KNB Scholarship 2026 in Indonesia | Fully Funded
The KNB Scholarship is one of the larger fully funded government scholarship programs open to developing-country applicants, and unlike many single-university awards, it spans 47 partner universities across Indonesia and covers all three degree levels — bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral — in one unified program.
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If you’re researching this now, the 2026-2027 cycle has not just closed its application window (31 March 2026); it’s actually moved past selection entirely. Results were published on 19 June 2026, successful applicants completed administrative registration between 22 and 26 June, and this year’s cohort is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia in late August 2026. This post walks through exactly how the scholarship works and what to prepare now if you’re aiming for the next application round.
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KNB Scholarship Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | KNB |
| Host Country ⇒ | Indonesia |
| Study Level ⇒ | Undergraduate, Masters and PhD |
| Benefits ⇒ | Fully funded (tuition, monthly living allowance, arrival allowance, health insurance, and more) |
| Funded by ⇒ | Government of Indonesia (Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology) |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | Developing countries across Asia, the Pacific, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | 026-2027 cycle closed 31 March 2026. Results were published 19 June 2026, with the selected cohort arriving in Indonesia in late August 2026. Watch for the 2027-2028 cycle — expect it to open around February, based on this cycle’s timing. |
About the KNB Scholarship
KNB stands for Kemitraan Negara Berkembang — “Developing Country Partnership” — and the program’s history explains a lot about how it’s structured today. Indonesia introduced it in 1992, following the 10th Conference of Heads of State of the Non-Aligned Movement, and for its first decade the scholarship was limited specifically to fellow NAM member countries.
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In 2002, Indonesia expanded eligibility beyond that original bloc, opening the program to developing nations more broadly across Asia, the Pacific, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe — which is why today’s eligibility criteria reference “developing countries” generally rather than a fixed list tied to any single political grouping.
The scholarship is administered by Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, and its underlying purpose has stayed consistent since 1992: strengthening human resource development across developing nations and building people-to-people ties between Indonesia and the countries it partners with. For the 2026-2027 cycle, roughly 200 scholarships were made available across the 47 participating universities, spanning well over a thousand individual study programs — a genuinely wide field of options once you’re accepted into the program.
What the KNB Scholarship Covers
The KNB award is comprehensive, structured to remove essentially every financial barrier to studying in Indonesia:
- Full tuition fees at your assigned partner university, for the full duration of your program
- A monthly living allowance, covering day-to-day costs throughout your studies
- An arrival allowance, a one-time payment to help cover initial settling-in costs when you first reach Indonesia
- A book and research allowance, supporting the direct academic costs of your program
- Publication assistance, particularly relevant for master’s and doctoral candidates whose programs involve producing research output
- Transportation for arrival and return, covering your international travel both into and out of Indonesia around your period of study
- Monthly health insurance, for the duration of your scholarship period
What’s worth understanding about the shape of this support: it’s designed to cover the full cost of living and studying in Indonesia specifically, which is itself one of the more affordable major study destinations globally — meaning the same allowance figures tend to stretch further here than an equivalent package would in, say, Western Europe or North America. Costs outside this scope — anything not explicitly listed above — remain the student’s own responsibility.
Eligibility Requirements
Requirements differ meaningfully by degree level, so check the set that applies to your intended program rather than assuming the criteria are shared across all three:
For Bachelor’s Degree applicants:
- Maximum age of 21 by 31 December 2026
- Must hold a high school certificate — bachelor’s degree holders are not eligible for this track
- CV in English or Bahasa Indonesia
- Meet the required English test score
- Embassy recommendation letter, employer or supervisor recommendation letter, and academic recommendation letter
- Legalized academic certificates and transcripts
- Passport valid until at least 31 December 2027
- A 5-minute video submitted via YouTube
- A certified medical report
- Must not be married to an Indonesian citizen, pregnant during the scholarship period, or undergoing military service
- Complete online application form
For Master’s Degree applicants:
- Maximum age of 35 by 31 December 2026
- Must hold a bachelor’s degree — master’s degree holders are not eligible for this track
- Same supporting documentation as the bachelor’s track (CV, English test score, recommendation letters, legalized transcripts, passport validity, video, medical report), based on your bachelor’s-level academic history
For Doctoral Degree applicants:
- Maximum age of 40 by 31 December 2026
- Must hold a master’s degree — doctorate holders are not eligible for this track
- A supervisor recommendation letter, specifically — this generally means securing a potential research supervisor at your target Indonesian university before applying, since the recommendation needs to come from that specific relationship
- A statement of purpose, detailing your research goals and interest in Indonesia specifically
- The same general supporting documents as the other tracks, adjusted to your master’s-level academic history
Across all three tracks, one condition is worth flagging directly: the medical report requirement is thorough, typically covering infectious disease screening and a mental health assessment, and needs to be recent — issued within a limited window before submission, not something you can reuse from an older checkup. Leave enough lead time to schedule and complete this properly rather than treating it as a same-week formality.
