Scholarships and applications

Start: 2026-03-03 / 11:20
Last Update: 2026-03-05 / 10:37

Passport

Military service notice

If you are still a student and haven't finished military service:

Getting permission for foreign travel from Sakha website. Preferably for Karbala (Iraq)
Collecting the money needed for collateral
Selecting departure and entry dates (not necessarily you need to leave)
Getting the permission approved by the university and paying the collateral
Requesting Passport from Sakha or +10 police

General knowledge about funds and scholarships

For a full fund scholarship, you need to first find your specific area of interest (esp in PhD and Post-Doc). Then you should find professors with the same area of interest. You should read their papers and reference them in your correspondence, which increases the chances of acceptance from them.

These professors can't provide funds:

Visiting professors, adjunct professors, instructor professors, emeritus professors, professor of teaching.

In China:

Full fund: includes residence and education fees + a support fund. Travel expenses (flight costs), emergency medical or non-medical incidents, and so on are not covered.
Semi fund: it only covers education fees, not the residence and the rest.

With a high-quality resume, the chances of getting full funds in China are much higher than in Europe and the US, especially in master and PhD degrees.

You essentially need to be fluent in Chinese after receiving your degree. Otherwise, it doesn't have more benefit than getting your degree in Iran.

Before Immigration tips:

get your financial and legal verification and certification as late as possible, so the inflammation cannot affect it much.
get your original degree from university. Other kinds of certification aren't accepted.
never withdraw money from the currency account you've opened in order to approve your financial credit before embassy interview
check the deadline and compare it with both Iranian and destination country to check for holidays.

East Asia full fund opportunities (cover everything including travel expenses and medical insurance)

Country	Scholarship	Deadline
Japan	MEXT	May-June
China	CSC	February-May
South Korea	GKS	March-April

Requirements: High GPA, supportive letter, high impact cover letter, IELTS or TOEFL certificate

You can apply through the embassies or university that provide these funds

If the goal is Immigration, best languages to learn are:

English
German (in Germany and Austria)
French (in France, Belgium, Canada)
Italian (in Italy and Switzerland)
Spanish (in Spain, USA, and Latin America)
Chinese & Arabic for business purposes

Resume and CV

Resume quality plays a great role in acceptance or rejection of the submission.

Important factors of a high-quality resume include:

Research papers: number and quality matters. From best to worst places for submission: high impact foreign journals (especially the country you are applying) > foreign conferences > Iranian journals > Iranian conferences.
GPA: BA and MA GPA are important. If it is low, it can be focused on the last two semesters or last two years, i.e. these last semesters and years are considered most important.
Skills: Having knowledge of programming languages and abilities to use related softwares increases the chances of acceptance.
Ever-growing fields of study: Students need to relate their major to current global, national, or local needs in order to fill these gaps. Studying newly published papers or attending online workshops significantly helps.

Never name Iran for jobs: write every details of your job experiences but keep the location remote not Iran. Because ATS systems automatically removes requests from sanctioned countries.

Don't use Iranian phone number for jobs: get a virtual number or a simcard from a foreign country

Focus on international certificates: this makes the difference between you and your other foreign opponents

Get a supportive cover letter: ask it from high ranking people in your field or people your abroad supervisor or university respects

Scholarship providers

Houtan.org provides 3500$ fund for Iranians: from January to the end of May

Universities which provide distance learning opportunities:

University of Manchester • University of Florida • University College of London • University of Liverpool • Boston University • Colombia University • University of Pretoria • University of Southern Queensland • Georgia Institute of Technology • Charles Sturt University • Stanford University

Useful websites:

goabroad.com — educational and job opportunities
Easyexpat.com — useful tips about moving and living abroad
Gooverseas.com — finding jobs in foreign countries
overseasjobs.com
jobsabroadbulletin.co.uk
Somma.es — opportunities in Spain

Fulbright (currently not available for Iranians)

Google search pattern: uni name + "scholarships for international students"

DAAD — opportunities in Germany
Hull UK — providing TESOL. For MA needs: IELTS 6.5+, cover letter, research resume, reference letter from a professor, GPA above 13/20. Deadline: July. Duration is only 1 year. NO FUND!

Melbourne University (PhD):

Fee offset: only covering educators fees
Full fund: educational fee + support fund

Universities providing funds in France:

Université Panthéon Assas Paris • Paris-Saclay University • University of Paris • Sorbonne University • Paris Sciences et Lettres

Universities providing funds in Canada:

Alberta University • British Columbia University • Calgary University • Dalhousie University • Laval University • Manitoba University • McGill University • Queen University

Universities providing funds in Germany:

Schiller International University • Ludwig Maximilian University • University of Heidelberg • University of Freiburg • Free University of Berlin • University of Leipzig

ApplyChance.com — for checking chances of acceptance of application

Taiwan Universities

Most of them. Check their websites.

Job opportunities in Uzbekistan

MoPSE: needs relevant certificate or degree, +3 years related experience, a professional resume
Teach for Uzbekistan: working in ministry of education (schools), apply in May & June

Schedule and timeline

Suggested timeline for applying in U.S. Universities (for Autumn entry)

(One year before the time you want to enter) Farvardin to Shahrivar:

IELTS/TOEFL certificate
Making list of target professors
Writing CV and resume

Shahrivar to Dey:

Corresponding with professors
Finding a supervisor
Attending in online interviews

Azar to Esfand:

Applying in universities websites
Paying application fees

After Farvardin (the year of entry):

Getting i20 form
Reserving embassy visit time
Getting ready for in-person interview

Emails

Sending emails procedure:

Find appropriate professors through university websites, Google Scholar, and LinkedIn
Check professor's related research paper and keep in mind to reference them in your email
Compose the email with delicate personalization. Never ask about fund in the first email. Send it on weekdays between 10 AM and 2 PM in local time of the professor.
If you didn't get an answer. After 3 days, send a reminder email.

If the professors in your correspondence list replied "you need to apply in our university main website by paying application fee", ask them if you can name them as your potential supervisor in your application. If their answer is positive, do it.