Government Scholarships for Bangladeshi Students 2026/2027

If you are a Bangladeshi citizen who wants a degree abroad without paying international tuition fees yourself, government scholarships are the most realistic route. These are not university discounts and they are not loans. They are funded by foreign governments — or routed through agreements between governments — and they exist because the funding country wants a long-term educational relationship with Bangladesh. In return for tuition, a living allowance and usually your flights, the funder expects academic merit, a credible plan, and in most cases a commitment to come home and use the degree in Bangladesh.

This guide covers every major government route that is genuinely open to Bangladeshi citizens for the 2026/2027 cycle: the Fulbright Foreign Student Program through the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Chevening and the Commonwealth Scholarships from the United Kingdom, Australia Awards from the Australian Government, MEXT from Japan, the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) from South Korea, the Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC), DAAD funding from Germany, the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship from France, Stipendium Hungaricum from Hungary, Türkiye Burslari from Türkiye, and the ICCR scholarships that bring Bangladeshi students to India. It also explains the Bangladeshi government channel itself — the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC) — because several of these schemes cannot be reached any other way: your application passes through Dhaka before it reaches the foreign funder.

Two warnings before the detail. First, government scholarships are never applied for through an agent, and no official body charges you to apply or promises you a seat. Anyone in Dhaka, on Facebook or on WhatsApp who offers a "guaranteed" government scholarship for a fee is running a scam. Second, deadlines in this system are unforgiving and often much earlier than university deadlines. A scheme whose classes start in September 2027 may close its applications in October 2026. Read the timeline table in this guide, then confirm every date on the official page for your scheme before you rely on it. You can browse the full list of schemes in our scholarship directory and compare destinations in the study abroad section.

Government scholarships for Bangladeshi students at a glance

Notice what this table is really telling you. There is no single "government scholarship application". There are twelve separate competitions, run by twelve different governments, each with its own eligibility rules, its own calendar and its own idea of the ideal candidate. Your job is not to apply to all twelve. Your job is to pick the three or four where your citizenship, your grades, your work experience and your subject genuinely fit, and to prepare those applications properly. Bangladeshi applicants who win these awards almost always have one thing in common: they started nine to twelve months before the deadline, not nine to twelve days before it.

The Bangladeshi government channel: Ministry of Education and UGC

Before the individual schemes, you need to understand the channel that sits on the Bangladeshi side, because it confuses more applicants than any eligibility rule. Bangladesh does not run one large outbound scholarship fund for ordinary citizens in the way some countries do. What it does run is a nomination and circulation system. When a foreign government offers Bangladesh a quota of scholarships under a bilateral agreement, the offer is commonly circulated through the Ministry of Education — in practice the Secondary and Higher Education Division — and, for university teachers and some postgraduate offers, through the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh. Notices appear on the ministry and UGC websites and in national newspapers, and applications for those specific offers are submitted to the ministry or UGC first, which shortlists and forwards names to the foreign embassy or funder.

You can see this channel working most clearly in two schemes in this guide. For MEXT, the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh states plainly that the first step is application submission to the Ministry of Education, Bangladesh; the ministry reviews documents, the Embassy then conducts written examinations in English and Japanese, and only candidates who pass that first screening go forward. For Stipendium Hungaricum, the official Sending Partner for Bangladesh is the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education, and your application is only eligible if that partner nominates you. The UGC also administers its own overseas scholarship support for university teachers, which is a staff-development route for academics rather than a general student scheme.

The honest position, which you should hold on to, is this: the ministry and UGC channel is real and, for the schemes named above, compulsory — but it handles specific bilateral offers as they arise, not a permanent open competition you can apply to at any time. If a notice is not currently published, there is no application to make through that channel that month. Treat any private office claiming it can "process" a ministry scholarship outside a published notice with complete scepticism, and verify every offer against the ministry, UGC or embassy page that published it. Where a scheme takes direct applications instead — Chevening, Türkiye Burslari, DAAD EPOS and the ICCR A2A portal among them — apply directly and do not wait for a ministry notice that will never come.

