KF Scholarship for Graduate Studies

Who can apply

Citizenship or permanent residency in a country other than Korea; Korean nationals must already hold foreign citizenship or permanent residency as of August 2026
Enrolled, or about to enrol, full-time in a master's or PhD programme at a university outside North America, Europe and Japan (those regions apply under a separate future call)
Studying a Korea-related topic in the humanities, social sciences, arts and cultural studies, media and communications, or contemporary Korean studies
Not enrolled in an MBA, law, or interpretation/translation programme, and does not already hold a PhD
Three reference letters required: supervisor, a professor able to assess the research proposal, and one able to assess Korean-language competency (a TOPIK score or a Korean degree/transcript can substitute for the last)

Read the eligibility gate carefully before anything else

Read the eligibility gate carefully before anything else: this call is only for students already enrolled, or about to enrol, outside North America, Europe and Japan. If your university is in one of those three regions, this specific round isn’t for you, and the Foundation’s own guidance is to wait for that region’s separate call rather than apply here.

The programme funds a Korea-related research topic, not a Korean-language or general-studies programme in the ordinary sense. Fields named directly are humanities, social sciences, arts and cultural studies, media and communications, and contemporary Korean studies, with room for other fields if the topic itself is Korea-related. MBA, law, and interpretation/translation programmes are explicitly excluded, and so is anyone who already holds a PhD.

Oceania runs on a different scholarship calendar than everyone else

One detail worth knowing if you’re applying from Oceania specifically: the scholarship period itself starts on a different date than for every other eligible region. Applicants from Asia (excluding Japan), Russia and Central Asia, Central and South America, Africa, and the Middle East run 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027; Oceania applicants instead run 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2028, a full six months later.

Three reference letters, with one substitutable requirement

The reference letter requirement is more specific than most: three letters, from your supervisor, a professor who can judge your research proposal, and a professor or lecturer who can assess your Korean-language ability specifically. If you don’t have someone who can write that last one, a valid TOPIK score or a degree and transcript from a Korean institution can stand in for it instead. Renewing applicants only need one letter, from their supervisor, and only need to submit transcripts for their prior year(s) of study rather than the full set again, but still have to reapply and go through screening, since renewal is never automatic.

No single award figure, and no deferrals if you’re awarded

The award amount itself isn’t a single figure. The Foundation’s own page says support “varies depending on country/region” and points to a lookup table rather than quoting one number, so check that table for your own country before assuming a specific amount. What’s fixed regardless of country: no deferrals. If you’re awarded the scholarship and can’t take it up as scheduled, you withdraw and reapply in a future call rather than pushing your start date back. This scholarship funds Korea-related research at a university outside Korea; if you’re looking to fund a degree inside Korea itself instead, see the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), a separate programme with a very different premise.