Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) for International Graduate Students

Overview

2012 Korean Government Scholarship Program Guideline for International Students Enrolled in Graduate Programs

Program Objective

The Korean Government Scholarship Program is designed to provide higher education in Korea for international students, with the aim of promoting international exchange in education, as well as mutual friendship amongst the participating countries.

Total Number of Grantees : 345

2012 KGSP Allocations by respective Korean Embassies : 145 candidates (from 90 nations). Among the 145 candidates, 15 (from 10 nations) overseas Korean adoptees are included. Their quotas are allotted to 10 Korean embassies, and are separate from general candidate quotas.
2012 KGSP Allocation for the Designated Korean Universities : 200 candidates (from 82 nations)
Eligible Universities and Fields of Study

Eligible Universities: The 51 listed universities (or institutions) as designated by NIIED

Applicants (including Korean adoptees) who apply for this program via Korean Embassies must choose 3 desired universities out of the 51 universities listed below.
Applicants who apply for this program via the designated universities may choose only 1 desired university out of the 51 universities listed below.

Ajou University
Cheongju University
Chonbuk National University
Chonnam National University
Chosun University
Chung-Ang University
Chungbuk National University
Chungnam National University
Daejeon University
Dong-A University
Dongguk University
Dongseo University
Ewha Womans University
Gyeongsang National University
Hallym University
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Hannam University
Hanyang University
Hongik University
Inha University
Inje University
Jeonju University
Kangwon National University
KDI School of Public Policy and Management
Keimyung University
Kongju National University
Kookmin University
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Korea National Defense University
Korea University
Kumoh National Institute of Technology
Kyonggi University
Kyunghee University
Kyungpook National University
Pai Chai University
Pohang University of Science and Technology
Pukyong National University
Pusan National University
Seoul National University
Seoul National University of Science and Technology
Silla University
Sogang University
Sookmyung Women’s University
SoonChunHyang University
Sungkyunkwan University
Sun Moon University
The Academy of Korean Studies
University of Ulsan
Woosong University
Yeungnam University
Yonsei University

Available Fields of Study: Detailed information about the fields and majors offered by the listed eligible universities can be found in the University Information section on the GKS website (www.gks.go.kr). Applicants must choose their desired fields of study from the listed programs in the University Information section provided by participating universities.

Night schools, seasonal programs, broadcasting schools, and cyber-schools (including online distant learning programs) are not eligible for application.

Available Courses: Master’s programs and Doctoral programs

Main Notes for the 2012 Selection

Applicants have to apply for this program via either an embassy or a designated university. Overseas Korean adoptees have to apply only via an embassy if their countries are allotted the adoptee quotas.
The selection process for applicants will proceed in three steps. Firstly, applicants must be selected by the institution he or she is applying through (a Korean embassy, or a designated university). Secondly, applicants who passed the first round must be selected by the NIIED Selection Committee. Finally, applicants who passed the second round must gain admission from a university.
Institutions accepting applications: 90 overseas Korean embassies or 51 designated Korean universities. Applicants who submit applications to more than one of the aforementioned institutions will be disqualified immediately.
Selection Procedure

1st Selection: Each 1st selection institution will draft a selections standard based on the criteria provisioned by NIIED, and recommend the best applicants according to its respective standards.
2nd Selection: The NIIED Selection Committee will select the most successful candidates from the pool of applicants recommended by the 1st selection institutions.
3rd Selection: Only the candidates who were recommended by a Korean embassy and passed the 2nd selection successfully will be evaluated for admission by the 3 universities to which they applied; each candidate has to gain admission from at least one university.
Applicants who were recommended by a designated university will automatically be granted admission to said university that recommended them, upon the condition they are selected as a successful candidate in the 2nd Selection. Subsequently, once they pass the mandatory medical examination, they will join the ranks of the final successful candidates.

