Higher Education Commission - Overseas Scholarship for MS/M.Phil Leading to PhD in Selected Fields (Phase-III)

What you get

You receive a monthly living allowance of up to USD 1,600 (about 1,400 EUR). On top of that, the scholarship covers tuition fees up to USD 4,000 per year (about 3,500 EUR), health insurance up to USD 600 per year (about 520 EUR), and one economy-class return flight reimbursed up to PKR 250,000 per direction. The funding runs for up to 24 months for an MS/M.Phil and up to 48 months for a PhD. You study at a university ranked in the world's top 200 (by QS or Times Higher Education). The scholarship comes from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. If your actual tuition is higher than the HEC contribution, you must secure a fee waiver or pay the difference yourself.

Who can apply

• Nationality: You are a Pakistani or AJK (Azad Jammu & Kashmir) national.
• Degree for MS/M.Phil: You hold a BS/BE/Master's or equivalent (16 years of education) with a CGPA of at least 3.0 out of 4.0, or a first division in the annual grading system.
• Degree for PhD: You have at least 18 years of education (an MS/M.Phil or equivalent) with a CGPA of at least 3.0 out of 4.0, or a first division. A 17-year foreign MSc/MS also counts if you provide an equivalence certificate.
• Grades throughout: You have no more than one second division across your whole academic record before your final degree.
• Field of study: You study in one of eight priority areas, such as digital technologies, energy and climate, agriculture and food security, health and biotechnology, engineering, natural sciences, social sciences and business, or strategic fields like GIS and urban planning.
• Age: For an MS/M.Phil, up to 30 years (35 for public-sector employees). For a PhD, up to 35 years (40 for public-sector employees). No exceptions.
• Public-sector staff: If you work for a public university, college, R&D body or government organisation, you need a No Objection Certificate (NOC), a written release from your employer.
• Previous HEC funding: If you already held an HEC-funded MS/M.Phil scholarship, you can only apply after two years living in Pakistan following that degree.

How to apply

You register on the HEC e-Services scholarship portal and pay a processing fee of Rs. 3,000. Shortlisted applicants sit the HEC Aptitude Test (HAT) and then attend an interview. Final selection is based on merit and provincial quotas. If you already hold an unconditional admission offer from a top-200 university in your field, you skip the test and interview.

How realistic are your chances?

This award is open to a large group: all Pakistani and AJK nationals across many fields. It is well known, competition is real, and places are shared out under provincial quotas. Your prospects improve sharply if your grades clear the CGPA 3.0 bar cleanly. They improve most of all if you already hold an unconditional offer from a top-200 university, which skips the test and interview entirely. Prepare early for the HAT, since a strong test score plus a genuine fit with a priority field is what carries applicants through.