What Malaysian International Scholarship (MIS) – Postgraduate Studies actually covers.
The Malaysian International Scholarship (MIS), administered by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia, is the Government of Malaysia's flagship international scholarship programme, providing African students and other qualified international candidates with fully funded opportunities to pursue master's and doctoral degrees at Malaysia's leading research universities. The scholarship reflects Malaysia's aspiration to become a regional hub for higher education and to deepen educational ties with countries across Africa, Asia, and the developing world.
Malaysian universities participating in the MIS programme include Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), among others. These institutions are globally recognised in engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, tropical agriculture, Islamic finance, environmental science, and information technology — all areas of strategic interest for Africa's development agenda.
MIS scholarships cover full tuition fees, a monthly living stipend of RM 1,500 (approximately USD 350), a monthly research allowance of RM 700, a thesis allowance, health insurance, and a one-time settling-in allowance. The scholarship is open to citizens of MIS recipient countries, a list that includes multiple African nations with formal educational partnerships with Malaysia. Applications are competitive and evaluated based on academic merit, the quality of the research proposal, and the relevance of the proposed study to Malaysia's priority research areas.
Applicants must be under 40 years of age for master's programmes and under 45 for doctoral programmes, must hold a minimum CGPA of 3.0 or Second Class Upper equivalent, and must have secured an offer of admission from a participating Malaysian university at the time of application. The 2026/27 application window closes in April 2026; the 2027/28 cycle is expected to open in late 2026.
Who can apply.
Open to masters, phd applicants seeking to study in Malaysia. Eligible nationalities are listed below.
46 more eligible countries — full list available on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
From here to submitted.
Scholar Africa helps you discover, shortlist, and track. The application itself is submitted on the provider's site.
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Save itAdd this to your shortlist so we can recommend similar scholarships and remind you of the deadline.
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Prepare your documentsMost providers ask for the same set — transcripts, references, a personal statement, ID. Use the checklist below to track progress across all your applications.
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Apply on the provider's siteSubmit on the provider's site before April 3, 2027 · 265 days left.
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Track the outcomeAdd to your tracker so you can update the status as the provider responds (shortlisted, interview, decision).
Document checklist
Checks are local to this device — they're not stored. Always confirm exact requirements on the provider's official application page.
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live and an admin manually reviews every scholarship submitted by providers. Malaysian International Scholarship (MIS) – Postgraduate Studies has been reviewed and verified by our team. Five deeper checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, formal audit) are on the roadmap.
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Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.