Guide
Korea University Scholarships for International Students (2027)
Korea University runs 13 scholarships for international undergraduates, and for the biggest ones you never fill in a scholarship application. Your admission file is the application. Here is what each award pays, who gets picked, and what it takes to keep it.
Korea University (KU, sometimes called Koryo University or 고려대학교) is one of the SKY universities, Korea's three most prestigious private and national institutions. Its scholarships for international undergraduates fall into two clear groups: seven awards decided automatically when you are admitted, and six awards you apply for each semester once you are enrolled. Everything below comes from the official Korea University Global Services Center scholarship page, linked in the sources at the end.
- No separate application for admission awards. All seven scholarships for new students are awarded automatically from your admission evaluation. Applying strong is applying for the scholarship.
- Full tuition is on the table. Anam Global covers full tuition for 8 semesters, and KU STEM, KU Global Friends, and Global Leader A also cover full tuition.
- Renewal is GPA-based. Full-tuition admission awards renew at GPA 3.5+, the others at GPA 3.0+.
- Funding does not stop after admission. Enrolled students can apply through the KUPID portal each semester for awards from 30% to 100% of tuition.
- TOPIK pays. A one-time award of up to 500,000 KRW exists for TOPIK holders at admission, and 300,000 KRW for reaching TOPIK level 6 after enrolling.
How Korea University scholarships work
The scholarships on this page are Korea University's own institutional awards for students admitted to the Seoul campus through international undergraduate admission. They are separate from the Korean government's Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), which has its own application through NIIED.
Two things about the mechanics are worth understanding before you look at the individual awards:
- Admission awards are automatic. The admissions committee decides them from your application file. There is no scholarship essay, no extra form, and no separate deadline.
- Awards are applied to your tuition invoice. Scholarship money is deducted from the tuition bill for the upcoming semester rather than deposited into your bank account.
Scholarships for newly admitted students
Seven awards are decided at admission. Four of them cover full tuition.
| Scholarship | What it pays | Who is selected | GPA to renew |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anam Global | Full tuition, 8 semesters | Top-ranked admitted student in each academic track | 3.5+ |
| KU STEM | Full tuition, 4 semesters | Top-tier admitted students in STEM fields | 3.5+ |
| Global Leader A | Full tuition | Students with excellent admission results | 3.5+ |
| KU Global Friends | Full tuition | Outstanding students from developing regions and countries | 3.0+ |
| Global Leader B | 50% of tuition, 4 semesters | Students with excellent admission results | 3.0+ |
| Bright Futures B | 1,000,000 KRW per semester, 8 semesters | Students already selected as scholarship recipients by their national government | 3.0+ |
| Challenge C | 500,000 KRW (TOPIK 6) or 300,000 KRW (TOPIK 5), one time | Completed a regular KU Korean Language Center program with TOPIK 5+ before admission | One semester only |
A few notes that the table cannot capture:
- Anam Global is the flagship. One student per academic track receives full tuition for all 8 semesters of the degree. It is named after the Anam neighborhood in Seoul where KU's main campus sits.
- KU STEM targets top admitted students in science, technology, engineering, and math fields and covers full tuition for the first 4 semesters.
- KU Global Friends is aimed at outstanding students from developing regions and countries, and it renews at a friendlier GPA of 3.0.
- Global Leader A and B go to students with excellent admission results. A covers full tuition and B covers half of tuition for 4 semesters, with renewal at GPA 3.5 and 3.0 respectively.
- Bright Futures B is unusual: it supplements students who have already been selected for a scholarship by their own government, adding 1,000,000 KRW per semester for up to 8 semesters.
- Challenge C rewards students who studied at KU's own Korean Language Center before admission and earned TOPIK level 5 or higher. It is a one-time payment in the first semester.
Scholarships for enrolled students
Funding at KU does not end with the admission decision. Six awards are open to enrolled international undergraduates, with online applications through KUPID, the university's student portal.
| Scholarship | What it pays | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| Excellence A | Full tuition | Outstanding academic performance |
| Excellence B | 65% of tuition | Outstanding academic performance |
| High Achievers | 50% of tuition | High grades across the two most recent semesters |
| Bright Futures A | 50% of tuition | Students in need of financial assistance |
| Challenge A | 30% of tuition | Significant grade improvement over the two most recent semesters |
| Challenge B | 300,000 KRW | Achieved TOPIK level 6 after admission |
Two of these deserve a closer look:
- Challenge A is one of the few awards anywhere that pays for improvement rather than absolute rank. If your grades climbed significantly over two semesters, you can be funded even if you are not at the top of the class.
- Bright Futures A is need-based, which is rarer at Korean universities than merit funding. If your financial situation changes mid-degree, this is the award to know about.
Keeping your scholarship
Renewal is where scholarships are lost, so plan for it from semester one:
- Full-tuition admission awards (Anam Global, KU STEM, Global Leader A) renew with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
- KU Global Friends, Global Leader B, and Bright Futures B renew with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Enrolled-student awards are decided semester by semester through KUPID, so strong recent grades matter more than your overall record for High Achievers and Challenge A.
KU scholarships and GKS are different routes
The Global Korea Scholarship is funded by the Korean government and covers tuition, a stipend, airfare, and a Korean language year. Korea University's institutional awards cover tuition (or cash amounts) only, with no stipend or airfare. They also have different applications: GKS runs through NIIED's embassy or university track, while KU's admission awards ride along with your regular admission application.
You do not have to choose one route at the start. Many applicants pursue GKS and regular admission with institutional scholarships in parallel, then decide when results come in. For the government route, start with our GKS guide. For the wider funding map beyond one university, see fully funded scholarships in Korea.
What to do next
- See Korea University's profile, tuition estimate, and all 13 scholarships in one place in our universities directory.
- Budget the gap. If you land a partial award, our cost of studying in Korea guide shows what tuition and Seoul living actually cost.
- Compare the wider field with fully funded scholarships in Korea before you commit your essays to one school.
- Take the 60-second quiz to see which universities and scholarships match your profile.