Diversify your international student population by capitalizing on scholarship opportunities for both international and study abroad students. This ongoing resource will from AACRAO International will highlight opportunities by focusing on particular regions, now featuring Asia. Click here for previously-published resources from the Gulf.
The majority of countries in Asia do not provide scholarships to students seeking an education outside of those countries. Many more provide scholarships to foreign students seeking an education within those countries, and just as many provide scholarships for their own students wanting to study at a postsecondary institution within their country. As a result, most of the available scholarships for studying abroad are provided by agencies and foundations other than the government.
Nevertheless, students in Asia looking for scholarships to study abroad can find a list here. And for a list of scholarships available to international students in general, students can look here.
Below is information on scholarships in Malaysia. Stay tuned for future articles regarding other Asian countries.
The Public Service Department of Malaysia, known as the Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) in Malaysia, offers scholarships for students wanting to study in specific countries around the world. Their Program Penajaan Nasional (PPN) award is the most competitive and is for scholars who want to study in the US or UK. In 2018, 411 students applied, but only 20 were chosen. All JPA scholarships are controvertible loans, which means that recipients will not have to pay any of it back if they serve as a public servant in the civil service upon graduation; will pay 25 percent back if they work in a Government-Linked Company (GLC) upon graduation; will pay 50 percent back if they work in a local company in the private sector upon graduation; and will pay all of it back in all other situations. For more information on JPA scholarships, see this article: https://eduadvisor.my/articles/jpa-scholarships/. Students apply directly through JPA’s website: http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/.
For a list of non-governmental scholarships offered to Malaysian students wishing to study abroad, see here: https://eduadvisor.my/scholarships-2019/.