Garuda Scholarship 2026: Official Guide Sets Two Application Waves and Lower Test Thresholds

Official timetable puts applications in February and May

Indonesia's Garuda Scholarship 2026 sets minimum scores of 110 for IQ and 1,170 for the SAT, with two application periods running from February 15 to March 15 and May 25 to June 25, according to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. The scholarship supports undergraduate study and includes a requirement to contribute to Indonesia for at least twice the length of the recipient's studies.

The ministry's 2026 registration guide gives a different timetable from a publicized opening announcement for November 12, 2026, at 3 p.m. Western Indonesian Time, which also cited higher minimum scores of 120 for IQ and 1,200 for the SAT. The guide lists administrative selection results for April 30 and August 5, with no November application round specified. Applicants should check for a subsequent ministry announcement before planning around the November date.

Kemdiktisaintek, the Indonesian abbreviation for the ministry, runs the program through its Directorate General of Science and Technology. The Education Endowment Fund Agency, known as LPDP, manages the endowment money used to finance it.

The scholarship is aimed at Indonesian students seeking a bachelor's degree, known locally as S1, or a four year applied degree, known as D4 or sarjana terapan. Its stated priorities include widening access for talented students from social and economic backgrounds that have been less represented in formal scholarship programs.

For families, the offer reaches beyond tuition. The guide lists support for university application fees, books, travel, visas, health insurance and monthly living costs, alongside academic, language and financial documentation requirements.

Two rounds, with separate testing dates

The official timetable divides selection into two waves. Each includes an application period, document checks, a scholastic aptitude test for candidates who need it, and an announcement of administrative selection results.

• February 15 to March 15, 2026: Wave I applications.
• March 16 to March 30: Wave I administrative selection.
• April 10 to April 20: Wave I scholastic aptitude testing.
• April 30: Wave I administrative selection results.
• May 25 to June 25: Wave II applications.
• June 25 to July 10: Wave II administrative selection.
• July 25 to July 30: Wave II scholastic aptitude testing.
• August 5: Wave II administrative selection results.

The guide places study entry in the 2026/2027 academic year. Recipients may postpone starting their studies for up to one year from the date they are designated scholarship recipients.

University placement interviews follow the announcement of recipients and take place online. The timetable gives specific dates for document selection and aptitude testing, while interview scheduling and the deadline for uploading an unconditional university acceptance letter require further instructions from the program.

Who qualifies through their school?

Applicants must be Indonesian citizens and attending Grade 12 at a general secondary school, vocational secondary school or Islamic senior secondary school, known respectively as SMA, SMK and MA, in the 2025/2026 academic year. Identity evidence includes a national identity card, family card, child identity card or passport.

The guide requires eligibility for SNBP, Indonesia's national university admission route based on school achievement. A principal's letter and report cards from semesters one through five document that status. Students who intend to study only abroad and choose not to take part in SNBP can be listed in an additional letter issued by their principal.

Broader application guidance has described access for students in Paket C equivalency education, homeschooling and international schools, and has described alternatives to SNBP eligibility. The ministry guide specifies the school and principal documentation above. Students following other education routes need the program to confirm which equivalent records it accepts.

IQ, SAT and achievement requirements

The ministry sets the minimum IQ score at 110. Results must come from an applied psychology institution or a university psychology consultation bureau meeting the required accreditation standard of at least Baik Sekali, an Indonesian accreditation category meaning Very Good.

The IQ document must identify the candidate and show both the total score and assessments of verbal, numerical and analytical ability. It must be no more than two years old when scholarship registration closes. Applicants therefore need to check the test date against the closing date of their chosen wave.

The SAT minimum is 1,170. Candidates with no SAT certificate, or a score below that threshold, must take the ministry's Tes Bakat Skolastik, or TBS. This is the scholastic aptitude test used within administrative selection, and it is conducted online.

A candidate without an SAT certificate who also misses the TBS is disqualified under the guide. The alternative test gives students a route through selection even when they lack a qualifying SAT result.

Achievement evidence must cover the preceding three years. Accepted categories include events organized or supported by the National Achievement Centre, Puspresnas, and achievements from other organizers that Puspresnas has reviewed. School student council service as chair, deputy chair or a core member also qualifies when supported by a principal's appointment decision.

Some application guidance describes achievement certificates as optional. The ministry guide places achievement evidence among the special requirements and recognizes student council leadership as an accepted category, giving applicants a route beyond competition awards.

Language scores depend on the study route

Students applying to overseas universities through the English language route need a valid certificate meeting one of three minimums: IELTS 6.5, with at least 6.0 in every component; TOEFL iBT 80; or PTE Academic 58.

The IELTS component rule matters because a total score of 6.5 is only part of the requirement. Each tested skill must also meet the minimum of 6.0.

The guide provides other language routes for specified destinations: French at B2 for France, Spanish at B1 for Spain, Mandarin at HSK level 4 with 180 points for destinations where Mandarin is an official language, Japanese at N3 for Japan, and German at C1 for Germany. These labels refer to proficiency levels within the relevant language assessment systems.