United States: Fulbright through the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is the United States government’s flagship exchange, and in Bangladesh it is announced and managed by the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka. For the 2027–2028 cycle the Embassy’s published call offered Bangladeshi professionals the chance to pursue a master’s degree in the United States on a one-to-two-year grant beginning in September 2027. The Embassy said it particularly welcomed junior faculty at higher education institutions and junior to mid-level staff of research organisations, think tanks and NGOs in the public and private sectors, in fields including American studies, security studies, energy studies, the sciences, technology, engineering, business, the social sciences, economics and teaching English as a second language (TESOL).

The eligibility rules in that call were specific, and they show how seriously you should read each year’s announcement rather than relying on summaries. Applicants needed at least a four-year bachelor’s degree with an outstanding academic record from an accredited university in Bangladesh; they must not hold a degree from a U.S. institution or be enrolled in one; they must not hold a master’s degree from a foreign country, although a Bangladeshi master’s degree is acceptable; they needed at least two years of relevant full-time professional experience; they had to show fluency in English with a minimum TOEFL score of 90 or an IELTS score of 7.0; and they had to be Bangladeshi citizens residing in Bangladesh at the time of application. The application package was a completed online application, transcripts and certificates from every post-secondary institution attended, three recommendation letters uploaded by the referees themselves, an academic records information form, a valid TOEFL or IELTS score, and a GRE or GMAT score if available. The deadline for that cycle was Saturday 11 July 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Bangladesh time, through the official application portal linked from the Embassy announcement.

What should you take from this for the 2026/2027 planning cycle? First, Fulbright Bangladesh is primarily a working professional’s and junior academic’s award, not a straight-from-undergraduate award — the two-year experience rule is applied. Second, the English thresholds are higher than many students expect, so book your TOEFL or IELTS early enough to retake it if you fall short. Third, the fields list matters: a study objective that connects to Bangladesh’s development or to U.S.–Bangladesh relations, in a field the Embassy is actively calling for, is a stronger application than a generic wish to study abroad. If your destination is the USA more broadly, read our companion guide to scholarships for Bangladeshi students in the USA alongside this page, and browse profiles of universities such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to understand the level of institution Fulbright scholars attend — while remembering that Fulbright placement is handled through the programme, not by you collecting offers first.

United Kingdom: Chevening and Commonwealth

The UK offers Bangladeshi citizens two separate government competitions, and strong candidates often apply to both in the same autumn because their deadlines sit weeks apart. Chevening, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), funds a one-year taught master’s degree at any UK university. To be eligible you must be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country — Bangladesh is eligible, as is India — you must hold an undergraduate degree that enables entry to a UK postgraduate programme, you must have at least two years (2,800 hours) of work experience, you must apply to three different eligible UK courses, and you must commit to returning to your home country for at least two years after the award ends. Chevening pays full tuition fees, a monthly stipend, an economy return airfare, the visa application cost and allowances on arrival and departure; MBA fees are capped. For the 2027–28 cycle applications opened on 4 August 2026 and closed on 6 October 2026, with interviews in the spring and an unconditional-offer deadline in July 2027.

The Commonwealth Master’s and Commonwealth PhD Scholarships, run by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and also funded by the FCDO, are aimed at talented candidates from eligible low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries who could not otherwise afford to study in the UK — Bangladesh is an eligible Commonwealth country, and applications are made both through the CSC’s own system and through the national nominating process for your country. The award covers full tuition, return airfare and a monthly stipend of £1,712, or £2,000 if your university is in the London metropolitan area, plus grants such as a thesis grant and warm clothing allowance. For study beginning in September/October 2027, applications opened on 8 September 2026 and closed on 20 October 2026. Note the difference in character: Chevening is a leadership award that weighs your career plan and network heavily, while Commonwealth weighs academic merit together with development impact and financial need, and it does not fund MBAs. Our dedicated guide to scholarships for Bangladeshi students in the UK walks through university choice in more depth, including profiles such as the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.