Duration of Scholarship

Master’s (01.09.2012 ~ 31.08.2015) : 1 yr. of Korean language + 2 yrs of Master’s
Doctoral (01.09.2012 ~ 31.08.2016) : 1 yr. of Korean language + 3 yrs of Doctoral
(Important) After the Korean language course, the scholarship period of degree course (2 years of master’s or 3 years of doctoral) cannot be extended beyond the designated duration.
In the case that a scholar possesses a TOPIK Level that is higher than 5, he or she is exempted from the Korean language course; the exempted period will be deducted from the total scholarship period (2 years for master’s or 3 years for doctoral).

Korean Language Course

All scholars, unless exempted, must take one year of Korean language course in the designated language institution.
Exemption from the Korean language course requirement: Korean proficiency at TOPIK Level 5 or 6 (with certification).

Scholars who have surpassed TOPIK Level 5 and want to start their degree course without the Korean language course should obtain permission from NIIED in advance.
Scholars who are exempted from taking the Korean language course may take their degree course starting from September 1st, 2012 or March 1st, 2013.

Only the scholars who will have passed at least Level 3 of TOPIK (the Test of Proficiency in Korean) after one year of Korean language course are permitted to start their master’s or doctoral program.
Scholars who do not pass at least TOPIK Level 3 after one year of Korean language course should complete an additional six-month coursework in the Korean language.
Language Institution : the NIIED has designated five language institutions for the Korean language course

Application Requirements

The applicant and his/her parents must have foreign citizenships. Applicants who hold Korean citizenship are not permitted to apply for this program.
Applicants should be in good health, both mentally and physically, to stay in Korea for an extended period of time.

Applicants must submit the Personal Medical Assessment (included in the application form) when he/she apply for this program, and then submit an Official Medical Examination Report issued in a hospital to NIIED after passing the NIIED Selection Committee (the 2nd Selection). A serious illness reflected in the examination results will be the main cause of disqualification from the scholarship.
NOT Eligible : those who are pregnant

Applicants must be under 40 years of age as of Sep. 1st, 2012 (born after Sep. 1st, 1972).
Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree as of September 1, 2012.

(Important) Applicants who have ever enrolled in a university in Korea will be disqualified from applying to the KGSP program. Specifically, an applicant who has previously enrolled in an undergraduate program, a master’s program, or a doctoral program in Korea cannot apply for this program. However, a KGSP scholar who has graduated or will graduate from a Korean university as of August 31st, 2012 can apply for this program again only via the embassy if only he/she holds at least TOPIK Level 4 and obtain another recommendation within the allotment from the Korean Embassy of his/her respective country of origin (re-application is limited to one instance).
Applicants who apply for the Master’s program must hold a Bachelor’s degree or a diploma that is equivalent to or higher than a Bachelor’s degree.
Applicants who apply for the Doctoral program must hold a Master’s degree or a diploma that is equivalent to or higher than a Master’s degree.
Applicants who are expecting to obtain the relevant required degree or diploma by August 31st, 2012 must submit a certificate of degree or diploma expectation, and submit the official certificate of degree or diploma to NIIED by August 31st, 2012.

Applicants must maintain a grade point average (G.P.A.) of at least 2.64 on a 4.0 scale, 2.80 on a 4. 3 scale, 2.91 on a 4.5 scale, or grades/marks/score of 80% or higher from the previously attended institution. If an applicant does not satisfy the above GPA criteria, he/she will be disqualified from applying to this program.

If the transcript is not indicated in grades/marks/scores format, or is difficult to convert into percentages, attachment of official explanation from the attended institution is required.

Applicants who have Korean proficiency or English proficiency may be given preference.
Applicants who apply for natural science and technology program may be given preference.

Scholarship

Scholarship Period : same as the period of invitation.
Payment:

Airfare : Round-trip economy class ticket.

Airfare for entry will not be provided to scholars who already presently live in Korea for academic study or employment.
The fees for domestic travel within a scholar’s home country and for travel insurance to and from Korea will not be provided.
Scholars from China and the Czech Republic will not be provided airfare by NIIED, but by their country of origin according to the mutual agreements.

