MOE Taiwan Scholarship — In-Depth Application Guide for Degree Students

What the MOE Taiwan Scholarship is

The MOE Taiwan Scholarship is Taiwan's flagship government scholarship for international students pursuing a full degree — bachelor's, master's or doctoral — at a Taiwanese university. It is funded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education and typically combines a subsidy toward tuition and miscellaneous fees with a monthly living allowance. This guide walks through the degree scholarship step by step. It is different from the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, which funds Mandarin-language study, and from the TaiwanICDF Higher Education Scholarship, which serves particular partner countries — see the linked guides for those.

What it covers and for how long

The scholarship provides a per-semester tuition-and-fees subsidy up to a set cap plus a monthly living stipend; the amounts are set by the MOE each year, so verify the current figures in the official guidelines. Awards run for a maximum number of years per level — commonly up to four years for a bachelor's, up to two for a master's and up to four for a doctorate — usually with an overall cap on the total time any one person can hold the scholarship across levels. If your tuition exceeds the subsidy cap, you pay the difference. Confirm the exact caps, stipend and total-duration limit on the official source.

• A per-semester tuition-and-fees subsidy up to a cap — verify the current cap
• A monthly living stipend — verify the current amount
• Maximum years per level, with an overall cap across levels — verify
• Tuition above the subsidy cap is paid by you

Who can apply

Applicants are generally foreign nationals with a strong academic record and good character who meet the international-student status rules (for example on nationality, and on not already holding certain Taiwan scholarships). You usually cannot hold the MOE Taiwan Scholarship together with the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship or another Taiwan government award at the same time. Check the exact eligibility for your country and cycle in the official guidelines.

The two things you apply for

There are two separate applications, and you must do both. Winning the scholarship does not admit you to a university, and being admitted does not award the scholarship — you need both.

• The scholarship: submitted to the Taiwan overseas representative office (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, TECO/TECRO) for your country, within its application window — commonly around February to March, but confirm your office's exact dates and document list.
• Admission: applied for separately and directly to the Taiwanese universities you want to attend, on their own timelines.

Selection and obligations

Each representative office runs its own selection — often documents plus, in some places, an interview — and nominates recipients. Once you take up the award you must enrol on time, maintain the academic standard set in the guidelines (for example a minimum grade average and satisfactory progress), and follow the reporting rules; falling short can suspend or terminate the scholarship. Read the obligations before you accept the award.

Deadlines, admission and next steps

Because the scholarship window and each university's admission window can differ, start early: line up your documents, identify programmes, and track both the representative-office scholarship deadline and each university's admission deadline. After you are admitted and awarded, you apply for the appropriate visa and, after arrival, an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) — this is general information, not immigration advice, so verify the current rules on the official source and see the Taiwan resident visa and ARC guide.

Avoiding scams

No one can guarantee you a government scholarship, and the MOE Taiwan Scholarship is applied for free through official channels. Never pay an agent to 'guarantee' or 'process' the award, and be sceptical of any site promising a place-plus-scholarship package for a fee. Apply only through your official Taiwan representative office and the universities' own admission systems.