Australia: Australia Awards Scholarships

Australia Awards Scholarships are the Australian Government’s long-term development awards, administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Bangladesh is a participating country, and for Bangladesh the awards are offered at master’s level. The country profile published for study commencing in 2027 sets out the shape of the competition clearly. Applicants must be citizens of Bangladesh, residing in and applying from Bangladesh; they must not be married to, engaged to or in a de facto relationship with a person who holds or is eligible to hold Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency during the application, selection and mobilisation phases; they must not be currently serving military personnel; they must be able to satisfy all Department of Home Affairs requirements for a DFAT-supported student visa; and they must have achieved an IELTS (Academic) score of at least 6.5 with no individual band below 6.0, or an equivalent TOEFL or PTE score, valid on 1 January 2027. The same profile records a lower threshold at the eligibility stage — an overall 6.0 with no band below 5.5 — for people with disability, Indigenous people and people from marginalised gender groups, while noting that anyone offered a scholarship must still meet the general English requirement of DFAT and the Australian institution before the award can be received.

The profile also shows how Australia targets the award. Bangladeshi applicants fall into target groups that include civil service cadre officials of the Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank officials and judicial services officials; staff of development organisations, NGOs, civil society and community-based organisations; entrepreneurs and private-sector employees; and people from research institutions, universities, media and cultural organisations. The financial package is the classic Australia Awards package: full tuition fees, return air travel, a one-off establishment allowance, a fortnightly contribution to living expenses, Overseas Student Health Cover for the scholar, an Introductory Academic Program before study begins, and supplementary academic support where required. In exchange, scholars sign an agreement to return to Bangladesh for at least two years after completing their studies. Because the window for a given intake closes long before the study year starts, treat Australia Awards as an early-year application: prepare your IELTS, your employer’s support and your development rationale well before the portal opens, and read our scholarships for Bangladeshi students in Australia guide for the wider funding picture, including the Research Training Program stipend base rate of AUD 34,315 for 2026 and AUD 35,550 for 2027 — and note that Destination Australia is closed to new applicants, so do not build a plan around it.

Japan, Korea and China: MEXT, GKS and CSC

East Asia’s three government schemes are all open to Bangladeshi citizens, and all three reward early, careful document preparation. MEXT, the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship, recruits in Bangladesh through embassy recommendation, and as explained above the first application goes to the Ministry of Education, Bangladesh. The Embassy of Japan publishes separate categories: Research Students, who need a bachelor’s degree or higher and, for the 2027 recruitment, to have been born on or after 2 April 1992, with departure in April or October 2027; Undergraduate Students, who need a high school diploma and to be aged 17 to 25, departing in April 2027; and further categories including specialised training, college of technology, Japanese studies and teacher training students. The Embassy’s detailed Bangladesh page adds demanding academic expectations — for research students, first-class results throughout (60% marks or a CGPA of 3.5 out of 4.0 in its published guidance) — and a selection process built on document review followed by written examinations in Japanese and English. MEXT covers tuition and provides a monthly stipend and round-trip airfare, with the exact stipend depending on your level and whether you study in a designated region, so confirm the figure in the current application guidelines rather than copying a number from a blog.

The Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), run by Korea’s National Institute for International Education (NIIED), invites Bangladeshi students at undergraduate and graduate levels through two tracks: the Embassy Track, where the Korean Embassy in Dhaka selects a small quota of candidates — recent graduate calls have published single-digit embassy quotas for Bangladesh alongside a larger university-track quota — and the University Track, where you apply directly to a participating Korean university. Graduate study is structured as one year of Korean language training plus two years for a master’s or three years for a PhD. Across recent GKS guidelines the core eligibility pattern is consistent: you and both of your parents must hold non-Korean citizenship, graduate applicants must be under 40 and undergraduate applicants under 25, you must hold the previous degree by the stated cut-off date, and your cumulative GPA must meet the published threshold — at least 80% on a 100-point scale, or the equivalent GPA, in recent calls. The package covers airfare, tuition, the language year, settlement and monthly allowances, insurance and completion support. Because quotas and dates are published per cycle on the Study in Korea portal and by the Embassy, treat any quota figure you read — including the ones summarised here — as last cycle’s pattern, not a promise for the next round.

The Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC) is the route most often misunderstood by Bangladeshi applicants because it has two doors. Type A, the Bilateral Programme, is the government-to-government door: places are allocated country by country, applications are made through the dispatching authority in your own country during its published window, and you apply through the CSC online system selecting the Type A category with your agency number. Type B, the Chinese University Programme, is the direct door: you apply to a participating Chinese university, which recommends you. In both cases the scholarship class determines what is paid — full scholarships typically combine a tuition waiver, free university dormitory or an accommodation subsidy, a monthly stipend set by level of study, and comprehensive medical insurance — but rates and classes change, so verify the current class definitions on the official CSC portal (Campuschina) before you budget. Do not pay any intermediary who claims to hold CSC seats: there are no seats to sell, only the two application doors described here.

Europe: DAAD, Eiffel, Stipendium Hungaricum and Türkiye Burslari

Germany’s DAAD EPOS programme funds professionals from developing and newly industrialised countries — Bangladesh and India are both on the DAAD’s eligible-country list — to take development-related postgraduate courses at German universities. You apply directly to the course, not to a central DAAD portal, and each listed course sets its own deadline, mostly between August and November for the following academic year. You need a bachelor’s degree, normally completed within the last six years, and at least two years of relevant professional experience gained after that degree. The verified payment is €992 per month for master’s students; doctoral candidates receive €1,300 per month, rising to €1,400 from February 2026 in current calls, with payments toward health, accident and personal liability insurance, a travel allowance, and possible rent subsidy and monthly allowances for accompanying family members. Separately, remember the money Germany asks of unfunded students: a blocked account of €11,904 for a year is the standard visa proof for 2026 — an EPOS award replaces that proof for the funded period, which is one reason the competition is so intense. Our scholarships for Bangladeshi students in Germany guide covers the wider DAAD family and foundation funders.

France’s Eiffel Excellence Scholarship works in the opposite direction to most schemes in this guide: you cannot apply yourself. French higher education institutions select and submit applications on behalf of candidates they have admitted, for master’s study and for ten-month doctoral mobility within a joint supervision arrangement. The verified amounts from January 2026 are €1,200 per month at master’s level and €2,100 per month at doctoral level. Eiffel covers international travel under Campus France rules — least-expensive-class airfare is reimbursed within the ministry’s cap, with the return flight linked to completion of the programme — plus national health insurance support and help finding accommodation. What Eiffel does not cover is tuition. Say that plainly in your budget: at a French public university the regulated fees may be manageable, but at a private institution an Eiffel stipend alone does not make the degree free.

Stipendium Hungaricum, the Hungarian Government’s bilateral scholarship, is the European scheme where the Bangladeshi government channel matters most. Applications are only considered if you are nominated by your Sending Partner, and for Bangladesh that partner is the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education. The scholarship offers tuition-free education at participating Hungarian institutions at bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level, a monthly stipend as a contribution to living expenses — HUF 43,700 per month at bachelor’s, master’s and one-tier master’s level in recent calls, with a higher doctoral rate paid in two phases of the doctorate — free dormitory accommodation or a monthly housing contribution, and medical insurance. Hungary also requires degree students on English-taught programmes to study Hungarian as a foreign language during their studies. The practical lesson is procedural: register on the official application system, submit before the January deadline, and make sure your nomination actually travels from Dhaka — an unsubmitted nomination is the most common silent failure in this scheme.

Türkiye Burslari, administered by Türkiye’s Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), is the simplest application in this guide: one free online application between 10 January and 20 February each year, in which you list up to twelve programme preferences and YTB handles placement. Citizens of all countries, including Bangladesh, may apply. The published academic thresholds are 70% for undergraduate candidates, 75% for master’s and PhD candidates and 90% for health sciences, with age limits of under 21 for undergraduate, under 30 for master’s and under 35 for PhD programmes. The award covers tuition, accommodation, health insurance, a one-year Turkish language course where required, and flight support at the start and end of your studies, plus a monthly stipend. Stipend figures are revised by YTB and older pages still circulate with superseded rates, so use the current rates shown on the official Türkiye Scholarships site when the portal opens rather than any figure quoted second-hand — including in older StudyGraduate drafts.

