Taiwan Scholarship Program (Ministry of Education)

Who can apply

A foreign national with at least a secondary school graduation diploma, an excellent academic record, and good character
Not an ROC national or overseas Chinese student
Not currently enrolled, or already registered to begin studies, at a Taiwanese university or tertiary college at the same or a higher level than the one you're applying for (an exception exists for a student about to graduate who wants to pursue a higher degree)
Not an exchange student or dual/joint-degree student admitted under an academic cooperation agreement with a Taiwanese institution
Never held a Taiwan Scholarship for a combined total of 5 years, and never had a Taiwan Scholarship or MOE Huayu Enrichment Scholarship revoked
Not currently receiving any other scholarship or subsidy from a Taiwan government agency or education institution (a university top-up covering only the gap above the scholarship's own maximum is excluded from this rule)

There’s no single deadline, because there’s no single application point

This scholarship is entirely decentralized, and that changes how you should actually go about applying. There’s no single portal or one deadline for the whole world. Every application goes through the Republic of China overseas mission, an embassy or Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, accredited to your own country, and each mission sets and publishes its own opening and closing dates independently. Find your mission first and ask directly when its round opens, rather than waiting for the Ministry of Education’s own page to announce a date, because it won’t; it explicitly defers the whole schedule to the missions. On top of that, applying to a mission for the scholarship and applying to a Taiwanese university or college for admission are two entirely separate steps, both of which you have to complete yourself.

The funding is real but partial, not a full ride

The funding is real but partial, not a full ride. NTD 40,000 per semester covers a meaningful chunk of tuition at many Taiwanese universities, but if your programme costs more than that, the difference is yours to pay. The Ministry’s own page also doesn’t say which monthly living-allowance rate, NTD 15,000 or NTD 20,000, applies to which level of study, so confirm that specific figure with your mission or host university rather than assuming the higher number.

A separate programme from TaiwanICDF, despite the shared government source

This is a separate programme from the TaiwanICDF International Higher Education Scholarship, even though both fund study in Taiwan and both come from the Taiwanese government. TaiwanICDF is run by a different agency with its own terms, generally aimed at students from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and partner countries; don’t assume rejection from, or eligibility for, one tells you anything about the other.

The exclusion list is stricter than it first looks

Read the exclusion list closely if you’ve already spent time in Taiwan. You’re ineligible if you currently hold, or have already registered for, student status at a Taiwanese institution at the same level you’re now applying for, and separately ineligible if you’ve ever held a Taiwan Scholarship for five years combined, even across multiple separate awards, or ever had a Taiwan Scholarship or MOE Huayu Enrichment Scholarship revoked. A student on track to graduate that same year is the one explicit exception allowed to apply for a scholarship covering their next, higher degree. Already receiving another scholarship or subsidy from a Taiwan government agency or education institution rules you out too, though a university top-up that only covers the gap above this scholarship’s own ceiling is specifically excluded from that rule.