Monthly Allowance : 900,000 won (KRW) per month.
Research Allowance : 210,000 won for scholars in the humanities and social sciences; 240,000 won for scholars in natural and mechanic sciences, per semester.
Relocation (Settlement) Allowance : 200,000 won upon arrival
Language Training Fee : Full coverage
Tuitions : All admission fees are waived by the host institution (university). The tuition is paid by NIIED.
Dissertation Printing Costs : 500,000 ~ 800,000 won, depending on the actual costs.
Medical Insurance : 20,000 won per month will be provided (limited coverage).
Special funding for scholars who are proficient in the Korean language (TOPIK Level 5 or 6): 100,000 won per month (commencing from the degree program)

NOTES

NIIED does not compensate fees for the domestic travel both in the grantee’s country and Korea.
Airfare for entry into Korea will not be provided to a scholar that has been staying in Korea for his or her study, work, etc. as of the date of announcement of successful candidates
NIIED does not compensate fees for insurance for traveling to and from Korea.
The medical fee is to be reimbursed through the insurance company to the scholar after s/he pays first. However, the expense for dental clinic or chronic disease will not be covered.
Any scholar who gives up his/her study during the scholarship period will not receive airfare and allowance for repatriation.
Any scholar that quits the program within 3 months after s/he entering Korea, should refund all scholarship fees (The airfare of arriving Korea, settlement allowance, monthly stipend, Korean language training expenses, etc.).

Selection Procedure Details

The guideline, application form, and university information will be available at the website of GKS (www.gks.go.kr), Korean Embassies, and designated domestic universities.
For applicants (including Korean adoptees) who apply for KGSP via Korean Embassies

(1st Selection) Korean Embassies make its own selection schedule and plan based on the criteria provided by NIIED, and accept the applications. They select 1.5 times as many candidates as their quota from the pool of applicants and recommend them to NIIED.

Applicants from China and the Czech Republic should submit their applications to the Ministry of Education (or equivalent institution) in their respective country of origin, in accordance with the mutual agreements between Korea and those countries.
Only Korean adoptees who have foreign citizenship can apply for this program via a Korean Embassy if their countries of origin are allotted the adoptee quota. They are selected through a separate procedure; general applicants cannot be accepted through this application category.

(2nd Selection) NIIED Selection Committee selects as many successful candidates as each embassy quota amongst the pool of candidates recommended by the Embassies.
(3rd Selection) NIIED submits the documents of successful candidates to their 3 universities of indicated preference, and requests admission examination of the candidates into their master’s or doctoral programs. The universities have to notify the result of examination to the candidates and NIIED by the designated date. The candidates who gain admission from more than one university will have to make a final selection, and notify their respective local Korean Embassy and NIIED by the designated date. Only the candidates who gain admission within the 3rd Selection period can be accepted as official KGSP scholars.

For applicants who apply for KGSP via designated domestic universities

(1st Selection) Each designated university will draft its own selection schedule and plan based on the criteria provided by NIIED, and accepts the applications. Each designated university will select up to 15 candidates from all of the quota-assigned countries and recommend them to NIIED. They cannot recommend more than 3 candidates from a single country, with the exceptions of Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Turkey.
(2nd Selection) NIIED Selection Committee selects as many successful candidates as each country’s quota from all of the candidates recommended by the universities. The candidates who are selected in the NIIED Selection Committee will be accepted to the university which recommended them, and will be finally accepted as official KGSP scholars upon a successful comprehensive medical examination.

Selection Criterion
All documents including transcript, self-introduction, study plan, certificates of language proficiency (Korean and English), recommendations, published papers and awards, etc., will be evaluated.

