Graduate Research Excellence Scholarship 2027

Who can apply

Open to new graduate research students enrolling at Monash Malaysia, and to current graduate research students in their first year of enrolment, who may apply once only, using a form, within that first year
A minimum academic qualification of First Class Honours (H1) or its equivalent as recognised by Monash Malaysia, plus Monash Malaysia's own admission and English language requirements for the relevant research degree
Awards are competitive and based on academic record, research output and/or prior research experience; applicants who have already completed a graduate research master's or doctoral degree at the same level are not eligible
Recipients are required to contribute a maximum of 240 hours a year in academic or research support activities, as determined by the Managing School
No separate scholarship application; recipients are selected when they apply for admission to a graduate research degree

No separate application, but no small commitment either

Monash University Malaysia funds new graduate research students, master’s or PhD, with a full tuition fee waiver and a monthly stipend, MYR 2,950 at the 2026 rate, for the standard length of the degree: two years full-time equivalent for a research master’s, three years and six months for a doctorate. There’s no separate scholarship application to fill in: you select the scholarship type when you apply for admission, and the school will contact you for an interview. Monash lists 80 of these scholarships for 2027 and awards them competitively on academic record, research output and prior research experience, with a minimum of First Class Honours (H1) or its recognised equivalent.

The work-hours catch

The catch, if it is one, is a work commitment: recipients contribute up to 240 hours a year in academic or research support for the Managing School, on top of their own research. That works out to roughly five hours a week averaged over a year, worth knowing about before you commit to a research timeline that assumes zero teaching or admin load.

Four rounds a year, tied to your offer letter date

Monash runs four scholarship rounds a year, each tied to a hard deadline for when your HDR offer letter has to be received. The 2027 rounds are 12 February, 23 April, 30 July and 1 October 2027; the last 2026 round, on 1 October 2026, has passed. If you’re aiming for the first 2027 round, the offer letter, not just your application, needs to be in Monash’s hands by 12 February 2027, so start the admission application well before then.

A more selective sibling scholarship exists on the same campus

Monash Malaysia runs a second, more selective PhD-only track worth knowing about if this one isn’t competitive enough for your profile: the Global Excellence and Mobility Scholarship (GEMS), which funds 15 places a year for 42 months each and includes a study-away period of up to nine months at Monash Australia, Monash Indonesia, or the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Unlike this scholarship, GEMS requires its own separate, competitive application rather than automatic consideration through your HDR offer, and its call for the 2027 intake was open at the time of this check. For a broader view of how PhD funding actually works across different countries and systems, see the guide to funding a PhD.