India: ICCR scholarships for Bangladeshi students

The nearest government scholarship to home is also one of the most used. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous body of the Government of India, offers scholarships to foreign nationals — including Bangladeshi citizens — for undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD study at empanelled Indian universities and institutes. Applications are made only through ICCR’s A2A (Admission to Alumni) portal; the official guidelines for 2026–27 stress that applications sent by any other mode, to an Indian Mission, to ICCR or to a university directly, will not be accepted, and that a candidate may make only one application in an academic year — multiple registrations lead to rejection of all of them, even after an award. On the portal you may list up to five universities or institutes in order of preference; doctoral applicants must upload a research synopsis, and performing-arts applicants upload a performance video or link. ICCR scholarships are for admission to Indian state and central universities and recognised affiliated institutions listed on the portal, and the financial package — tuition support, a monthly living allowance by level of study, house rent allowance and related grants — follows the scheme and guidelines for your admission year, so read the current student guidelines on the portal before accepting an offer. For many Bangladeshi families, ICCR’s combination of geographic proximity, cultural familiarity and full government backing makes it a first-choice application alongside, not instead of, the bigger global schemes. You will find it listed among the fully funded options in our fully funded scholarships for Bangladeshi students guide.

Eligibility: the rules that decide most applications

Strip away the branding and almost every government scholarship in this guide tests the same six things. Citizenship and residence come first: you must be a Bangladeshi citizen, and Fulbright, Australia Awards and others additionally require you to be residing in Bangladesh when you apply — a Bangladeshi passport holder living abroad on another visa is ineligible for several of these schemes. Second, your previous study must fit the scheme’s shape: no U.S. degree and no foreign master’s for Fulbright Bangladesh; a degree no more than six years old for DAAD EPOS; the previous degree completed by a fixed cut-off date for GKS. Third, work experience: two years for Fulbright, Chevening and EPOS, counted differently by each — Chevening counts 2,800 hours including part-time and voluntary work, while Fulbright and EPOS expect relevant full-time professional experience. Fourth, English: a TOEFL of 90 or IELTS of 7.0 for Fulbright Bangladesh, IELTS 6.5 with no band under 6.0 for Australia Awards, and university-set requirements behind Chevening, which sets no test of its own. Fifth, return commitments: Chevening and Australia Awards both require at least two years back in Bangladesh after the award, and most bilateral schemes carry the same expectation in substance. Sixth, nomination: MEXT’s first stage, Stipendium Hungaricum and CSC Type A cannot be completed without the Bangladeshi channel described above. Check all six against your own file before you invest months in an application — use our study tools and test preparation resources to plan the English-test side of that work.

How to apply: a step-by-step plan that works for every scheme

1. Choose your schemes a year ahead. Shortlist three or four schemes from the table above where you meet the citizenship, degree-age and experience rules today — not where you hope to meet them by the deadline.
2. Read the official call, not a summary. Download the current guidelines or country profile from the embassy, funder or portal page for each scheme and highlight the eligibility lines that apply to Bangladesh specifically.
3. Fix your English score early. Book IELTS or TOEFL at least six months before your first deadline so a weak band can be retaken; Fulbright and Australia Awards will not average or excuse a shortfall.
4. Prepare the core document set once. Passport, all transcripts and certificates, CV, and referee details are needed by every scheme; have certified copies and English translations ready before any portal opens.
5. Handle the nomination step where one exists. For MEXT, watch the Ministry of Education notice from around April; for Stipendium Hungaricum and CSC Type A, follow the Sending Partner or dispatching authority instructions exactly and keep proof of submission.
6. Write scheme-specific essays. A leadership-and-career-plan essay for Chevening, a development-impact argument for Commonwealth and Australia Awards, and a study objective for Fulbright are different documents. Never submit the same text to all three.
7. Apply to the universities in parallel where required. Chevening needs three course applications; Eiffel needs admission first because the institution applies for you; GKS University Track is a direct university application.
8. Submit days early and keep evidence. Portals slow down near deadlines. Save the submission confirmation, the submitted PDF and your login details for every application.
9. Prepare for interview and verification. Shortlisted candidates for Fulbright, Chevening, Commonwealth, Australia Awards and MEXT all face interviews or examinations. Re-read your own application before you walk in — panels test whether the person matches the paper.

