Scholarships in Malaysia for International Students 2026/2027

Malaysia offers international students a combination that is hard to find elsewhere in Asia: degrees taught in English at internationally ranked universities, tuition and living costs well below Western levels, a multicultural society where newcomers settle quickly — and two distinct Malaysian government scholarship schemes that fund postgraduate study in different ways. The Malaysia International Scholarship (MIS), run by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), pays tuition plus a monthly living allowance for master’s and PhD students at 24 participating universities. The Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) Scholarship, run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, funds master’s degrees for students from developing countries with a larger monthly allowance and a return airfare. Around those two flagships sit university scholarships, research assistantships and tuition waivers that extend funding to undergraduates and to students the government schemes do not reach.

This guide explains scholarships in Malaysia for the 2026/2027 cycle with the figures verified from official guidance at the time of writing: the MIS 2026 guidelines published by MOHE’s Scholarship Division, which set the RM1,500 monthly allowance, the age limits, the CGPA thresholds and the participating university list; and the MTCP scheme’s published terms, including its RM3,500 monthly allowance for the 2026 cycle, whose application window ran from 4 May to 12 June 2026. You will find eligibility in plain language, an honest comparison of MIS versus MTCP, the fields each scheme prioritises and excludes, step-by-step application routes, document checklists, realistic timelines, the student-pass process through Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), and the mistakes that quietly end Malaysian applications. Compare Malaysia with other destinations in our scholarships directory and study abroad guides, and look out for our companion guide to fully funded scholarships in Malaysia.

Scholarships in Malaysia at a Glance

Notice the structural difference between the two government schemes, because it decides which one you should chase. MIS does not require you to hold an admission letter before applying — you apply to MOHE, and if you are currently studying in Malaysia you may also apply provided at least two semesters remain. MTCP, by contrast, requires a valid admission offer from a Malaysian university as part of the application, so your MTCP calendar must start with university applications months earlier. MIS is also the only one of the two open at PhD level. Neither scheme funds undergraduate study, which is why the university-awards section of this guide matters for bachelor’s applicants.

Why Malaysia for International Students?

Malaysia’s public universities — Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) among them — carry genuine research weight in engineering, agriculture, medicine-adjacent health sciences, Islamic finance, computer science and environmental fields, and they dominate the MIS participating list. Private and international options add depth in business, technology and Islamic finance, including INCEIF University, a specialist institution for Islamic finance that appears on the MIS list. English is the medium of instruction across most postgraduate programmes, daily life is navigable in English in the main student cities, and the cost base is forgiving: even without a scholarship, total annual costs in Malaysia are a fraction of equivalent study in the UK, Australia or the US, which is why partial university waivers go further here than almost anywhere else. Explore institutions through our universities directory and rankings pages as you shortlist.

The Malaysia International Scholarship (MIS) in Detail

Who can apply

Per the official MIS 2026 guidelines, applicants must be citizens of MIS recipient countries — the published list spans ASEAN and Commonwealth countries and a further named list including, among others, Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, Georgia, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Applicants either intend to pursue full-time postgraduate study (master’s or PhD) in Malaysia, or are already pursuing full-time postgraduate study at a Malaysian public university or selected private institution with at least two semesters remaining. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria and Indonesia — the core readership of this guide — sit within the ASEAN/Commonwealth framing of the scheme, but because the recipient list is republished each cycle, confirm your country’s status in the current guidelines before applying.

Academic, age and English requirements

The guidelines set three clear thresholds. Age: not more than 40 at application for master’s, and not more than 45 for PhD. Academics: master’s applicants need a CGPA of 3.00 / Second Class Upper (Honours) or higher at bachelor’s level; PhD applicants need a CGPA of 3.00 / excellent results at master’s level in a field related to the intended programme. English: IELTS band 6.0 or higher, or a TOEFL paper-based score of 550 or higher (or the equivalent in other TOEFL formats), or a previous degree taught in English, evidenced by an official declaration letter from the institution. Research-mode applicants — master’s by research and all PhD candidates — must also submit a written research proposal of at least 1,000 words relevant to the intended field.

Benefits — stated precisely

MIS pays tuition fees for the entire sponsorship period directly to the university, on the university’s invoice to MOHE, and a monthly living allowance of RM1,500, paid to scholars every four months upon submission of their progress report to MOHE, per the official guidelines. Read what is not in that sentence: MIS as published does not include airfare, visa or insurance components. Budget for your flight, EMGS and student-pass costs, medical screening and personal insurance arrangements separately, and note the four-month payment rhythm — you need bridging funds for your first months in Malaysia even as a scholar. The guidelines also set scholar obligations: full-time enrolment, no change of programme without written permission from the university and MOHE, satisfactory progress (suspension from the university suspends the scholarship), no paid employment without written approval, and research carried out in Malaysia. The offer of the scholarship, the guidelines state plainly, does not guarantee the granting of a visa.

