In recent years, Kazakhstan started to emerge as a higher education hub across the Central Asia region. The number of international students who’ve chosen our country as a place of study is growing every year, and the country's rich multicultural environment makes it easier to adjust to new surroundings.
This year, the admission process started on March 30 and will last until June 30. During this period, foreign nationals can apply for scholarship programs at 36 Kazakh universities in all regions of the country. The higher education institutions will offer 550 scholarships across undergraduate and postgraduate programs: 490 bachelor’s, 50 master’s, and 10 Ph.D. scholarships.
QazMonitor made a guide for all international students seeking to apply for a scholarship program in Kazakhstan.
What are the application prerequisites and scholarship conditions?
All foreign citizens are eligible to apply for scholarships in Kazakhstan. This includes non-citizens of Kazakh ethnicity.
The scholarship covers free tuition and a monthly allowance. Student financial aid varies depending on the academic program. Monthly allowance for bachelor’s students is ₸36,600 (as of April 5, 2023 – $80.44), master’s – ₸86,987 ($194.41), Ph.D. – ₸195,000 ($435.90).
The scholarship doesn’t cover travel expenses, accommodation, as well as visa and health insurance expenses.
NOTE: not all academic programs are available in English, consult this list to see if the particular academic program is available in the language of your choosing.
Foreign citizens from countries which Kazakhstan has a visa-free regime with don’t need a student visa (C9). As of January 2023, this list includes the following countries:
Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkiye, Ukraine, UAE, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, and Vietnam.
What is the application procedure for international students in Kazakhstan?
The National center for higher education development is the admissions operator, and applicants can apply through the center's official website.
Application form can be submitted either in Kazakh, Russian, or English. Filling out the form, applicants must attach scanned copies of the following documents:
Bachelor's degree:
– an identification document (ID)
– a high school transcript, and an appendix (if available), with an average grade of B or higher. The transcript must also have a notarized translation into either Kazakh, Russian, or English
– a motivation essay either in Kazakh, Russian, or English
– a letter of recommendation either in Kazakh, Russian, or English from the educational organization in which the applicant studied, or from the employer
– a medical certificate for studying abroad, containing the conclusions of a therapist, narcologist, psychiatrist, as well as data from an X-ray (fluorographic) examination, laboratory tests;
– a medical certificate confirming the absence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection) and AIDS, issued by the official health authority of the applicant's country of residence
– a letter of invitation from a university in Kazakhstan (if available)
Master’s and Ph.D. degrees:
– an identification document (ID)
– a bachelor’s or a specialist’s diploma, and an appendix (if available), with an average score of at least 3.0 (out of 4.0) GPA or its equivalent. The document must also have a notarized translation into either Kazakh, Russian, or English
– a motivation essay either in Kazakh, Russian, or English
– two letters of recommendation either in Kazakh, Russian, or English from the educational organization in which the applicant studied, or from the employer
– a medical certificate for studying abroad, containing the conclusions of a therapist, narcologist, psychiatrist, as well as data from an X-ray (fluorographic) examination, laboratory tests
– a medical certificate confirming the absence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection) and AIDS, issued by the official health authority of the applicant's country of residence
– a letter of invitation from a university in Kazakhstan (if available)
– an international certificate proving knowledge of a foreign language which is not the applicant's native language:
English:
IELTS Academic threshold score of at least 5.5
TOEFL IBT threshold score of at least 46
TOEFL PBT threshold score of at least 453
German:
Deutsche Sprachpruefung fuer den Hochschulzugang (DSH) – B2 or higher
TestDaF-Prufung – B2 or higher
French:
TFI, DELF, DALF – B2 or higher
TCF – at least 50 points
NOTE: Ph.D. candidates are also required to submit the thesis rationale in the language of study.
What are the next steps after document submission?
The admissions procedure consists of the following steps:
– Submit the documents through the National center's website
– If the documents meet all the requirements, a link for online examination will be sent to the applicant's email address. The exam presents a student adaptation survey, consisting of 80 questions which must be completed in under 120 minutes
– Successful candidates will receive an invitation to an online interview with representatives of the Ministry of science and higher education, the National center, and universities
– By August 28, the National center will announce the results of the competition for the scholarship program