Required documents

Every scheme publishes its own checklist, but a complete Bangladeshi application file normally contains: a valid passport; SSC and HSC or equivalent certificates and transcripts where undergraduate study or school results are assessed; bachelor’s and, where held, master’s certificates and full transcripts; an up-to-date CV showing the work experience the scheme requires, with employment evidence such as appointment letters or employer endorsement where the scheme asks for it; English test results valid at the scheme’s reference date; two or three references, submitted by the referees through the portal for Fulbright and Chevening; a statement of purpose, study objective or development-impact statement written for that scheme; a research proposal or synopsis for PhD applications, and a letter of provisional acceptance where MEXT’s second screening or a doctoral route requires one; and medical or police documentation only at the stage the scheme requests it. Documents issued in Bangla need certified English translations, and names must match across passport, certificates and application forms — a mismatched spelling of your own name is one of the most common and most avoidable administrative rejections in this system.

Deadlines and timeline

How to improve your chances

Selection panels for government scholarships are not looking for the applicant with the most certificates. They are looking for a fundable story that joins up: a strong academic record, experience that leads logically to the proposed course, and a credible account of what changes in Bangladesh because you went. Build that join-up deliberately. Choose a course you can defend line by line against your CV. Quantify your experience — people trained, projects delivered, results achieved — instead of listing duties. For development-focused schemes, name the specific Bangladeshi institution, sector or community your work targets on return, and make it plausible rather than grand. Ask referees who have actually supervised your work, brief them on the scheme’s criteria, and give them a month, not a weekend. Finally, apply to more than one scheme where you are eligible: the calendars in the timeline table are designed so that a prepared candidate can run Fulbright, Chevening, Commonwealth and one Asian scheme in a single cycle without any of the applications cannibalising the others.

Common mistakes Bangladeshi applicants make

• Waiting for a ministry notice that a direct scheme never issues. Chevening, Türkiye Burslari, DAAD EPOS and ICCR take direct applications; only the nominated schemes route through Dhaka.
• Missing the experience rules. Applying to Fulbright, Chevening or EPOS without the required two years of experience wastes a cycle you could have spent building it.
• Taking the English test too late. A Fulbright file with IELTS 6.5 against a published 7.0 minimum is closed at screening, however strong the rest is.
• Copying stale stipend figures and deadlines from blogs. Rates for Türkiye Burslari, Eiffel and DAAD have all changed in recent cycles; the official page for the current cycle is the only safe source.
• Submitting one generic essay everywhere. Panels recognise recycled text immediately, and each scheme scores a different quality.
• Paying an agent for a government scholarship. Every application in this guide is free and direct. A fee buys you nothing except risk.
• Ignoring the return commitment. Treating a two-year return condition as a formality you intend to evade can end an award and damage future applicants from Bangladesh.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for a government scholarship straight after my bachelor’s degree?

For some schemes, yes; for others, no. GKS, MEXT, CSC, Türkiye Burslari, Stipendium Hungaricum and ICCR do not require post-degree work experience for most routes. Fulbright Bangladesh, Chevening and DAAD EPOS each require at least two years of relevant experience — Chevening counts 2,800 hours including part-time and voluntary work — and Australia Awards targets applicants in defined professional groups. Match the scheme to your stage rather than forcing one application.

Does the Government of Bangladesh itself give scholarships to study abroad?

Mainly as a channel rather than as a funder for general applicants. Foreign governments allocate bilateral offers to Bangladesh, and the Ministry of Education (Secondary and Higher Education Division) and the UGC circulate notices, shortlist and nominate for schemes such as MEXT and Stipendium Hungaricum. The UGC also runs overseas scholarship support for university teachers. There is no standing open fund that any Bangladeshi citizen can apply to at any time, so treat claims of one as a warning sign.

