Scholarship Deadlines 2026–27 for Pakistani Students: A Month-by-Month Calendar

Scholarship deadlines for Pakistani students follow the same rhythm every year, and a missed one means a twelve-month wait. This calendar sets out the latest verified application window for 16 scholarship programmes open to Pakistani applicants, in order from October 2026 to September 2027. Each date comes from the programme's own page or from one of our verified listings. Where the next call has not been announced, the table shows the most recent window, which tells you when to start preparing; it is not a promise of next year's dates.

Open Right Now (as of 19 October 2026)

In season: Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EU). The EU's page says most applications fall between October and January, and each programme sets its own dates, so check the programme's own website.

Just closed: Chevening and Knight-Hennessy Scholars (both 6 October), the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (29 September) and the Scotland–Pakistan scheme for women and girls (15 September). Their windows sit in the calendar below, so you know when to prepare for the next round.

Three Ways Pakistani Applicants Apply

The route matters as much as the date, because it decides which portal you need and who checks your file.

  • With the donor or university itself. Chevening, Knight-Hennessy, Türkiye Burslari, DAAD, Gates Cambridge, Fulbright (through USEFP's website), Australia Awards (through OASIS), BUP and each Erasmus Mundus programme are applied for directly, not through HEC.
  • Through HEC. The Chinese Government Scholarship Type-A route uses HEC's portal, Stipendium Hungaricum needs HEC's portal and the Hungarian one, and Commonwealth needs HEC's portal and CSC's.
  • Through an embassy. MEXT applications are mailed to the Embassy of Japan in Islamabad or the Consulate General in Karachi. The Global Korea Scholarship's Embassy Track is submitted online and screened by the Korean Embassy. The Swiss Government scholarships combine an online form with a signed dossier sent to the Embassy of Switzerland in Islamabad.

The Calendar: October 2026 to September 2027

Dates are each programme's latest cycle. Where we link to our own guide, the guide carries the live deadline.

When Programme Latest verified window
Oct Chevening — Master's, UK Opened August 2026; closed 6 Oct 2026 at 11:00 UTC. The official timeline gives "October 2026" and the 11:00 UTC cut-off.
Oct Knight-Hennessy Scholars — graduate study at Stanford, US Closed 6 Oct 2026 at 1:00 PM Pacific Time. Official deadlines
Oct Commonwealth Scholarships — Master's and PhD, UK Closes 20 Oct 2026: 4:00 PM Pakistan time on the HEC portal and 16:00 BST on the CSC portal. Both submissions are required.
Oct–Jan Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters — Master's, EU The EU page says most applications fall between October and January. Each programme sets its own dates.
Nov DAAD Study Scholarships — Master's, Germany Closes 16 Nov 2026.
Dec Gates Cambridge — Master's and PhD, UK Opened 11 Sept 2026. Closes 8 Dec 2026 or 6 Jan 2027, set by your course's Funding Deadline, at 11:59 pm UK time. Official timeline
Dec Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) — undergraduate and Master's, 80% tuition waiver Closes 31 Dec 2026.
Jan Chinese Government Scholarship — Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, China The 2026–27 call closed 5 Jan 2026 at 4:00 PM Pakistan time on the HEC portal (Type-A route). 75 seats: 35 Bachelor's, 25 Master's, 15 PhD.
Jan Stipendium Hungaricum — Bachelor's to PhD, Hungary The 2026–27 call closed 15 Jan 2026 at 4:00 PM Pakistan time. 400 seats. The HEC portal and the Stipendium Hungaricum portal were both required.
Jan–Feb Türkiye Burslari — degree programmes, Türkiye The programme's yearly calendar lists the general application period as 10 Jan to 20 Feb.
Feb Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) — graduate study, Embassy Track The 2026 round ran from 12 Feb, 11:00 KST to 25 Feb, 18:00 KST. Pakistan's quota was 8.
Mar — No major window verified. Use March to prepare for the April and May deadlines.
Apr Fulbright (USEFP) — Master's and PhD, US The student track for the 2027 programme was announced in January 2026 with a deadline of 1 April. The page gives no year, so read it as April 2026.
Apr Australia Awards — study in Australia The 2027 intake closed 30 Apr 2026. Applications go through OASIS only.
May MEXT Research Scholarship — Master's and PhD, Japan The last date was 26 May 2026. The paper application goes to the Embassy of Japan in Islamabad, or to the Consulate General in Karachi for applicants from Karachi, Balochistan and Quetta.
Jun–Jul Knight-Hennessy Scholars — next cohort The official page says the 2028 cohort application opens in summer 2027.
Aug–Sep Scotland–Pakistan Scholarship Scheme for Young Women and Girls — British Council The 2026–27 deadline was extended from 31 Aug to 15 Sept 2026.
Aug–Sep Chevening and Gates Cambridge — openings Last cycle, Chevening opened in August 2026 and Gates Cambridge on 11 Sept 2026. Expect similar timing, then confirm on the official pages.
Sep Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships — PhD and Research Fellowship Closed 29 Sept 2026 at 11:59 PM Swiss time. Online form on GO ESKAS plus a signed dossier to the Embassy of Switzerland, Islamabad.

