Top 15 Scholarships in Asia for International Students

Many international students look to the USA, UK, or Australia for study abroad, but Asia offers strong alternatives. Governments and top universities across the continent run scholarship programmes for international students. The list below covers 15 awards, from full government funding to university entrance scholarships, with details on what each provides.

Use this page to compare what is covered, where you would study, and which level each award targets. Each entry links to the full listing for eligibility and application steps.

Asian Government Scholarships »

Japanese Government Scholarships
The Japanese Government funds international students to study at Japanese universities as undergraduate or research students. Benefits include a allowance, travel costs, and school fees.

Chinese Government-Bilateral Program for International Students
This programme, set by the Chinese Ministry of Education under exchange agreements, offers full or partial scholarships. It covers undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, general scholar, and senior scholar programmes. A full scholarship includes school fees, a monthly allowance, one-off subsidies, and insurance; a partial scholarship covers one or some of these items.

See also Chinese Government Great Wall Scholarship Program for Developing Countries

Taiwan Government Scholarships
Through its Ministry of Education, Taiwan offers Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD scholarships to international students at Taiwanese colleges and universities. The award covers tuition, academic fees, and a subsistence allowance.

Korean Government Scholarships
The Korean Government Scholarship Program lets international students pursue advanced studies in Korea and aims to build global leaders and Korea-friendly networks. It covers tuition, an allowance, travel, airfare, and medical insurance.

Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme for International Students
This scheme attracts outstanding students worldwide to PhD programmes at Hong Kong institutions. It provides a monthly stipend of HK$20,000 (approximately US$2,600) and a conference and research-related travel allowance of HK$10,000 (approximately US$1,300) per year, for up to three years.

Singapore International Graduate Award
For international students with excellent undergraduate and/or master’s results and a strong interest in research leading to a PhD in Science and Engineering at a Singapore university. The award supports up to 4 years of PhD studies, including full tuition fees, a monthly stipend, a settlement allowance, and an airfare grant.

Malaysian International Scholarships
The Malaysia International Scholarship (MIS) is a government initiative to attract top talent from abroad for advanced study in Malaysia. Each award includes air tickets from the recipient’s capital city to Malaysia, approved tuition fees, a monthly maintenance allowance, an annual grant for books and internal travel, medical/health insurance, installation and termination grants, a thesis allowance, and visa costs.

Turkiye Postgraduate Scholarships for International Students
Türkiye Scholarships Postgraduate Programmes are fully government-funded for international students from all over the world. Benefits include a monthly stipend (approximately 375 USD for master’s, 500 USD for doctorate), full tuition, a free 1-year Turkish language course, free state-run dormitory accommodation, a round-trip air ticket, and health insurance.

Asian University Scholarships »

The University of Tokyo Fellowships for International Students
These fellowships give a research grant to high-achieving, privately-funded postgraduate international students to support their studies and promote wider acceptance of excellent students from overseas. Recipients receive ¥150,000–¥200,000 per month during the standard period of their programme (up to one year for research students).

See also University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science Scholarships for International Students

Peking University Academic Excellence Scholarships
Open to third-year undergraduates, master’s, and doctoral exchange students. Awards range from 3,000 to 10,000 RMB.

The University of Hong Kong Scholarships for International Students
Entrance scholarships are available to local and international students when applying to study at HKU. They are awarded on academic merit with consideration of non-academic achievement, and can fund up to a full tuition fee waiver plus personal/living expenses.

National University Singapore ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarships
This freshmen scholarship supports outstanding students from ASEAN member countries (excluding Singapore). It covers tuition fees (after the MOE Tuition Grant Subsidy) and provides a $5,800 annual living allowance.

Asian Institution Scholarships »

ADB Japan Scholarship Program
The Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP) helps well-qualified citizens of ADB’s developing member countries pursue postgraduate studies in economics, management, science and technology, and other development-related fields at participating institutions in Asia and the Pacific. It provides full tuition fees, a monthly subsistence and housing allowance, an allowance for books and instructional materials, medical insurance, and travel expenses.