Brunei Darussalam Government Scholarship (BDGS) Guide 2027/28
The BDGS is Brunei’s fully funded award for international students at five Brunei institutions, applied for through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal. The 2026/2027 window is closed; the 2027/2028 call is expected around mid-December 2026.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
5 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
PhD is not offered under the BDGS. If you are looking for doctoral funding in Brunei, the UBD Graduate Research Scholarship (a separate scheme) is what you need. Many third-party guides conflate these two — they are different programmes with different stipends, different processes and different administrators.
What the BDGS actually is
The Brunei Darussalam Government Scholarship (BDGS) is a fully funded scholarship offered by the Government of Brunei Darussalam to foreign students who want to study at one of five government-linked higher education institutions in Brunei. Its official name is the Government of Brunei Darussalam Scholarship for Foreign Students Tenable in Brunei Darussalam, and it is administered directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Brunei Darussalam.
You do not need a nominating body. You apply through the MFA’s own online portal, you also apply to your chosen institution through its own online admission system, and the institutions decide on interviews and tests. The MFA handles the scholarship; the institution handles the academic decision. The last three calls (2024/2025 to 2026/2027) did not ask for a government endorsement.
When to apply: the 2027/2028 cycle
The scholarship runs annually. The 2026/2027 call opened on 15 December 2025 and closed on 15 February 2026 at 23:59; the two calls before it also closed on 15 February. As of 6 October 2026, the MFA scholarship page still lists the Academic Session 2026/2027 call, and its application portal states that the application is now closed.
For the upcoming 2027/2028 session, the window is expected to open around mid-December 2026 and close in mid-February 2027, based on the established pattern. These dates are not yet announced — confirm them on the official MFA page before relying on them. Treat the closing date as final: recent calls give one fixed closing date and offer no extensions.
The BDGS is applied for through the MFA’s own online portal, linked from mfa.gov.bn/pages/scholarship.aspx. For the 2026/2027 session it was hosted at apps.katalyst.gov.bn; the older address mfa.gov.bn/pages/online-bdgs.aspx no longer carries the form. The 2026/2027 call told applicants to all five institutions to also complete that institution’s own online application. Earlier calls named only UBD and UTB.
The five institutions
Apply →Unlike scholarships where you apply to a single university, the BDGS covers five distinct institutions — each with a different academic focus, culture and application requirement. Your choice of institution matters before you even start the form.
Brunei’s flagship research university, with a broad range of disciplines including arts, sciences, business and engineering. UBD applicants must submit a separate application at apply.ubd.edu.bn in addition to the MFA portal.
Islamic studies and related disciplines. In the 2026/2027 call, UNISSA applicants also had to apply online at unissa.edu.bn/application/apply.
Technology, engineering, computing and management. UTB applicants must also submit a separate application at apply.utb.edu.bn alongside the MFA portal application.
KUPU SB focuses on Islamic religious teacher education. Politeknik Brunei offers diploma-level polytechnic programmes. In the 2026/2027 call, both also required their own online application (kupu-sb.edu.bn and pbas.pb.edu.bn).
If you only complete the MFA portal, your application is incomplete. The MFA form is the scholarship application; the institution’s portal is the academic admission application. You need both. In 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 this applied to UBD and UTB; in 2026/2027 the MFA listed a separate application for every one of the five institutions.
What the scholarship actually covers
Benefits →The BDGS is fully funded in the meaningful sense — tuition, accommodation and a monthly cash allowance are all included. Here is the package as listed in the MFA’s general terms and conditions:
| Benefit | Amount / detail |
|---|---|
| Tuition fees | 100% covered |
| Monthly personal allowance | BND 500 |
| Monthly meals allowance | BND 150 |
| Annual book allowance | BND 600 per year |
| Accommodation | University/polytechnic residential college (provided) |
| Arrival airfare | Economy class from country of origin or domicile to Brunei |
| Departure airfare | Economy class from Brunei on programme completion |
| Baggage allowance (ASEAN) | Up to BND 250, on completion |
| Baggage allowance (non-ASEAN) | Up to BND 500, on completion |
| Insurance | Comprehensive insurance cover for the full scholarship duration (the MFA urges you to buy extra insurance yourself) |
What BND 650 a month actually means
BND 650 is your combined personal and meals allowance. Because accommodation is provided on campus, this cash covers food, transport, phone, toiletries and personal expenses. In our assessment basic daily expenses are manageable on this amount, though there is little room for international travel or emergencies. The MFA also advises scholars to bring enough money to cover their first month in Brunei.
The allowance is not adjusted for dependants: no family allowance, no marriage allowance and no child allowance exist under this scholarship.
Who cannot apply — and some surprises about who can
Eligibility →The BDGS is open to international students of any nationality. The recent calls are addressed to foreign students and do not list eligible countries. Students sometimes assume it is an ASEAN-only scholarship based on how third-party scholarship sites describe it. That is wrong.
The 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 calls excluded three groups:
- Brunei Darussalam citizens
- Brunei Darussalam Permanent Residents
- International students who are currently studying, or have previously studied, at any Brunei tertiary institution
The 2026/2027 call kept the ban on Permanent Residents but softened the third point: it says the scholarship is “intended primarily for international students studying for the first time in Brunei Darussalam”. If you have studied at any Brunei tertiary institution before, assume it counts against you unless the 2027/2028 call says otherwise.
Age limits (as of 1 July of the programme start year)
- Diploma & Undergraduate: maximum 25 years old
- Postgraduate Master’s: maximum 35 years old
For the 2027/2028 intake that means your age is measured on 1 July 2027 (assuming the next announcement keeps the same rule).
Marital status does not disqualify you. Married applicants can apply. However, the terms state that a scholar is not encouraged to bring any family members, and no family accommodation or family allowances are provided. This distinction matters — you can win the scholarship if married, but family support is entirely absent from the package.
Explore the guide
Full criteria, including the English proficiency options most guides miss.
Complete package breakdown and what it costs to live in Brunei.
Step by step, including the separate institution application.
Certified copies, the C1 and C2 reference letters and translations.
The ten errors that sink otherwise strong applications.
Straight answers to the questions applicants actually ask.