Scholarships

1. A candidate must be a citizen of one of the following countries: Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China (People’s Republic of China and Taiwan), Georgia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, New Zealand, South Korea, Ukraine, The United States of America, Uzbekistan or a foreign citizen of Lithuanian origin of non-EU and non-EFTA countries.

2. Citizens of Belarus must hold a valid residence permit in Lithuania.

3. A candidate must have a good knowledge of Lithuanian, English, or other language in which the study programme will be conducted.

4. A candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree by the end of the 2024-2025 academic year or be a 4^th year student of integrated studies if the studies last 6 years/3^rd year student of integrated studies if the studies last 5 years at a Lithuanian higher education institution.

5. A candidate must have an official letter of acceptance or pre-acceptance for full-time Master’s degree studies from a Lithuanian higher education institution, including confirmation that the language level of the candidate is sufficient for the chosen study programme. In the case of integrated studies, a candidate must have an official confirmation letter issued by a Lithuanian higher education institution certifying that the candidate is studying an integrated study programme and indicating the year of studies. The document must also confirm that the language level of the candidate is sufficient for the chosen study programme.

6. The state scholarship can be granted only once. A candidate who has already received funding under this instrument will not be eligible.

7. In the case of an international joint degree programme with a part of the studies (as a mandatory mobility period) being in the candidate’s home country, funding can be granted only to the part of studies held in a Lithuanian higher education institution.

8. The state scholarship cannot be granted to a candidate who has already received a Master’s degree in any country.

• A candidate must apply through the online application system and attach the listed scanned documents. All information in the application (including attached documents) must be provided in English or Lithuanian.
• Before applying for the first time, the candidate must register in the online application system.
• Once logged in, the candidate must click on the “Create Application” box under “Applications” and select the scope “Scholarships for Full-Time Master’s Degree Studies” and the call “Scholarships for Full-Time Master’s Degree Studies 2025”.

A candidate should submit a document certifying the completion of education at a higher education institution (diploma and its supplement) or a transcript of records to the Lithuanian higher education institution in order to be accepted to a Master’s degree programme. The Higher education institution will provide assessment results (arithmetic average) of the candidate’s academic grades (with all additional required information) to the Education Exchanges Support Foundation. 

A candidate must provide copies of these listed documents through the online application system:

1. One recommendation letter. It is recommended to use this format (IMPORTANT: The date of issuing the recommendation provided must be no earlier than 6 months before the date of submission of the application).

2. For full-time Master’s degree studies: a copy of the acceptance or pre-acceptance letter issued by a Lithuanian higher education institution certifying that the candidate was admitted to or a confirmation letter certifying that the candidate is studying in a full-time Master’s degree study programme, including the candidate’s name, surname, the study programme in which the candidate takes studies (or is admitted to study) and its state code, and the candidate’s study period.The document must also confirm that the language level of the candidate is sufficient for the chosen study programme.

For full-time integrated studies: a copy of the confirmation letter issued by a Lithuanian higher education institution certifying that the candidate is studying an integrated study programme, including the candidate’s name, surname, the study programme in which the candidate takes studies and its state code, the candidate’s current study year/semester. The document must also confirm that the language level of the candidate is sufficient for the chosen study programme.

3. For citizens of Belarus: applicants must submit a copy of a valid residence permit in Lithuania.

4. For foreign citizens of Lithuanian origin: applicants must submit a certificate or other document proving his/her Lithuanian origin, issued by the Lithuanian community of a respective country or other competent authority (such as an embassy or similar).

Selection of the candidates:

All eligible and complete applications are assessed by experts. The final decision on granting the State Scholarship to candidates will be based on:

1. Applicant’s motivation (50 %). Applicant’s motivation will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Experience and achievements which are related to the chosen study programme in Lithuania.
• The validity of choosing a particular study programme and higher education institution in Lithuania.
• The validity of benefits of studying in Lithuania for future career and personal development.
• The validity of the applicant’s suitability to receive the Lithuanian state scholarship.

2. Arithmetic average of academic grades (50 %):

• Candidates for full-time Master’s degree studies in Lithuania: Bachelor’s degree academic achievements.
• Students of full-time Master’s degree studies in Lithuania: Bachelor’s degree academic achievements and academic achievements of passed courses and modules during the 1^st year of the full-time Master’s degree study programme.
• Integrated study programme students in Lithuania: academic achievements of the passed courses and modules of the integrated study programme.