How much English do I actually need?

It depends on the scheme, and the published minimum is enforced. Fulbright Bangladesh required TOEFL 90 or IELTS 7.0 in its 2027–28 call. Australia Awards Bangladesh requires IELTS (Academic) 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0, valid on 1 January of the study year, with a lower eligibility-stage threshold for specified equity groups who must still meet the full requirement before mobilisation. Chevening sets no test itself, but your UK university’s offer conditions will. MEXT examines English directly. Plan your test date backwards from your earliest deadline.

Can I apply to several government scholarships in the same year?

Yes, and prepared candidates usually do, because the schemes are run by different governments with different calendars. The exceptions are internal: you may hold only one Stipendium Hungaricum application through your Sending Partner, only one ICCR application per academic year, and only one Fulbright fellowship category per cycle where a programme states that rule. Running Chevening, Commonwealth, Fulbright and GKS in one season is normal and permitted.

Are these scholarships really fully funded?

Mostly, with honest exceptions you should budget for. Fulbright, Chevening, Commonwealth, Australia Awards, MEXT, GKS, CSC, Stipendium Hungaricum and Türkiye Burslari cover tuition plus living costs and travel in substance. Eiffel is the clear exception: its monthly allowance (€1,200 master’s, €2,100 doctoral from January 2026) and travel support do not include tuition. DAAD EPOS pays a stipend and insurance but the underlying German public-university courses are generally tuition-free. Dependants are not funded by most schemes, and Fulbright states this expressly.

What grades do I need?

There is no single cut-off, because each scheme reads grades in its own system. As verified reference points: the Embassy of Japan’s Bangladesh guidance for MEXT research students expects first-class results throughout (60% or CGPA 3.5 of 4.0); GKS guidelines require a cumulative GPA equivalent to at least 80%; Türkiye Burslari publishes 70% for undergraduate, 75% for master’s and PhD, and 90% for health sciences. Below those published lines an application is screened out; above them, experience, essays and interviews decide.

I was rejected last year. Can I apply again?

Generally yes. None of the major schemes in this guide bans a previously unsuccessful applicant, and many scholars win on a second attempt after adding the experience, score or course fit that was missing. What you cannot do is re-apply for the same level under schemes that prohibit repeat awards — for example, former Stipendium Hungaricum holders cannot re-apply for the same cycle of education — so read the repeat rules for your scheme before spending another season on it.

Do I need an admission offer before I apply?

Sometimes. Eiffel is applied for by the French institution, so admission comes first. Chevening lets you apply before offers arrive but requires three course applications and an unconditional offer from one by its July deadline. Australia Awards, Fulbright, MEXT, GKS and Türkiye Burslari run their own placement processes, so you apply to the scholarship first. Confusing these two shapes is a frequent cause of missed deadlines.

Sources & Verification

This guide was compiled from official sources, checked at the time of writing: the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka Fulbright Foreign Student Program announcement (eligibility, package, 11 July 2026 deadline for the 2027–28 cycle); the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh MEXT scholarship pages (categories, Ministry of Education submission route, age and academic guidance); the Australia Awards Bangladesh Country Profile for study commencing in 2027 (target groups and IELTS requirements); Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarship Commission published eligibility and stipend information (£1,712 per month, £2,000 in London); DAAD EPOS programme information (€992 per month for master’s students); Campus France Eiffel implementation rules (€1,200/€2,100 from January 2026, travel covered, tuition not covered); Stipendium Hungaricum partner information naming the Secondary and Higher Education Division as Bangladesh’s Sending Partner; YTB Türkiye Scholarships published criteria; and the ICCR scholarship guidelines for foreign students (A2A-only applications, single-application rule, five university preferences). Where a scheme revises its rates or dates each cycle, this guide says so in the text rather than presenting a moving figure as permanent.

Disclaimer: StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency. We do not submit applications, charge fees, or promise selection, admission or visa approval — no one honestly can. Scholarship details change yearly; always confirm deadlines, amounts and eligibility on the official website of the scheme before you apply.