KNB Scholarship Eligibility 2027: Who Can Apply

Quick eligibility checker

Answer seven Yes/No questions. Choose your degree level first — the age, GPA and English text follow the last official 2026 floors.

Planning tool only. Built from the last official 2026 Application Guidelines and FAQ. The 2027 guidelines will republish ages, scores and documents. This does not replace knb.kemdiktisaintek.go.id.

A soft-diplomacy award for foreign nationals

The official FAQ is blunt: Indonesian citizens cannot apply. KNB is a soft-diplomacy scholarship for foreign nationals from developing countries or countries with diplomatic relations with Indonesia. Country selection is informed by recommendations from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Refugees and stateless applicants cannot apply.

You apply for the next unused degree. A bachelor’s holder cannot take another bachelor’s award; a master’s holder cannot take another master’s award; a doctoral holder cannot apply. If this is discovered after acceptance, the Ministry can investigate and sanction. Programmes should align with your previous degree — KNB does not facilitate matriculation into an unrelated field.

Figures below are from the 2026 Application Guidelines, the latest the Ministry has published (no 2027 guidelines as of 6 October 2026). The 2027 cycle will restate ages, cut-off dates and score floors in a new PDF. Do not treat 31 December 2026 as a 2027 rule.

Age and prior degree (2026 guidelines)

The official FAQ says the portal automatically filters age. Applicants who exceed the limit by a few days or months should not expect a waiver. Name, date of birth, place of birth, nationality and passport number must match the passport exactly (a one-day date difference from time-zone/system issues is the only noted exception).

GPA and English (2026 guidelines)

Official FAQ minimum GPA: 2.75 for bachelor’s and 3.00 for master’s and doctoral. English certificates must be from the last two years, unless you are from an English-speaking country or your prior programme was taught in English (attach official proof). Other tests such as Duolingo are acceptable if they assess writing, listening and speaking.

Conduct and immigration conditions

• Willing not to marry, be married to, or be engaged to a person who holds or is eligible to hold Indonesian citizenship or permanent residency, or to another scholarship recipient.
• Willing not to be pregnant during the scholarship period.
• Not currently in, and not about to enter, military service until the scholarship ends.
• Official passport (not diplomatic or work) valid at least until 31 December 2027 in the 2026 cycle; the FAQ also requires at least two years of remaining validity. You cannot apply while a renewal is still processing.
• Applicants from or residing in Africa: attach a yellow-fever vaccination certificate.
• Doctoral only: a potential supervisor recommendation from the same host university you choose, plus a statement of purpose / dissertation proposal in English or Bahasa.

Provide a recommendation from the Embassy or Consulate General of Indonesia in your country of origin, not country of domicile, in English or Bahasa. Without it you cannot register. See the dedicated embassy recommendation page.