Participating universities and priority fields

The MIS 2026 list covers 20 public universities — including UM, UKM, USM, UPM, UTM, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and the regional Malaysia universities (UMS, UNIMAS, UMP, UMT, UniMAP, UMK) — plus four private institutions: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Multimedia University (MMU) and INCEIF University. Applicants may apply for any accredited course, with priority given to: Education; Arts and Humanities; Social Sciences, Journalism and Information; Business, Administration and Law; Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics; Information and Communication Technologies; Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction; Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Veterinary; and Health and Welfare — explicitly not including medicine, nursing and pharmacy.

Selection criteria

MOHE publishes its criteria, and you should write to them directly: outstanding academic and co-curricular achievement; the quality of the research proposal and its potential contribution to the advancement of technology and human well-being, with a stated preference for Malaysia-related research topics; and excellent communication, writing and reading skills in English. That middle criterion is actionable — a proposal that connects your research to a Malaysian context, collaboration or case study is aligned with the scheme’s own stated preference.

The MTCP Scholarship in Detail

The Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme is Malaysia’s development-cooperation arm, run through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and its scholarship funds full-time master’s degrees of 24 to 36 months for citizens of MTCP recipient developing countries. For the 2026 cycle, published terms gave an application window of 4 May to 12 June 2026 for September/October 2026 intake — verify the next cycle’s window on the official MTCP page, as dates are set per cycle. The financial package is broader than MIS: full tuition fees plus a monthly allowance of RM3,500, described in the scheme’s terms as an inclusive allowance covering cost of living, book, tools, house rental, placement, thesis, travel, practical training and end-of-study components, together with medical and insurance components, and a one-off return economy-class airfare from your closest international airport to Malaysia and back at the end of study.

Eligibility differs from MIS in ways that catch applicants out. You must be not older than 45 at application; hold strong bachelor’s results — published guidance describes Second Class Upper Honours, with some cycle summaries expressing the threshold as a CGPA of 3.50 and others tying it to the honours classification, so read the exact wording in the current cycle’s official guidelines rather than relying on any summary, including ours; meet English requirements (IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL iBT around 60 in published guidance, or a previous degree taught in English); be certified in excellent health by a physician, at your own cost; and — critically — already hold a valid admission offer letter from a Malaysian university for the relevant intake, or have registered for no more than one semester of a master’s. Priority fields in recent cycles have centred on development-relevant areas such as diplomacy and international relations, economy and finance, education, environment, technology and IR4.0 fields, good governance, tourism, the halal industry, safety and security, and social development, with newer cycles emphasising areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital transformation, STEM, food security, Islamic finance, public policy and law. Nursing, medicine and clinical pharmacy are excluded. Apply through the official MTCP scholarship page at mtcp.kln.gov.my and never through a paid intermediary.

MIS vs MTCP: Which Should You Apply For?

Nothing in either scheme’s published terms forbids a qualified master’s candidate from applying to both in the same year where windows and eligibility allow — but read each current guideline for any rule on holding or accepting awards, accept only one government award if selected for both, and never conceal a concurrent award. For PhD applicants the decision is simpler: MIS is the government route, supplemented by university fellowships and supervisor grants.

University Scholarships and Research Funding

Below the government layer, Malaysian universities run their own international awards: entrance and merit tuition waivers at private universities, excellence awards at public universities, and faculty-level schemes for postgraduate researchers. Coverage is typically a percentage of tuition — partial awards are far more common than full waivers — and amounts, percentages and deadlines are set by each university for each intake, so the only reliable source is the university’s own scholarships page for the current term. Undergraduate funding in Malaysia comes almost entirely from this layer plus early-application and sibling/alumni discounts at private institutions; there is no Malaysian government undergraduate scholarship in the schemes covered here, and any site claiming one should be checked against MOHE and MTCP official pages before you believe it.

For research postgraduates, the most under-used funding in Malaysia is the supervisor’s research grant. Professors with funded projects recruit graduate research assistants whose support can rival a small scholarship, arranged through departments after — or while — you secure admission. The route is direct and professional: identify supervisors whose published work matches your proposal, write a short, specific research email, and discuss funding only once academic fit is established. Combined with Malaysia’s low base costs, a tuition waiver plus research support can make a Malaysian PhD cheaper than a “funded” degree in a high-cost city. Use our student tools to model the total cost honestly before you compare offers.