Priorities:

• Priority will be given to candidates who are planning to or have already started their full-time Master’s degree in the Lithuanian language. Priority is equal to 2 extra points to the competition score.
• Priority will be given to candidates who hold a Bachelor’s or Professional Bachelor’s degree of a Lithuanian higher education institution and candidates who are currently studying an integrated study programme in a Lithuanian higher education institution. Priority is equal to 2 extra points to the competition score.
• Priority will be given to candidates who are planning to study or are already studying (for Master’s degree) in the following groups of study fields: Informatics, Life sciences, and Engineering. Priority is equal to 15 extra points to the competition score.

• Students must physically study in Lithuania in order to receive the scholarship and the grant covering the study cost. Distance learning is not eligible for financing. Exception: in cases when students are unable to arrive in Lithuania on time for their studies due to a prolonged residence permit process, they are allowed to study remotely if the higher education institution offers distance learning opportunity. However, they must arrive in Lithuania to continue their studies no later than October 31 of the year in which they were admitted. The scholarship is not granted for the duration of distance learning.
• The grant covering the study cost is equal to the national standard study cost when the study cost established by a higher education institution exceeds the national standard study price, or equal to the study cost payable for the studies when the study cost established by a higher education institution does not exceed the national standard study cost. When the study cost established by a higher education institution exceeds the national standard study cost, the candidate having received a grant must cover the difference between the study cost established by a higher education institution and the national standard study cost.
• Scholarships are paid throughout the study period (including periods of holidays), by transferring money on a monthly basis to a student’s personal account (transfers to the student’s personal bank account are made by the Lithuanian higher education institution, in which the student is enrolled).
• The total amount of the scholarship and the grant will be transferred to the bank account of the Lithuanian higher education institution, in which the student studies, twice per year (by 1 November for the autumn semester and by 1 April for the spring semester).
• In the case of funding, students will be required to learn the Lithuanian language during the first academic year after receiving the scholarship (from 1 September 2025 to 30 June 2026). Students will need to obtain A1 level or receive a positive evaluation for a completed A1 level course worth at least 6 credits. Exemptions apply if a student:
  • Has less than a year left to complete his/her studies (i.e. only one semester).
  • Has already achieved A1 level or received a positive evaluation for a completed A1 level course worth at least 6 credits and has a document to prove it (Bachelor’s diploma supplement, course certificate, etc.).
  • Has been self-studying Lithuanian language. In this case he/she should apply to the Lithuanian higher education institution for crediting the competencies acquired through non-formal and self-education methods.

The financial support (a scholarship and a grant covering the study cost) is terminated if a student:

1. Stops his/her full-time Master degree or Integrated studies in a chosen Lithuanian higher education institution in Lithuania.
2. Does not start his/her full-time Master degree or Integrated studies in time.
3. Finishes his/her full-time Master degree or Integrated studies more than 6 days earlier than it was stated in the official document issued by a Lithuanian higher education institution.
4. Has academic debts or takes an academic leave (citizens of Ukraine have a right to take an academic leave without the termination of the financial support).
5. Circumstances arise or become known due to which the scholarship and a grant covering the study cost could not be awarded.
6. Does not fulfil the requirement for learning the Lithuanian language and does not obtain the A1 level or does not receive a positive evaluation for a completed A1 level course worth at least 6 credits.
7. Violates other requirements set out in the call for applications.

• Please note that the application for the State Scholarship is a separate procedure, not having any influence on admission to full-time Master’s degree programmes at Lithuanian higher education institutions: you should apply for a full-time Master’s degree, then afterwards – for the Lithuanian State scholarship.
• Applications with the attached documents must be submitted only through the online application system, applications submitted in other ways (e. g. by post or by e-mail) will not be considered.
• All application documents (in any of the following formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, PDF) must be submitted by the set deadline. Please note that after the deadline, no changes are possible. Incomplete applications or applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
• The list of Lithuanian higher education institutions offering Master’s degree studies is available at https://studyin.lt/universities/

Important dates for applicants for the year 2025:

13 May 2025: deadline to apply for the scholarship. The online application system will be closed at 4:00 p.m. Vilnius European time on 13 May 2025. 

1 July 2025: notification of eligible applicants about the final results.

E-mail.: master.scholarships@smpf.lt