for GKS as in case you get failed to get GKS, you can ask the professor, if he/she can fund your studies as well later
https://gradwinner.com/articles/south-korea-fall-2025-ms-phd-funding
Also other than engineering and sciences students such as social sciences, arts, they can apply in GKS, they will have better chances of selection
*** IELTS/ TOEFL is not mandatory in every university in Korea and GKS. But if you have it then your chances of selection increase
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Deadlines: The deadline to apply on Embassy track will be announced soon. We shall update this post
Deadline for universities tracks vary from University to University. Check universities now. But it will be March, 2025. Check Korean universities websites regularly for GKS admission timeline. It will be most probably in March, 2025. Universities will soon update their portal
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🎯 Program Objectives
The GKS aims to provide international students the opportunity to:
  • Pursue academic degrees at higher education institutions in Korea.
  • Foster international education exchange and deepen friendships between Korea and participating countries.

🎓 Programs Offered
  1. Master’s Degree:
    • 1 year of Korean language training + 2 years of degree program.
  2. Doctoral Degree:
    • 1 year of Korean language training + 3 years of degree program.
  3. Research Program:
    • 6 months or 1 year.

🏛️ Participating Universities
GKS participants can choose from a wide range of universities across South Korea, categorized as:
  • Type A (33 universities): Includes Seoul National University, KAIST, Yonsei University, POSTECH, and more.
  • Type B (41 universities): Includes Pusan National University, Kyungpook National University, Jeonbuk National University, and others.
Note: Applicants can apply through either the Embassy Track or the University Track, each with its specific quota allocations.

📋 Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, applicants must:
  • Hold citizenship from one of the designated countries.
  • Be under 40 years of age (born after September 1, 1985).
  • Have a Bachelor’s degree (for Master’s applicants) or a Master’s degree (for Doctoral applicants).
  • Achieve a minimum CGPA of 2.64/4.0, 2.80/4.3, 2.91/4.5, or 3.23/5.0.
  • Be in good health, both physically and mentally.

Application Timeline
  • Embassy Track: 28 February, 2025
  • University Track: February – April 2025
  • Final Announcement: June 2025
  • Program Start: September 2025

🎁 Scholarship Benefits
Successful candidates will receive:
  • Full Tuition Coverage
  • Round-trip Airfare
  • Monthly Allowance (KRW 1,000,000 – 1,500,000)(700 ~ 1100 US $)
  • Korean Language Training
  • Health Insurance
  • Research Support

The main thing is you go for any scholarship in Korea other than just embassy track, you have to contact professor. So how to do it ?? 
(Below are some harsh realities, which are written after interaction with a lot of students who were applying for Korea)

Read below

How to Contact a Professor
You can read the guides below and watch the videos for detailed instructions. However, here are a few key points:
  1. Email Content Matters:
    When you email a professor, do not simply write your father’s name, religion, CNIC number, and your village address.
  2. Present Yourself as the Right Fit:
    Your goal is to present yourself as the best fit for the professor’s lab. This cannot be achieved by writing exaggerated praise like, “Wow, professor! You are the best person, an angel on earth. I want to join your lab.” Similarly, avoid statements such as, “Professor, you are the greatest researcher I have come across after Newton, so I want to join your lab.” Keep in mind—professors already know they are good at their work; they do not need you to sing their praises. Instead, read their research papers, understand their work, and relate it to your previous studies and skills. Even if their work is advanced, find ways to connect your skills and experience to their research on a fundamental level. Speaking their language and demonstrating that you understand their work will make them pay attention to you.
  3. Avoid Email Bombardment:
    Many students flood professors with emails, similar to World War II kamikaze pilots. Understand this—applying for scholarships is not a lottery where you keep buying tickets, hoping to win one day. Spamming emails will not increase your chances of getting a response, especially when your major has no relevance to the professor's field (e.g., a business major contacting a biology professor).
  4. Scholarships Require Effort:
    Scholarships are awarded to those who put in the effort. Some students believe that just mentioning their name, father's name, CNIC number, village address, and copying a standard email template will magically secure them a scholarship. They imagine that within a few hours, someone will ring their doorbell and hand them a bag containing 4 million rupees, simply because their name and degree sounded impressive. Understand this—nothing comes easy.
Please focus on every detail, work hard in researching scholarships, their requirements, and writing proper emails. Study the professor’s profile thoroughly and effectively relate your work to theirs. Hard work is key, and remember, ALLAH SWT is watching. If you put in sincere effort, HE will surely reward you.
For more understanding, read this : https://gradwinner.com/articles/find-and-email-supervisors-for-ms-phd
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Read these 03 files

Read these 03 files
(i) Scholarship guide for South Korea: https://gradwinner.com/articles/korea-scholarship-guide-ms-phd
(ii) How to find and contact supervisor:https://gradwinner.com/articles/find-and-email-supervisors-for-ms-phd
(iii) How to search for articles, professors: https://gradwinner.com/articles/search-research-articles-professors
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You can see GKS link and files here OR you can download from website given below
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RknvP7PwJQu6kDLAcVMxuBF2cSmsbnrd?usp=sharing
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Website: 
Main Website 
https://www.studyinkorea.go.kr/ko/scholarship/Gks1NoticeDetail.do?csrf=NjgzY2FkNTMtMDE1My00YjkzLTk1NmMtNzE2NzM2ZTIzMTZi&nttId=4269
Embassy website:  Will be updated soon. Please see your country's Korean Embassy website
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Also you can join these groups for more help
1. GKS Guidance for Pakistanis https://www.facebook.com/groups/kgsp.pakistani/
2. GKS NIIED Scholars Worldwide https://www.facebook.com/groups/1453100584939402/
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Read these posts as well

https://gradwinner.com/articles/korea-scholarship-guide-ms-phd
https://gradwinner.com/articles/kaist-south-korea-fully-funded-scholarships-2025
https://gradwinner.com/articles/gks-tips-for-masters-phd-mba
https://gradwinner.com/articles/funding-bio-medical-fields-south-korea
https://gradwinner.com/articles/south-korea-industries-universities
Regards
Waqar Baig


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