SNU President Fellowship (SPF) Program

How it Started

Recognizing its global social responsibility, Seoul National University launched the 『SNU President Fellowship Program』 back in 2014, to provide opportunities to faculty members of major universities in Asia, Africa, South America etc. to pursue Ph.D. degrees at SNU.

Conditions of Application

An applicant of the SPF program must be BOTH:

  • A faculty member of a major university in Asia, Africa, South America, etc. without a Ph.D degree
  • A newly admitted student to SNU as a Ph.D student during the application period
  • Priority is given to faculty members from partner universities in Asia, Africa, South America etc.
  • Applicants can apply to pursue Ph.D. in any research area but selection priority will be given to applicants doing exceptional work in engineering, medicine, public health, agriculture, developmental studies, and Korean studies.

What a recipient will get

A recipient of SPF program will be awarded of the following:

Full tuition waiver for up to six semesters

KRW 1,500,000~2,000,000 monthly stipend for 3 ~ 4 years

A round-trip airfare

Korean language evening class at the SNU Language Institute

National health insurance coverage

Facts and Figures

SNU has managed to steadily and continuously to benefit excellent young scholars
 20142015201620172018201920202021Total
Number of selected recipients91722334151586161
It served as a platform for promising researchers regardless of their countries
Semester2014.12014.22015.12015.22016.12016.22017.12017.22018.12018.22019.12019.22020.12020.22021.12021.2Total
AsiaNepal   1  2   1     4
Laos  1     1       2
Mongolia21  11 11  2 1  10
Myanmar111    1 1 12   8
Bangladesh       1   1    2
Vietnam  12 2 2 31 1  112
Indonesia          2  2114
China  111 21     1  7
Kazakhstan 1              1
Thailand2          1    3
AfricaEthiopia      1 2       3
Kenya 1              1
South
America		Panama          1     1

SNU has selected aspiring scholars from various areas, focusing on fields that would bring the prosper of each countries’ academia

Semester2014.12014.22015.12015.22016.12016.22017.12017.22018.12018.22019.12019.22020.12020.22021.12021.2Total
College of
Humanities		 1  1        1  3
College of
Social Sciences		2   1      1    4
College of
Natural Sciences		1      2 1   1  5
College of
Engineering		11 1 221211 1 1 13
College of
Education		 1 1 112 11211  12
College of
Pharmacy		  11   11 1     5
College of
Music		           1    1
School of
Medicine		 1 1  2  1 1   16
Grad. School of
Environmental
Studies		          1     1
Grad. School of
Intl’
Studies		1              11
School of
Dentistry		  2     1 1 11  6
Grad. School of
Convergence Science
and Technology		  1             1

SNU President Fellowship Program(SPF) Application Timeline

NoRequirements
1
  • Online SPF application should be done through SNU Office of Admissions Website (https://en.snu.ac.kr/admission) within the admissions application period.
  • Check the SPF application check box to make your online SPF application
2
  • Submit your SNU President Fellowship Program application documents to the SNU OGA
    (scanned file as pdf format and original documents must all be submitted)
3
  • First level of screening of application documents
    ※ The applicant MUST 1)completed the online application through the SNU admissions webpage 2)submitted his/her application documents through the applicant’s affiliated college
4
  • Announcement of SNU Final Admissions Results
5
  • Announcement of applicants who have passed the first level of screening of application documents (those who will go on to the interview held by the ‘SPF Selection Committee’
    ※ Announced by the SNU OGA
6
  • Interview (held by the SNU OGA)
7
  • Announcement of the final results of the SNU President Fellowship Program

※ Detailed deadlines, forms of SPF Application, Personal Statement and Study Plan, Recommendation Letters, etc. can be found on the SNU OGA website(https://OGA.snu.ac.kr/)

"Thank You" from Scholarship Recipients

I would like to say, thank you very much to the SNU President Fellowship who gave me the scholarship first. I think that giving this kind of scholarship means to work hard to make your dreams come true. I would like to thank you again and I will be a bright future for this society.

Thanda KyawCollege of Education, Department of Korean Language Education

The invaluable support from SPF gives a great chance to all fellows to continue our study as professionals. Moreover, the evening Korean class helps us to know more Korean culture, tradition and behaviors. I highly appreciate OGA during my time in Korea.

Pham Ngoc KienCollege of Natural Sciences, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

I am sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of the SPF scholarship. Thank you for the financial assistance you have provided me. It will be of great help to me as I will be able to focus on my academics and put all my energy into doing well in my classes. Thank you again for your generous contribution of the scholarship.

SAW SHIN NGWECollege of Education, Department of Korean Language Education

The SNU Fellowship Scholarship inspired me to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. Become a receipt of SPF are one of the best things that have ever happened to me. And I want to express my sincerest gratitude for your tremendous financial help towards my academic goals.

TO HAI THIENCollege of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

I am very happy and grateful to be one of the luckiest students receiving the SNU president fellowship in this Fall semester. This support is not only meaning by the financial guaranty but also kindness and humanities to students from developing countries like us. And I would love to say thank you to the SNU committee as well as the donators for supporting me to pursue my academic career at Seoul National University.

THUY-NGUYEN PHUONGSchool of Medicine

It gives me immense joy to write this thank you note to the SNU President Fellowship committee. This scholarship has provided me with a cracking chance to research fresh avenues in the field of medical sciences which I was dreaming of. SNU President Fellowship is a very potent model to prove to the world that how a financial support contributed to a deserving candidate could change the future of the student as well as the country. I highly appreciate the efforts made by the committee to uplift the standard of life of deserving candidates. This scholarship is making an old proverb true which says “You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day; You teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime”.

Suchen Kumar YadavSchool of Medicine

I would like to express my gratitude for support through the Seoul National University President Fellowship. It is because of the help that I am able to focus on my studies and continue my dream. The miracle always come when we are constantly trying, I feel very lucky and proud to be a student at Seoul National University.

Hoang Viet Bach KhoaGraduate School of Environmental Studies

It is such an honour for me to be selected as one of the SNU President Fellowship recipients, as this scholarship has given me the opportunity to study in Korea’s most leading higher education institution. Addressing the purpose of this scholarship in sharing Korea’s remarkable experiences of training human capital for national development, I sincerely hope that I could be the human capital that will continue contributing to the national development of Indonesia. Thank you SNU President Fellowship for the tremendous support on my academic journey in Korea.

Anggia Utami DewiCollege of Education, Department of Education

This is indeed the best scholarship you could get and feel release from the financial pressure. I advice all candidates to be fluent in Korean language or to first corroborate (Eg. syllabus in English but class in Korean) that there are enough courses taught in English to complete their programs. Interview with different professors to select the most suitable for your research papers.

Rene SanchezCollege of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering

I really appreciate that SNU could offer such a generous scholarship to me. With the help of SNU, I could enjoy my study time here with less financial stress. And I will also make great efforts to continue my study here. I am sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of SPF scholarship. I am very thankful for your generosity and kindness that support me a lot to pursue my dream and academic goals at Seoul National University, College of Dentistry. Because of your scholarship, I hope to be able to serve the best in my future academic career. Thank you again for your thoughtful and generous support.

Myint Kyaw ThuSchool of Dentistry

SNU President Fellowship gave me a great chance to pursue my academic goals at the largest university in South Korea. Besides, I also recognize my responsibility to contribute to the development of our homeland. Thank you for the tremendous support from SPF and OGA.

NGUYEN-GIA QUANCollege of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Thank you very much for the best scholarship and gratitude for the great opportunity. I am so proud to be a part of one of the great universities in the world.

Kittiphan JanbualaCollege of Music, Department of Composition