Eligibility Summary and Who Should Not Apply

Apply for MIS if you are a citizen of a listed recipient country, within the age ceiling, at or above CGPA 3.00 / Second Class Upper, English-ready at IELTS 6.0 level or English-medium educated, and targeting full-time master’s or PhD study at a participating university in a priority field. Apply for MTCP if you are from an MTCP recipient developing country, aged 45 or under, holding (or able to secure well before the window) a Malaysian master’s admission offer, with strong honours-level results and a field inside MTCP’s development priorities. Do not apply to either scheme for medicine, nursing or pharmacy — both exclude them — and do not apply for undergraduate funding from either: neither scheme offers it. If your grades sit below the MIS floor, a year of stronger postgraduate or professional work will not change a bachelor’s CGPA; in that case target university waivers and assistantships, whose criteria are institutional rather than national.

How to Apply, Step by Step

For MIS

1. Confirm your country and field. Check the current MIS guidelines for the recipient-country list, the participating universities and the priority areas, on the official MOHE page.
2. Shortlist programmes and supervisors. Choose full-time programmes at listed universities; research applicants should identify potential supervisors whose work matches the proposal.
3. Prepare the proposal and references. Draft the 1,000-word minimum research proposal (research master’s and PhD), request two referee letters, and obtain your English-medium declaration if you are using it instead of IELTS/TOEFL.
4. Apply online. Submit through the official portal at biasiswa.mohe.gov.my/INTER, uploading certified PDF copies of every required document.
5. Secure or confirm admission. Scholars must confirm their own admission with the university; if already enrolled, ensure at least two semesters remain.
6. After selection: visa and arrival. Follow the EMGS student-pass process (below), including medical examination requirements.

For MTCP

1. Apply to Malaysian universities first. Secure a valid, unconditional admission offer for the relevant intake — conditional offers have not been accepted in published terms — months before the MTCP window opens.
2. Prepare documents. Admission letter, two referee letters, statement of intent, certified transcripts with grading-system documentation, CV, English evidence, passport copy (published guidance asks for at least 18 months’ validity), and a medical report issued within the period the cycle specifies.
3. Submit in the window. Apply online via the official MTCP scholarship page before the closing date — for 2026, 12 June 2026.

Required Documents

Across both schemes you will need: a certified copy of your passport; certified academic transcripts covering all courses, plus an official grading-system explanation if your transcript lacks CGPA/marks information; degree certificates; English proficiency evidence (IELTS/TOEFL result or an official English-medium declaration); two recommendation letters; a CV; an admission letter where required or held; and the research proposal (MIS research applicants) or statement of intent (MTCP). MTCP additionally requires a certified medical examination report, with the cost borne by the applicant. All documents must be in English or accompanied by certified translations, scanned clearly in PDF. The MIS guidelines list is published in full in the official MIS 2026 guidelines (PDF) — read it directly before you submit, because it is the controlling document.

Deadlines and Timeline

One timeline warning is repeated in official guidance for both countries’ schemes because it decides outcomes: the scholarship offer does not itself grant entry. For Malaysia, the student-pass route runs through EMGS — application, Visa Approval Letter (eVAL), single-entry visa or eVisa where applicable, travel, post-arrival medical screening and endorsement — as set out in Education Malaysia’s step-by-step student visa guide. Start it the moment your place is confirmed, keep your passport validity comfortably beyond the minimum, and never book non-refundable travel against an approval you do not yet hold.

Selection Tips: Writing to the Published Criteria

MIS tells you exactly how it judges: academic and co-curricular distinction, proposal quality with preference for Malaysia-related research, and English communication quality. Act on each. Choose a research topic where Malaysia is a natural laboratory, partner or case — tropical agriculture, Islamic finance, halal industry standards, multilingual education, coastal and environmental systems, public health delivery in middle-income settings — and say explicitly, in the proposal, what the Malaysian connection contributes. For MTCP, the statement of intent carries the development logic of the programme: what capability your master’s builds, and how it serves your home country’s institutions on your return. Referees should be academics who can evidence the criteria, not prominent names who barely know you. Finally, keep every number in your file consistent — CGPA, dates, passport details — because certified-document schemes are unforgiving of mismatches. Our guides and test preparation pages can help you lift an IELTS score to the 6.0 threshold if that is your gap.