Required Documentation

Place of submission

NIIED and Foreign embassies in Korea are not 1st Selection Institutions and do not accept applications.
NIIED accepts and judges only the candidates recommended by the 1st Selection Institutions. They are:

For applicants (including overseas Korean adoptees) applying via a Korean embassy : the Korean embassy in the country of origin. *Korean Educational Institutes affiliated with the local Korean embassies may accept applications, and select and recommend candidates in place of embassies in some countries.
For applicants applying via a domestic university : One of the 51 designated universities

Deadline of Submission : The date set forth by the 1st Selection Institutions within March 2012

Deadline for the recommendation of candidates to NIIED by the 1st Selection Institutions is April 13th, 2012.
If the respective 1st Selection Institutions do not submit their candidates’ documents to NIIED on time, they will be excluded from the examination of NIIED Selection Committee, and their quotas will be substituted by the other 1st Institutions’ reserve candidates.

Required documents : One original document (placed in a separate envelope) and 3 extra copies.

Documents not in English or Korean must be accompanied by a complete English or Korean translation authenticated by the issuing institution or notarized by a notary’s office.

Note

Selection for successful candidates will be done strictly by the NIIED Selection Committee. Therefore, appropriate documents should be submitted by the deadline.

Dual applications are not accepted. Applicants must apply for this program via only one institution.
Documents should be presented in their original form.
Submitted documents will not be returned to the applicants.
Incomplete or incorrect documents may lead to application rejection or failure in the Selection Committee, and scholarship revocation even after entry into Korea.
In case of submitting photocopied documents, applicants must submit the original to the 1st Selection Institution and have the original one and the photocopied one collated. The confirmation of collation should be indicated in the photocopied documents.
Applicants who are expected to graduate from their respective home undergraduate/graduate institutions by August 31st, 2012, should submit the certificate (or letter) of expected graduation issued by said institutions when they apply; the official certificate of graduation should be received by NIIED by August 31st, 2012.
Applicants must accurately complete the health checklist truthfully. All successful candidates must take a comprehensive medical exam after passing the 2nd Selection. In accordance with the requirements of the Korea Immigration Service and the KGSP Program, the candidates who are judged to be physically unfit for this program will not be accepted.
Applicants may submit the copies of published papers, if available.
Applicants may submit the copies of awards, if available.

Applicants must submit all the documents by the checklist order. (Checklist for the application documents should be on the front page, followed by the required documents, stapled and attached.)
Transferring to a different university after confirming the host university is not permitted in any cases. In regards to changing majors, it would be permitted only under the mutual agreement of the departments concerned only within the same university, with the scholarship period unchanged. (2 years of Master’s, or 3 years of doctoral, in total). However, quitting a program and applying for a new one is not permitted.

Selection Schedule

Application Period : Jan. 31st ~ Mar. 31st (decided by the 1st Selection Institution)
The 1st Selection : The end of March (decided by the 1st Selection Institution)
Deadline for Recommendation to NIIED : April 13th (All documents must be received by NIIED.)
The 2nd Selection : Mid-April (NIIED Selection Committee)
Announcement for the Results of the 2nd Selection : April 30th (posted on GKS websites)
Official Physical Examination : May 1st ~ May 31st (completed by candidates themselves)
Admission Procedures for the Korean Embassies’ candidates: May 7th~May 31st
Announcement for Final Successful Candidates : June 11th (GKS websites-www.gks.go.kr)
Visa Issue and Air ticket purchase : June 12th ~ July 31st
Entry into Korea : August 27th ~ August 29th
NIIED Orientation : August 30th ~ August 31st
Korean Language Course : September 1st

For further information, please contact :

1st Institutions : Refer to The Contact Information of Korean Embassies and Universities in the attachment #8.
KGSP Team, National Institute for International Education (NIIED)

Address: #205 NIIED, 81 Ewhajang-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-810, Republic of Korea
www.gks.go.kr English version: Inbound -> Korean Government Scholarship Program -> Announcement
Phone: +82-2-3668-1364, +82-2-3668-1358
Fax: +82-2-743-4992
Email: niiedkgsp@gmail.com

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