Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is a public research institution that is located in the capital of South Korea. Due to its academic excellence and international renown, this institution is thought to be the most prestigious university in the nation. Also known as SNU, Seoul National University is taking steps to welcome talented students and future researchers from all over the globe.
In order to increase the number of international students on campus, SNU has partnered with many universities around the world by promoting international collaborations and establishing exchange programs. In order to directly help international applicants, the Office of International Affairs was created to help with this specific task.
Since it can be difficult to learn the Korean language for international students, Seoul National University is rapidly increasing the number of programs taught entirely in English. Also, SNU is increasing the funding for international applicants so that prospective students can get more scholarships at Seoul National University and financial awards during their stay in South Korea.
How Do I Apply To Seoul National University Scholarships?
For undergraduate programs, SNU has created a detailed admissions guide that international students can easily follow. In the link above, all the information such as eligibility requirements, admissions criteria, and tuition fee will be included, and if you have any questions regarding the admissions process, they have included the contact details so that you can email them with your specific questions or comments.
If you want to apply for undergraduate scholarships, Seoul National University has listed all their available scholarships in the links down below, and its scholarship programs are separated into scholarships that you can apply before applying for admissions and scholarships that you can apply after being admitted into this institution.
For graduate degrees, SNU has also created a detailed admissions guide for prospective international applicants. If you look into their admissions guide, it will show the Korean version first, and after scrolling past the Korean version, you will see the English version of the admissions guide, which you can easily read and understand.
For graduate scholarships, the application process is really similar to what we faced in the previous section. The scholarship category is split into scholarship programs that you can apply for before starting your admissions application and scholarship programs that you can apply to after being admitted into Seoul National University.
Seoul National University Scholarships for International Students
1. Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP)
- Scholarship Link
- Scholarship Amount: Full Tuition, Travelling Fares, Living Allowance, One-Time Settlement Stipend, Insurance Coverage, and More
- Degrees Offered: Undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D.
Funded by the Korean Government, the Korean Government Scholarship Program is the most prestigious award that can be given to international applicants. If you want to receive this scholarship, you need to separately apply for this scholarship program. Seoul National University does not receive your scholarship application since they are not the ones who make the final decision.
In order to be considered for KGSP, you need to apply to the closest Korean embassy near you (Embassy Track), and all the details regarding the scholarship application are provided in the link above. After weeding out the applicants, the National Institute for International Education makes the final call when choosing its scholarship recipients.
When it comes to academic criteria, all prospective graduate students can apply, but undergraduate applicants who wish to study medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, and architecture at Seoul National University cannot apply for this scholarship. As you can see, the academic programs range from undergraduate courses to graduate programs, so if you want to receive full funding during your study in South Korea, please apply for this scholarship program at Seoul National University!
2. Graduate Scholarships for Excellent Foreign Students (GSFS)
- Scholarship Link
- Scholarship Amount: Full Tuition for Two Years, Monthly Living Stipend
- Degrees Offered: Masters and Ph.D.
Available only to graduate students, this Seoul National University scholarship has eligibility criteria that are very selective. Excluding Japanese and Chinese nationals, only Asian students can apply for this scholarship program, and eligible applicants need to apply for one of the designated programs that are subject to change year by year.
To be considered for this scholarship, you need to submit your admissions application to Seoul National University, and after completing the admissions process, you need to submit a separate scholarship application to SNU’s Office of International Affairs. After turning in your two applications, you just need to wait and bide your time for your final results!
3. Silk Road Scholarship
- Scholarship Link
- Scholarship Amount: Full Tuition for Two Years, Monthly Living Stipend, Airfare Coverage, Korean Language Training Fee
- Degrees Offered: Masters and Ph.D.
Similar to our previous scholarship, Silk Road Scholarship is only available to students from the countries in the ‘Silk-Road’ region. The list of all the countries in the ‘Silk-Road’ region is not specified in the scholarship requirements, so please double-check your eligibility before starting your scholarship application.
In addition to the nationality requirements, there are academic criteria attached to this scholarship program. Eligible applicants must want to study humanities or social sciences, which include Korean language courses, history, culture, politics, and economics. As you can see, the eligibility criteria for this Seoul National University scholarship are quite selective for international applicants, so don’t worry too much if you don’t fit in this category.
In addition to these three scholarships, there are many more scholarships at Seoul National University that are available for international applicants. For undergraduate scholarships, you can check out your awards here, and for prospective graduate students, you can check yours right here.