Common Mistakes

• Applying to MTCP without an admission offer. The offer is an eligibility component, not a later step. Universities first, scholarship second.
• Assuming MIS includes flights. The published MIS benefits are tuition plus RM1,500/month. Budget travel, EMGS and insurance costs yourself.
• Ignoring the four-monthly payment rhythm. MIS allowances are disbursed every four months against progress reports. Arrive with bridging funds.
• Targeting excluded fields. Medicine, nursing and pharmacy are excluded from MIS priority areas and from MTCP. Check field eligibility before writing a proposal.
• Submitting an uncertified or untranslated document set. Both schemes specify certified copies and English documentation. Uncertified scans are a silent rejection risk.
• A generic research proposal. MIS explicitly rewards Malaysia-related, well-constructed proposals of at least 1,000 words for research degrees. A 300-word topic summary is not a proposal.
• Relying on last cycle’s country list, CGPA wording or dates. MTCP’s academic threshold wording and both schemes’ windows are republished per cycle. Verify in the current official guidelines.
• Paying an agent for a “government scholarship seat”. Both applications are free and online through official portals. No intermediary can sell you a place.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does the Malaysia International Scholarship pay?

Under the official MIS 2026 guidelines, tuition is paid directly to the university for the sponsorship period, and scholars receive a monthly living allowance of RM1,500, disbursed every four months upon submission of a progress report to MOHE.

2. How much does the MTCP Scholarship pay?

Published MTCP terms for the 2026 cycle provide full tuition and a monthly allowance of RM3,500 as an inclusive allowance (covering living, books, tools, rental, thesis, travel, medical and insurance components), plus a one-off return economy airfare. Confirm the current cycle’s terms on the official MTCP page.

3. Can I apply for MIS without an admission letter?

Yes — unlike MTCP, MIS does not require an admission offer to apply, although applicants who already hold one upload it, currently enrolled postgraduates may apply if at least two semesters remain, and all scholars must confirm their own admission with the university.

4. What IELTS score do I need?

MIS requires IELTS band 6.0 or higher, or TOEFL PBT 550 or higher (or equivalent), or a previous degree taught in English with an official declaration. MTCP guidance is similar at IELTS 6.0 / TOEFL iBT around 60 or English-medium education — check the current cycle’s exact requirements.

5. Are undergraduate scholarships available from the Malaysian government?

Not through MIS or MTCP, which fund postgraduate study only (MIS: master’s and PhD; MTCP: master’s). Undergraduate funding comes from university-level waivers and discounts — verify any claimed government undergraduate scheme on official MOHE or MTCP pages.

6. Which universities participate in MIS?

The 2026 list names 20 public universities (including UM, UKM, USM, UPM, UTM, UiTM and IIUM) and four private institutions: UTP, UNITEN, Multimedia University and INCEIF University. The list is republished per cycle in the official guidelines.

7. Can I work while on MIS or MTCP?

MIS terms state scholars may not take paid employment during the tenure without written approval from the host university (and MOHE permission governs programme changes). Do not build a budget that assumes part-time income.

8. Does winning a scholarship guarantee my student pass?

No. The MIS guidelines state expressly that the scholarship offer does not guarantee the granting of a visa. You must still complete the EMGS student-pass process, including medical requirements, and meet immigration rules.

Sources & Verification

MIS facts — recipient framing, eligibility, age limits of 40/45, CGPA 3.00 / Second Class Upper, IELTS 6.0 / TOEFL PBT 550, the 1,000-word proposal rule, the 24-university list, priority fields and exclusions, tuition payment method, the RM1,500 allowance and its four-monthly disbursement, selection criteria and scholar obligations — were verified in the official Guidelines for the Application of Malaysia International Scholarship (MIS) 2026, published by the Scholarship Division, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (biasiswa.mohe.gov.my). MTCP terms — RM3,500 inclusive monthly allowance, tuition, return economy airfare, master’s-only scope of 24–36 months, age ceiling of 45, admission-offer requirement and the 2026 window of 4 May–12 June 2026 — were checked against the official MTCP scheme presentation and consistent published summaries of the 2026 call; the CGPA expression of the honours threshold varied between summaries, so this guide flags it for direct verification in the current cycle’s official guidelines. Student-pass steps follow Education Malaysia Global Services (educationmalaysia.gov.my).

Disclaimer: Scholarship details, amounts, deadlines and eligible-country lists change yearly. Always confirm deadlines, amounts and eligibility on the official website before applying. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency or a university — we never promise selection, admission or visa approval, and no one acting legitimately can.