The HEC US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor PhD Scholarship 2027 is now open, and if you are a Pakistani or AJK graduate dreaming of a fully funded doctorate at a top-100 QS-ranked American university, the next 11 days matter enormously: the application deadline for the Spring/Summer 2027 intake is 30 October 2026, and HEC has given no closing hour for that day — so the honest advice is to finish well before the day itself. With an annual stipend of USD 19,200, health insurance of USD 2,000, full tuition for top-50 admits, and return airfare of PKR 250,000, this is one of the most generous fully funded PhD opportunities available to Pakistani students this year. This guide walks you through everything: the two funding categories, the complete eligibility rules, the age-limit maths, GRE versus HAT, the exact documents you need, and — because HEC's own pages do not fully agree with each other — a visible source tracker that tells you which claim is official and which is disputed. Every number below was checked against HEC's own pages on 19 October 2026, and anything we could not verify is marked as such.
Key facts — at a glance
- Deadline (Spring/Summer 2027 intake): 30 October 2026 (Friday) — no closing hour published; apply early
- Deadline (Fall 2027 intake): 30 March 2027
- Level: PhD only — MS and MS-leading-to-PhD are excluded
- Test scores: GRE General ≥ 300 total or HEC HAT ≥ 60%
- Funding: Category I (QS top 50): full tuition + USD 19,200/year stipend + USD 2,000/year health insurance; Category II (QS 51–100): up to USD 12,000/year tuition + the same stipend and insurance; return airfare PKR 250,000 both categories
- Apply at: scholarship.hec.gov.pk
What is the US–Pakistan Knowledge Corridor?
The US–Pakistan Knowledge Corridor is not a one-year scholarship scheme — it is a bilateral project established in June 2015 under the Education, Science and Technology Working Group of the US–Pakistan Bilateral Strategic Dialogue. Its stated ambition was sweeping: to send 10,000 Pakistani scholars to US universities over ten years. The implementation came through ECNEC's approval of Phase-1 on 25 January 2017, revised in August 2020, as the project titled "PhD Scholarships under US–Pak Knowledge Corridor – Phase-1 (Revised)". That phase funds 1,000 PhD scholarships for Pakistani and AJK nationals at top-ranked US universities.
The project's goals go beyond individual degrees: it aims to grow the number of qualified faculty in Pakistani higher-education institutions, build research capacity, and deepen institutional collaboration between Pakistani and American universities. It also includes a "Talent Farming" component — HEC trains roughly 1,000 applicants a year for the GRE, TOEFL and IELTS, recognising that test scores are often the gate that keeps talented graduates out of US graduate schools. For applicants, the practical takeaway is that this is a serious, government-funded, long-term programme — not a private consultancy's marketing offer. The official pages for the programme live on hec.gov.pk (the FAQ and Introduction pages were read directly for this guide on 19 October 2026), and applications are submitted only through HEC's official scholarship portal at scholarship.hec.gov.pk.
Is this scholarship right for you?
Before you read another word, answer three screening questions — because this scholarship has hard filters, and most rejections happen on the first one:
- Are you applying for a PhD — not a master's? The 2027 call is exclusively for PhD programmes. Master's degrees and MS-leading-to-PhD routes are explicitly excluded. If your plan is an MS first, this is not your scholarship.
- Do you have, or can you secure, admission to a US university ranked in the QS top 100 (overall ranking)? The scholarship does not replace the university's admission process. You must first secure a conditional or unconditional PhD admission offer from an eligible university — HEC funds you only after the university has accepted you.
- Is your entire academic record free of second and third divisions? HEC's rule is unforgiving: no 2nd or 3rd division at any stage of your academic career, for either category. If one division in your history is the only weak point, this door is closed.
If you cleared all three, keep reading — the rest of this guide is the complete map from eligibility to the award letter.
Category I vs Category II: which one are you applying for?
HEC divides the scholarship into two categories based on where your admitted university sits in the QS World University Rankings (overall ranking, not subject ranking):
| Feature | Category I | Category II |
|---|---|---|
| QS ranking band (overall) | Top 50 | 51–100 |
| Tuition | Fully funded, as per the university invoice | Up to USD 12,000 per year — you cover any shortfall |
| Annual stipend | USD 19,200 | USD 19,200 |
| Annual health insurance | USD 2,000 (or actual cost, whichever is lower) | USD 2,000 (or actual cost, whichever is lower) |
| Return airfare | PKR 250,000 | PKR 250,000 |
| Test requirement | GRE General ≥ 300 total or HAT ≥ 60% | GRE General ≥ 300 total or HAT ≥ 60% |
Now the honest caveat — and the single biggest reason to read this guide instead of a thin summary. HEC's own pages disagree about Category II. The current official Introduction page and the 2027 advertisement say Category II covers universities ranked 51–100 overall, corroborated by HEC's July 2026 press release as quoted by Dunya News and The Nation. But HEC's own FAQ page still says Category II covers the top 300 (ranks 51–300 overall, or QS subject ranking 51–100). That FAQ page is stale: it cites the Fall 2025, Spring/Summer 2026 and Fall 2026 intakes. For the 2027 call, the narrower 51–100 overall band is what applies — but because HEC has left the old wording online, treat our "Verified vs disputed" table at the end as part of your application homework, and confirm the band on the live portal before you commit to a university.
What does the scholarship actually pay? Worked funding math
The funding numbers in this section come straight from HEC's official FAQ (question 6), read on 19 October 2026. One correction up front: several third-party pages print a stipend of USD 19,000 — that is a typo. The official figure is USD 19,200 per year, which is USD 1,600 per month, for both categories.
- Category I (QS top 50): tuition is fully funded as per the university's invoice — whatever the university charges, HEC pays. Add USD 19,200/year living stipend, USD 2,000/year health insurance (or the actual cost, whichever is lower — so if your university's mandatory plan costs USD 1,700, you get USD 1,700), and PKR 250,000 return airfare.
- Category II (QS 51–100): tuition support is capped at USD 12,000 per year. The stipend and insurance are identical to Category I: USD 19,200/year + USD 2,000/year. Return airfare is the same PKR 250,000.
The Category II tuition cap is the number most applicants misjudge, so here is a worked example. Suppose your university's PhD tuition invoice is USD 24,000 per year. HEC pays USD 12,000; you must cover the remaining USD 12,000 per year — through a university assistantship, departmental fellowship, tuition waiver, or your own funds. Your annual cash picture then looks like this: USD 19,200 stipend (USD 1,600/month) + USD 2,000 health insurance + PKR 250,000 airfare, against USD 12,000 of tuition you still owe. