This is not a student scholarship. It is an ODA capacity-building fellowship, and the applicant must be a serving government official or public-sector employee of a KOICA partner country. If you are a student, a private-sector employee or self-employed, you are not eligible — no matter how strong your academic record is.
You must be officially nominated by your own government. That means a recommendation letter from your employing agency bearing the institutional seal, submitted through your country's focal ministry, which forwards the package to the Korean Embassy or the KOICA country office. This is not optional and cannot be replaced by an academic reference.
There is no individual online application portal. A private individual, a private-sector employee or an ordinary student cannot apply directly to KOICA or to a university — no such route exists. Any site offering you a "KOICA application form" to fill in yourself is not the official process.
Doctoral applicants must have already completed a KOICA Master's programme. You cannot enter the Doctoral track directly.
Previous recipients of a Korean government degree scholarship are ineligible (a narrow exception exists for those whose earlier award was at Bachelor's level and who now apply for a Master's). Previously cancelled or withdrawn KOICA scholars are also excluded.
Who for
Serving government officials / public-sector employees, nominated by their own government
Apply via
Your government's focal ministry → Korean Embassy / KOICA country office. There is no individual online portal.
Round-trip economy airfare · dormitory for the whole programme · health insurance (~81,000 ₩/month)
Citizenship
Citizen of one of roughly 95–96 KOICA partner countries. The exact current list could not be confirmed for this entry.
Deadlines
🔴 Cycle "2026-1" · submission to your government
15 Dec 2025 — closed. Interviews Dec 2025–Jan 2026, university screening to Apr 2026, arrival in Korea Aug 2026. ⚠️ Not confirmed on the official site — verify before relying on it
🔴 Next cycle (labelled "2027" in a ministry mirror)
July 2026 — the day of the month was never published, and the window has passed either way. KOICA interviews ~Jul 2026, university screening ~Oct 2026, arrival Feb 2027. ⚠️ Not confirmed on the official site — verify before relying on it
⚪ Following cycle
Not announced yet — no official date published
Overview
KOICA is South Korea's official bilateral development-cooperation agency, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and this scholarship is part of Korea's Official Development Assistance. It is run through CIAT (Capacity Improvement and Advancement for Tomorrow) with designated Korean host universities such as SNU GSPA, KDI School, Ajou GSIS, Ewha, Hanyang and Korea University, which rotate by cycle. It funds a 17-month Master's — and a 36-month Doctorate for KOICA Master's alumni — in development-linked fields such as public administration, gender equality, smart-city management, tax and fiscal policy and education leadership. Its purpose is to build the professional capacity of public servants from around 95–96 partner countries so they can apply what they learn inside their own institutions. That purpose is why the entry route runs through governments rather than through students.
Who can apply
A serving government official or public-sector employee of a KOICA partner country. This is the defining requirement.
An official nomination from your home government — a recommendation letter with the institutional seal, routed through the national focal ministry.
Citizenship of one of roughly 95–96 KOICA partner countries across Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the Pacific and the Middle East. The exact current list is published in the guideline's country annex, which could not be read for this entry — check it before assuming your country is included.
Age: preferably under 40 at the cycle's reference date. The guidelines describe this as a preference rather than an absolute cut-off.
Master's track: a Bachelor's degree, preferably with 2+ years of relevant work experience. Doctoral track: a Master's degree, preferably 3+ years of experience, AND completion of a KOICA Master's programme.
A strong command of English in speaking and writing, since coursework and the thesis are in English. Formal TOEFL/IELTS scores are described as not mandatory at the KOICA screening round, but an individual university may require them at its own round.
Good physical and mental health; a severe illness is disqualifying.
No previous Korean government degree scholarship, and no previously cancelled or withdrawn KOICA award.
What it covers
Tuition and the admission fee are covered in full.
A monthly living allowance of 1,200,000 ₩.
A one-time settlement allowance: 600,000 ₩ for Master's scholars, 1,200,000 ₩ for Doctoral scholars.
A one-time completion grant: 300,000 ₩ for Master's scholars, 600,000 ₩ for Doctoral scholars.
Round-trip economy-class airfare at actual cost, for entry and departure.
Health insurance of roughly 81,000 ₩ per month, and university dormitory accommodation for the whole programme.
Not covered, and explicitly your own responsibility: visa fees, stopover expenses, local transport, document authentication and medical check-up costs.
Completion grant 300,000 ₩ (Master's) · 600,000 ₩ (Doctoral)
Airfare
Round-trip economy, actual expense
Insurance
≈81,000 ₩ per month
Accommodation
University dormitory for the full duration of the programme
Duration
Master's 17 months · Doctoral 36 months
How to apply — step by step
KOICA issues the guideline to governments Each year KOICA sends the annual guideline — quotas, eligible universities and programmes, deadlines — to partner-country governments through Korean Embassies and KOICA country offices. It is not published as a public application call.