Required Documents
- KNB Scholarship Offering Letter, downloaded from the official KNB Scholarship website — this is a required starting document, not optional paperwork
- Official passport, an ordinary or work passport (diplomatic passports aren’t accepted), valid through at least 31 December 2027
- Curriculum vitae, in English or Bahasa Indonesia
- English proficiency test result, meeting the specific score threshold published for your intended degree level
- Recommendation letter from the Indonesian Embassy, obtained by visiting your local Indonesian Embassy directly — this involves the Embassy conducting its own verification and background checks before issuing the letter, so this step alone can take real time and should be started early
- Recommendation letter from your employer or supervisor
- Academic recommendation letter
- Academic certificates and transcripts, legalized as required for your degree level
- Medical report, meeting the program’s specific screening requirements and issued within the required recency window
- Supervisor recommendation letter (doctoral applicants only)
- Statement of purpose (doctoral applicants only)
- YouTube video link, a 5-minute submission recorded in English or Bahasa Indonesia
The Embassy recommendation letter is the document most likely to become a bottleneck, since it depends on the Indonesian Embassy’s own verification timeline rather than anything you control directly. If there’s no Indonesian embassy in your home country, you can request the letter from any Indonesian Embassy accredited to your country instead — worth confirming which embassy that is well ahead of when you’ll need the letter.
How the Application Process Works
- Visit the official KNB Scholarship website.
- Download the KNB Scholarship Offering Letter.
- Visit the Indonesian Embassy accredited to your country to begin the process for your recommendation letter.
- Prepare all required documents for your specific degree level.
- Upload your documents to the online application system.
- Complete the online application form in full.
- If invited, attend interviews and any required psychological assessments.
- Wait for official selection results, published on the KNB Scholarship website and the Indonesian Publication Network.
How to Prepare for the Next Application Cycle
With this year’s selection process fully concluded, the months ahead are for building a stronger application for the 2027-2028 round:
- Start the Embassy recommendation letter process early. Since this depends on the Indonesian Embassy’s own verification and background-check timeline, it’s the document least within your direct control, and starting it only once the next application window opens risks running out of time.
- Book your medical report closer to the actual application window, since it needs to be recent — but identify now where you’ll get it done and what the screening involves, so there’s no scramble once the window opens.
- If you’re applying for the doctoral track, start identifying and contacting potential supervisors at KNB partner universities now. A supervisor recommendation letter depends on an actual established relationship, which takes longer to build than the application window typically allows if you start from zero.
- Sit your English proficiency test with enough lead time that your results are valid and available well before the deadline.
- Draft your 5-minute video concept early, since a video that clearly communicates your goals and fit takes real planning, not a same-day recording.
- Check the official KNB Scholarship website directly once the new year begins, since past cycles have opened around February.
Deadline
The 2026-2027 application window ran from 2 February to 31 March 2026 and is now closed. Selection results were published on 19 June 2026, with administrative registration running 22-26 June and the selected cohort’s arrival in Indonesia scheduled for late August 2026. Based on this cycle’s timing, expect the 2027-2028 round to open around February 2027, though the Indonesian government does not guarantee identical dates annually. Check the official KNB Scholarship website directly rather than relying on a fixed date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the KNB Scholarship fully funded?
Yes. It covers tuition, a monthly living allowance, arrival allowance, book and research support, publication assistance, travel, and health insurance for the full scholarship period.
Can Nigerian students apply?
Yes. Nigeria falls within the eligible developing-country regions this scholarship covers, so Nigerian applicants can apply provided they meet the specific requirements for their intended degree level.
Can I apply if I already hold the degree level I’m applying for?
No. Each track explicitly excludes applicants who already hold that level of qualification — bachelor’s degree holders can’t apply for the bachelor’s track, master’s holders can’t apply for the master’s track, and doctorate holders can’t apply for the doctoral track.
What happens if I already missed the 2026-2027 deadline?
This cycle has closed and moved past selection — this year’s cohort is already preparing to arrive in Indonesia. Use the months ahead to secure your Embassy recommendation letter and, for doctoral applicants, a supervisor relationship, since both take real lead time.
Do I need to already speak Bahasa Indonesia to apply?
No. Documents can be submitted in English or Bahasa Indonesia, and applicants from English-speaking countries or English-taught programs generally submit proof of English proficiency instead of a Bahasa requirement.
Disclaimer: All scholarship details, deadlines, award values, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of July 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on the official KNB Scholarship website before submitting an application. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with the Government of Indonesia.
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