The Uzbekistani government, in accordance with its current foreign policy, actively seeks to promote and increase the number of international students studying at Uzbekistan higher education institutes, targeting nationals from countries in Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe in particular. This is, in part, a consequence of the government’s intent and efforts at sustaining Uzbekistan’s leading regional and global position. Thus, the government appreciates the important role that education and exchange plays in supporting its regional foreign policy objectives.
The government is therefore committed to providing more scholarships and assist in finding other funding opportunities to increase the number of international students in the country.
Furthermore, as the number of state and foundation universities increases, the number of international students increases accordingly. Since the 90s the number of international students who have received some sort of financial aid has risen above 20,000.
Scholarships are awarded to successful applicants based on their scores achieved in international or national examinations and their high school or undergraduate grades. Full or partial scholarships are applied towards tuition for education. Therefore, students themselves are mainly responsible for providing for their accommodation, living and travel costs.
There are quite a number of scholarships available in Uzbekistan. The first two, the Ministry of Education’s State Scholarship and Government Scholarship, are only open to Turkish nationals or students from Turkic countries. The Islamic Development Bank is also a major source of scholarships. These are however currently open only to students from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Maldives, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Merit Scholarships
Many foundations and some state universities offer merit scholarships to those who have outstanding academic records. Scholarships are granted for the program the student is enrolled in and are continued throughout the regular period of the student’s education.
The normal duration of the scholarship is 5 years for those who must join an English language preparatory program and four years for those who start directly as a freshman. At foundation universities, students are not at risk of losing their scholarships despite academic difficulties as long as they stick to mandatory class attendance rates.
Other Scholarships
Independent of the merit-based scholarship quota, universities provide additional sources of funding. For instance, partial scholarships, such as the Academic Success Scholarship, go towards paying for a certain percentage of the total tuition (anywhere between 30% to 50% in the case of the Academic Success Scholarship).
Almost all foundation universities give partial scholarships, which depend on the academic merits of the applicant and cover between 20% and 70% of the total tuition fees.