How to apply and receive the KGSP Scholarship(Graduate)Part 1
If you’re here reading this, then I bet you’ve been reading up on the Korean Government Scholarship Program and you are looking for answers. I am a KGSP — Graduate 2016 scholar, who graduated from Kookmin University in August 2019 and in this article, I will do my best to help you as much as I can. I will separate the articles into different parts dealing with the different stages of the scholarship, then follow up with my experience with moving to South Korea, learning Korean, tips and tricks for getting around etc. Now, let’s begin~
What is the Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) ?
The KGSP is a global scholarship provided by the National Institute for International Education, which serves to bring scholars (for Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees) from many different countries into Korea so that they may pursue their studies. In this article, I will be focusing mostly on the Graduate scholarship.
What are the benefits of KGSP?
KGSP is a full scholarship with additional benefits. As of July, 2020, the benefits include (1000 KRW = $0.83 USD):
Round trip airfare: Actual Cost
Resettlement allowance (When you arrive in Korea): 200,000 KRW.
Living allowance ( for food, transportation and dormitory): Undergraduate — 800,000 KRW. Graduate — 1,000,000 KRW.
Medical insurance: 20,000 KRW.
Language Courses: 800,000 KRW per quarter
Tuition for Degree: Actual Cost (Less than 5,000,000 KRW per semester)
Korean Proficiency Award ( TOPIK 5 and 6 holders) : 100,000 KRW
Research Support: 210,000–240,000 KRW (for humanities degrees to science degrees respectfully)
Printing Costs (Thesis): 500,000–800,000 KRW
Completion Grant (Only applicable if you are leaving Korea after Graduation): 100,000 KRW
As you can see, the KGSP scholarship provides a lot of benefits, so it is not an easy scholarship to acquire but I believe you can do it! If I could, anyone else can!
How can I apply?
The recruitment period for applying to KGSP is usually around February — March each year (September — October for Undergraduate). On the StudyinKorea website, there will be a notice uploaded around that time with the forms and required documents you will need for submission. But before we get into that, there are two different ways of applying for KGSP, Embassy Track and University Track.
Embassy Track: You will submit all documents to the Korean embassy in your country. You get to choose three (3) prospective universities to apply to. You have to pass the third round of selection (acceptance from at least one university) to receive the scholarship.
University Track: You will submit all documents to the university of your choice (Only one university or you will be disqualified). You receive the scholarship after you pass the second round of selection (NIIED approval).
The scholarship selection is then progressed into Three Rounds for Embassy Track and Two Rounds for University Track, which will be explained a little bit later in this article.
What documents will I need to submit?
Before you apply, we have to make sure that you qualify for this scholarship.
Qualifications:
You and your parents must not be a Korean national. (This also includes Dual Citizenship)
Must be under 40 years of age as of September 1, 2020 (or the year of your application)
Must hold or must be expected to hold a Bachelor’s, Master’s or a Doctoral degree by August 31st, 2020(or the year of your application).
Have not previously attained a degree in Korea unless under KGSP.
Have a GPA of :
— 2.64 on a 4.0 scale;
- 2.80 on a 4.3 scale;
- 2.91 on a 4.5 scale;
- 3.23 on a 5.0 scale; or
- Score percentile: 80% or above on a 100 point scale or be ranked within the top 20% within one’s class (Exception: Previous or current GKS scholars must hold the grade of 90% or above on a 100 point scale or be ranked within the top 10% within one’s class)
If you qualify, you can then look at the package uploaded and check the country list. In the country list, you will see the quota for your country of how many applicants they will choose for Embassy Track and University Track. If your country has a quota for both, you can choose a track and begin preparing documents. If it only has quota for one track, begin preparing documents for that. For embassy track, you need to submit ONE set of ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS and Three Additional sets (for each university) of PHOTOCOPIED DOCUMENTS to the Korean Embassy in your country. For university track, you need to submit ONE set of ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS only.
NOTE: (ORIGINAL does not mean your only original copy of your documents, they do not, under any circumstance, give back documents so your original documents that you cannot give up, please copy the original document and have it “apostilled” and submit the copy with the apostille. For example, have your original bachelor degree copied and have the copy apostilled, photocopy the apostilled copy three times and submit the apostilled copy, and the three photocopies for Embassy Track. For university track, submit just the apostilled copy.)
