On the joyous occasion of the National Celebrations of Pakistan’s 75th Independence Anniversary, the Government of Pakistan has made the following announcement: forty Ph.D. scholarships and thirty-five Master’s scholarships will be awarded to nationals of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir so that they may pursue higher education at one of the top 25 universities in the world (according to the QOS or Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings). Only applicants who can provide confirmation that they have been accepted to the institutions of their choice and will be majoring in one of several subjects will be considered for the scholarships.
These students, once they have earned their degrees in cutting-edge fields and cutting-edge technology, will prove to be invaluable to the country and will be instrumental in guiding the transition into a new era. The scholarship will be awarded for a period of two years for master’s degrees and four years for doctoral degrees. The application for the National Top Talent Scholarship must be received by the closing date of March 21, 2023.
Eligibility Criteria for National Top Talent Scholarship
- Applicant must be a Pakistani/Azad Kashmir national
- Confirmed/unconditional admission/enrollment in any of the World’s 25 top-ranked universities (QS or THE) in the selected subjects
- Candidates must have a minimum qualification:
- For MS Scholarships: BS/BE/Master’s or equivalent to 16 years of education in relevant fields of education
- For PhD Scholarships: MS/MPhil/ME or equivalent 18 years education in relevant fields of study
- Maximum one 2nd Division throughout the academic career prior to the final degree 3.0 CGPA out of 4.0 & 3.75 out of 5 in the semester system or 1st Division (in the annual system) in terminal degree.
- Maximum Age on the closing date
- 40 years for full-time regular faculty members of the public sector universities/degree awarding institution/colleges and employees of the public sector organizations
- 35 years for all others
How to Apply for National Top Talent Scholarship
- Applicants are required to submit the applications online on the HEC e-portal i.e. https://eportal.hec.gov.pk
- Candidates have to secure admissions in the world’s top 25 ranked universities.
- Candidates have to return to Pakistan immediately after the completion of their studies.
- Successful candidates have to sign an agreement with HEC to serve for a period of 3 years for MS and 5 years of Ph.D. in Pakistan after completion of their studies.
Top 25 THE Ranking Universities 2022
| Sr. No | Name | Country | THE Rank |
| 1 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom | 1 |
| 2 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | United States | 2 |
| 3 | Harvard University | United States | 2 |
| 4 | Stanford University | United States | 4 |
| 5 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | 5 |
| 6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States | 5 |
| 7 | Princeton University | United States | 7 |
| 8 | University of California, Berkeley | United States | 8 |
| 9 | Yale University | United States | 9 |
| 10 | The University of Chicago | United States | 10 |
| 11 | Columbia University | United States | 11 |
| 12 | Imperial College London | United Kingdom | 12 |
| 13 | Johns Hopkins University | United States | 13 |
| 14 | University of Pennsylvania | United States | 13 |
| 15 | Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich | Switzerland | 15 |
| 16 | Peking University | China | 16 |
| 17 | Tsinghua University | China | 16 |
| 18 | University of Toronto | Canada | 18 |
| 19 | University College London (UCL) | United Kingdom | 18 |
| 20 | University of California, Los Angeles | United States | 20 |
| 21 | National University of Singapore | Singapore | 21 |
| 22 | Cornell University | United States | 22 |
| 23 | Duke University | United States | 23 |
| 24 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | United States | 24 |
| 25 | Northwestern University | United States | 24 |
Top 25 QS Ranking Universities 2023
| Sr. No | University Name | Address | QSRanking |
| 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States | 1 |
| 2 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | 2 |
| 3 | Stanford University | United States | 3 |
| 4 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom | 4 |
| 5 | HarvardUniversity | United States | 5 |
| 6 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | United States | 6 |
| 7 | Imperial College London | United Kingdom | 7 |
| 8 | University College London | United Kingdom | 8 |
| 9 | ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) Zurich | Switzerland | 9 |
| 10 | The University of Chicago | United States | 10 |
| 11 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | Singapore | 11 |
| 12 | Peking University | China | 12 |
| 13 | University of Pennsylvania | United States | 13 |
| 14 | Tsinghua University | China | 14 |
| 15 | The University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 15 |
| 16 | École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) | Switzerland | 16 |
| 17 | Princeton University | United States | 16 |
| 18 | Yale University | United States | 18 |
| 19 | Nanyang Technological University | Singapore | 19 |
| 20 | Cornell University | United States | 20 |
| 21 | The University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 21 |
| 22 | Columbia University | United States | 22 |
| 23 | The University of Tokyo | Japan | 23 |
| 24 | Johns Hopkins University | United States | 24 |
| 25 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | United States |