Your focal ministry announces it internally Your country's designated focal ministry — an Economic Affairs Division, a Ministry of Public Administration or an equivalent, depending on the country — circulates the opportunity to eligible public servants. If you are not inside that system, you will not see the announcement.
Complete the forms and get the sealed nomination The applicant — already a serving official — fills in KOICA Application Forms Parts 1–4 and obtains an official nomination/recommendation letter bearing the institutional seal from the employing agency.
Submit through the ministry, not to KOICA The complete package — forms, sealed nomination letter, passport copy — goes to the home-government ministry, which forwards it to the Korean Embassy or the KOICA country office by the international deadline (15 December 2025 for the 2026-1 cycle).
KOICA Round — interview and document screening The KOICA country office or the Embassy interviews candidates (on-site or by phone) and screens the documents.
University Round — screening, medical check, interview Candidates who pass the KOICA round go through document screening, a local medical check-up and an interview with the specific host university and programme they have been matched to.
Final acceptance, visa and arrival Submit original or apostilled documents, receive the admission notice and visa guidance from the university and KOICA, then arrange the visa, vaccinations and travel yourself and arrive shortly before the programme starts.
Required documents
KOICA Application Forms, Parts 1–4 The core application. You receive it through your focal ministry — it is not a form you download and send in yourself.
Government nomination letter with the institutional seal Mandatory proof that your employing agency is nominating you. Without the seal the file is not a KOICA application at all — this single document is what separates an eligible candidate from an ineligible one.
Passport copy, valid 6+ months Identity and nationality proof against the partner-country list.
Degree certificates and transcripts Apostilled or certified, and translated if not in English.
University-specific application materials(optional) Submitted only after you pass the KOICA round, to the host university you were matched with.
Medical documentation(optional) Requested at the later screening stages, including a local medical check-up during the university round.
Useful guides & documents
2026-1 KOICA SP Application Guideline (Oct 2025) (2026-1) The KOICA-authored guideline, re-hosted unaltered by Pakistan's Economic Affairs Division. Source of the eligibility rules, the timeline and every ₩ figure on this page.
KOICA Fellowship Program (CIAT) — official overview The programme page on koica.go.kr. It could not be read while this entry was written, but it is the primary source and should be checked before you rely on anything here.
SNU GSPA — the KOICA Scholarship Program (2023) A Korean host university's own page. Useful for seeing what a host programme looks like from the university side — its details describe the 2023 cycle.
KDI School — KOICA programmes (2024-25) Another host university, listing programme names and quotas for the 2024–25 cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Can a regular student apply without a government nomination?
No. Every official KOICA guideline reviewed requires a serving government official nominated by their home government and submitted through the Korean Embassy or KOICA country office. There is no route for a private individual, a private-sector employee or an ordinary student. A narrow NGO exception (government office plus Embassy or UN-affiliated recommendation) appeared on a single university page for the 2023 cycle only and is not confirmed as current policy.
How is this different from GKS?
GKS is run by NIIED under the Ministry of Education and is open to ordinary students. KOICA SP is an ODA capacity-building fellowship under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, restricted to nominated public servants. Same country, completely different door.
Is there a hard age limit?
The guidelines say "preferably under 40" at the cycle's reference date, phrased as a preference rather than an absolute cut-off.
Do I need TOEFL or IELTS?
Not mandatory at the KOICA screening round, per the guideline text. An individual host university may still require a score at its own round, so check the programme you are matched to.
Is there an open deadline right now?
No. As of 17 August 2026 the two identifiable deadlines — 15 December 2025 for the "2026-1" cycle and July 2026 for the next one — have both passed, and no further round has been announced. Watch the KOICA page and your own ministry, since the announcement reaches candidates through the government, not through a public portal.
Can I apply directly for the Doctoral track?
No. The guideline requires that you have already completed a KOICA Master's programme before applying to the Doctoral track.
Do I need Korean?
No. The programmes are English-taught and TOPIK is not listed as a requirement in the guidelines reviewed. Coursework and the thesis are in English.
Where exactly do I submit my application?
To your own government's designated focal ministry — never directly to KOICA or to a university. The ministry forwards the package to the Korean Embassy or the KOICA country office.
KOICA's own CIAT fellowship page — the primary source, which could NOT be read when this entry was written (every path was blocked by robots and by network policy). Nothing here was taken from it; check it yourself before acting on any figure above. https://www.koica.go.kr/koica_en/3441/subview.do
Amounts, quotas and deadlines may change every year. Verify on the official site before applying.