Now that you’ve decided to apply, you will need these documents:
Round One (all may apply for a chance at receiving KGSP.):
(Forms 1 through 8 are included in the package on the studyinkorea website when the notice is uploaded.)
(1)Application form: It will ask for your personal information, what field you expect to study in, your grades in your prior university etc.
(2) Personal statement form: A mini essay that goes over the points of your motivation for applying to KGSP, your education and work experience in relation to applying for KGSP, your reasons for studying in Korea, your background and interests which aids in evaluating your passion for graduate study.
(3) Statement of purpose form: Less than two pages where you explain the goal of your study and write down a detailed study plan. Also you write a little about your future plans after studying in Korea. It doesn’t have to be set in stone as you can always change it after you receive the scholarship.
(4) Research Proposal: Only for research program applicants. It consists of a detailed research plan, your research topic and objectives etc.
(5) Recommendation Letter ( x2): You fill out your information on this form and then hand it off to two (2) recommenders for them to fill it out. They will then sign and place it in a sealed envelope and stamp it with their organization stamp and give it back to you. For embassy track, you should make 3 photocopies of the recommendation form after you’ve filled in the information and have your recommender fill out and sign four (4) of them and place them all into one envelope, seal then stamp the flap of the envelope.
(6) Letter of Invitation: This is for Research Program applicants only and is completed by the staff or faculty of the inviting university.
(7) GKS (KGSP) Applicant Agreement: The terms and conditions for you to agree to as an applicant.
(8) Personal medical assessment: An assessment form that guides the panel on if you are fit for study. You will do a comprehensive medical examination in the second round anyways, so just fill this out truthfully to the best of your ability.
Non-packaged documents :
( University Track submits 1 apostilled copy, Embassy Track submits 1 apostilled copy and 3 photocopies of the apostilled copy. Only submit the documents applicable to you.)
(9) Certificate of Bachelor’s Degree or Bachelor’s Diploma (Applying for Master’s)
(10) Bachelor’s Degree Transcript (Applying for Master’s)
(11) Certificate of Master’s Degree or Master’s Diploma (Applying for Ph.D)
(12) Master’s Degree Transcript (Applying for Ph.D)
(13, 14, 15) Certificate of Doctoral Degree or Doctoral Diploma. Doctoral Degree Transcript. Certificate of Employment ( Post-Doctoral Research Program applicants only)
(16) Applicant’s Proof of Citizenship Document
(17) Applicant’s Parents’ Proof of Citizenship Document (Or Death certificate if parent has passed on)
(18, 19, 20) Proof of Overseas Korean Document (overseas Koreans only), Proof of Korean Citizenship Renunciation Document (previous Korean citizenship holders only), Proof of Korean Adoptees Document ( overseas Korean adoptees only).
(21) (a) Certificate of Employment (teaching subject clearly indicated), (b) Certificate of Teaching Career (years taught specified) (Applicants for Korean Language Teaching Professionals track ONLY)
(22) Certificate of Valid TOPIK ( if applicable)
(23) Certificate of Valid English Proficiency Test (TOEIC or IELTS)
(24) Published Papers, Research Papers etc.
(25) Awards and other certificates.
Important note: If any of the documents are not in English nor Korean, you NEED to have it officially translated and notarized (and apostilled for degrees) before submitting.
After submission of these documents, for University Track, you await further confirmation of passing the first round from the faculty. For Embassy Track, you will either be informed of the need for an interview or not. If an interview is needed, you will visit the embassy or conduct the interview online then await results. Most embassies with a large amount of applicants simply go through applications and post the shortlisted candidates on the embassy website or via email.
This concludes part one of “How to apply and receive the KGSP Scholarship(Graduate)”. In part two, I will relay my experience with the embassy interview and explain the second round and the documents needed for submission after you have passed the second round.
Thank you so much for reading and I’m glad if you have made it this far! Share with your friends if this has helped you and feel free to ask more questions in the comments sections.