Reading a Deadline Correctly

  • Check the clock, not just the date. HEC's Stipendium Hungaricum, Chinese Government Scholarship and Commonwealth calls close at 4:00 PM Pakistan time. Chevening closes at 11:00 UTC, which is 4:00 PM in Pakistan. Commonwealth's CSC portal closes at 16:00 BST, which is 8:00 PM in Pakistan and four hours after the HEC portal, so work to the earlier one. Knight-Hennessy closes at 1:00 PM Pacific Time and Gates Cambridge at 11:59 pm UK time.
  • Convert before you plan. Pakistan stays on UTC+5 all year. The UK is 5 hours behind in winter and 4 hours behind in summer (BST), so Gates Cambridge's 11:59 pm UK deadline on 8 December is 4:59 am on 9 December in Pakistan. Pacific Time is 12 or 13 hours behind Pakistan, and Korea is 4 hours ahead. Whatever the clock says, submit a day early.
  • Two portals mean two submissions. Finishing the HEC side of Stipendium Hungaricum or Commonwealth does not count until the other portal is done too.
  • Some applications are on paper. MEXT and the Swiss scholarships both need physical documents by post or courier.
  • Extensions happen, but do not plan on them. The Scotland–Pakistan scheme moved its deadline from 31 August to 15 September 2026. Work to the original date.
  • Read the extra requirements. Chinese Government Scholarship undergraduate applicants must also sit the China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA), whichever route they use.

Work Backwards From the Deadline

  1. 9–12 months out: shortlist two or three programmes, read the eligibility rules, and note which route and portal each one uses.
  2. 6–9 months out: start the documents that take time: degree attestation and transcripts, your language test (check how long a result stays valid for the programmes you want) and your referees.
  3. 3–6 months out: draft your statement or essays and tailor them to each programme. Confirm your referees in writing.
  4. 1–2 months out: finalise your documents, create your portal accounts and read the instructions on fees and file formats.
  5. Final week: submit at least a day early and keep the confirmation screen or email.

Before you pay anyone, or send a document to anyone outside an official portal, run the offer through our scholarship scams checklist.

What Is Not in the Calendar

We list a date only when it traces to the programme's own page or to one of our verified listings. That is why the HEC Overseas Scholarships and DAAD's doctoral calls are not shown for now: we could not confirm their current dates on an official page. HEC's Need Based Scholarship for undergraduates studying in Pakistan is also absent. The application windows we found were published by individual universities, so check your own university's scholarship notice.

Quick Answers

Do the dates repeat every year? The season repeats, but the exact days do not. Use last year's window as your cue to start preparing, then confirm the dates on the official page when the call opens. Türkiye Burslari publishes a yearly calendar, and Knight-Hennessy says its next cohort opens in summer 2027; most other programmes announce dates call by call.

Can I apply to more than one scholarship? Often, but each call sets its own rules. Read the eligibility and terms section of every call for anything about applying for, or holding, another award, and do it before you submit rather than after an offer arrives.

Where should I check that a date is real? On the programme's own page, or in the announcement from HEC or the relevant embassy. If a date reaches you only through a message or a forwarded post, confirm it at the source before you act.

Browse every live listing in our rozgar online scholarships section.

Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.