Domestic joint degree and double degree programs have a different English threshold. Applicants need IELTS 6.0, TOEFL ITP 500, TOEFL iBT 61 or PTE Academic 50. These programs involve cooperation between universities, with the qualification arrangement determined by the particular course.

Ten priority fields shape university choices

Every applicant must choose two of the program's 10 priority themes. The choices connect scholarship funding to fields the government wants students to pursue.

• Health.
• Food security.
• Defense.
• Digitalization.
• Industrial downstreaming.
• Advanced materials and manufacturing.
• Maritime studies.
• Energy.
• Business and economics.
• Law and public policy.

Industrial downstreaming means turning raw materials into products with greater value, rather than stopping at extraction or basic production. The theme can therefore relate to processing, manufacturing and the industries built around them.

The university choice instructions need careful attention. The guide says applicants may choose three universities for each selected theme, but its regional list names America or Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia, as well as two domestic universities offering joint degree or double degree programs. Other application descriptions omit Australia or describe six choices.

Applicants should use the choices enabled in the registration system and seek clarification if the permitted number is unclear. University and degree program selections must come from the list approved by the Directorate General of Science and Technology.

What the funding covers

Garuda divides its support into education funding and supporting funding. Education funding covers tuition, university registration fees and a book allowance.

Supporting funding covers transportation, visa application costs, health insurance, an arrival allowance, monthly living expenses and emergency costs arising from exceptional events. The program is designed to support recipients from the application process through completion of their studies.

LPDP supplies the financing through the Education Endowment Fund, while the Directorate General of Science and Technology manages and coordinates the program. The guide lists the categories of support without giving a single allowance amount applicable to every destination.

Recipients must also observe rules on other scholarships. After selection, they must agree not to receive another degree scholarship or a scholarship without a degree that pays for the same funding components. During the application period until designation as a recipient, the guide separately bars applying for or receiving an LPDP scholarship without a degree.

Financial, health and disability documents

Parents employed in the formal sector must provide salary slips for the preceding three months. Parents working informally can provide a statement of their combined gross income, meaning income before deductions. The document checklist also requests parents' bank statements or transaction records for three months.

Electricity evidence must cover the preceding three months and show the supply capacity, customer name and payment or prepaid token amount. These household records accompany income evidence in the program's assessment of family finances.

Applicants with government assistance records should include them where applicable. Recognized programs include PKH, KKS, KIP, KJP and KIS, as well as other central or local government assistance for families with limited means. The checklist refers to current assistance documents recorded in the National Single Social and Economic Database, known as DTSEN.

A health certificate must be issued by a government health facility or public hospital no more than six months before registration. The detailed checklist also calls for physical and mental health documentation, an eye specialist's color vision examination and a certificate confirming freedom from drug use. Its health wording also includes a statement concerning disability, alongside separate provisions expressly allowing applicants with disabilities to apply.

Applicants with disabilities must submit an authorized disability certificate, parental or guardian consent signed with a Rp10,000 duty stamp, and a request describing the assistance they need. They should ask the program which health certificate format applies to their circumstances, given the wording of the general checklist.

Application, admission and placement are separate steps

Applications are completed through LPDP's integrated registration portal. Candidates fill in their personal profile, select their study preferences, upload the required records and agree to the declaration in the application system before submitting.

The personal statement must connect past experience with future ambitions. It should explain why the applicant wants to pursue the selected priority field at the intended university and describe plans for future service to Indonesia.

An unconditional Letter of Acceptance, or LoA, is the university's formal confirmation of admission. The guide requires it to show the student's full name, degree level, course and starting date. The university and course must match the approved scholarship list and the application choices.

Application descriptions that say an LoA is unnecessary concern an important timing issue for candidates. The guide requires an unconditional LoA to be uploaded according to the specified schedule to proceed to a later stage or recipient designation. Students need to track the university admission process alongside scholarship selection.

Placement interviews determine the university and course approved for funding. The guide says the interview outcome does not remove scholarship eligibility, but attendance is compulsory: recipients who miss the interview are disqualified. The interview team may change a proposed destination or course after considering the candidate's administrative records, test results and interview.

Recipients must contribute to Indonesia for at least twice their study duration. For a course lasting four years, that means at least eight years of contribution. The Directorate General of Science and Technology will determine the form of that contribution, so applicants should consider the service commitment alongside the financial support.

Key Points

• The official 2026 guide lists applications for February 15 to March 15 and May 25 to June 25.
• A publicized November 12 opening date is outside the guide's two scheduled rounds.
• Minimum scores are IQ 110 and SAT 1,170. Applicants without a qualifying SAT result must take the TBS.
• The guide targets Grade 12 students in the 2025/2026 academic year and requires school records and achievement evidence.
• Funding includes tuition, books, travel, visas, health insurance and monthly living support.
• Applicants select two priority themes and must follow approved university and course choices.
• An unconditional university acceptance letter must be submitted at the stage specified by the program.
• Recipients must contribute to Indonesia for at least twice the length of their studies.