Daily Times

For Pakistani students seeking admission to MS and PhD programmes overseas, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced the availability of 75 National Top Talent Scholarships.

In honour of Pakistan’s 75th anniversary of independence, the government of Pakistan announced 40 PhD and 35 MS scholarships for citizens of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to attend the top 25 universities in the world (based solely on QS or Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings), according to a state-run news agency citing reliable sources.

The sources informed us that the scholarships will be awarded on the provision of proof of confirmed admission to desired universities and selected subjects only.

Meanwhile, as per eligibility criteria, the applicant must be a Pakistani/Azad Kashmir national.

The candidates must have a confirmed/unconditional admission/enrolment in any of the world’s 25 top-ranked universities (QS/THE) in selected subjects. They must have a minimum qualification for MS Scholarships: BS/BE/Master’s or equivalent to 16 years of education in relevant fields of study, while for PhD Scholarships: MS/MPhil/ME or equivalent to 18 years of education in relevant fields of study.

Maximum one 2nd Division throughout the academic career prior to the final degree, it added.

The candidates must have a minimum CGPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 & 3.75 out of 5.0 in the semester system or 1 Division (in the annual system) in the terminal degree.

The maximum age on the closing date should be 40 years for full-time regular faculty members of public sector universities/degree awarding institutions/colleges and employees of public sector organisations while 35 years for all others.

The candidates must not be availing of any other scholarship.

The applicants are required to submit an online application via HEC e-portal, i.e ., https://eportal.hec.gov.pk.

It is worth mentioning here the scholarships will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis.

The candidates are required to fulfil the requirement of the host university to secure admission which may include international GRE, TOEFL, etc. They are advised to appear in these tests.

Conditional admission/enrolment will not be considered.

In case any information is found misrepresented/ incorrect at any stage, the application process will be terminated.

The awardee will have to execute a bond with HEC to serve for a period of three years (for MS scholarship) and five years (for PhD scholarship) immediately after completion of his/her studies.

The candidates are advised to check all details of this scholarship programme before filling/submitting the online application form. Request for amendment will not be entertained after submission of online application.

For further details, please visit www.hec.gov.pk/site/idps75.

However, the last date for receipt of applications is March 21, 2023.