S.Korea offers scholarships to Indonesian students

Thu, 05/22/2008 11:23 AM  |  World

The South Korean government is offering students in Indonesia 10 scholarships for academic degrees or research to promote educational exchange and friendship between the two countries.

The scholarships are either academic, for masters degrees (two years) or doctoral studies (three years), or for research programs (six months or one year). Applicants are free to apply to any universities and for any fields of study in South Korea.

Eligible candidates must be Indonesian citizens no more than 40 years of age as of Sept. 1 (except for research programs where there is no age limit). Applicants are expected to have at least a bachelor degree or equivalent prior to Aug. 31, 2008 to apply for a scholarship for a masters degree. The same requirement goes for doctoral applicants, who must hold a masters degree by that date.

Applicants are also required to possess a grade point average of above B level from the last educational institution attended and obtain a 500 score for a paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language) or an equivalent score of 173 for a computer based TOEFL (or equivalent results with other tests such as a 61 for the Internet-based Test TOEFL or over 5.5 on the IELTS).

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System.

However, applicant with some proficiency in Korean language will be preferred.

All applications must be submitted to the South Korean Embassy on Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta, by June 13. Required documents include an application form, copies of diplomas, a recommendation letter, a personal essay, study plan and copy of a certificate of English proficiency.

Further information can be obtained at the website of the Korean National Institute for International Education Development, www.ied.go.kr.

The South Korean Embassy's counselor for information, culture and education, Yoon Moon-han, said that applicants should visit the website and be very careful to comply with requirements in submitting the required documents.

"Any missed documents may result in dropping the application," he said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.

According to the statement, the scholarships aim to promote the expansion of bilateral relations between Korea and Indonesia in the field of education and in economic cooperation.

"I hope as many prospective and eligible students as possible can apply for this program," Yoon said. (JP/Esther Samboh)

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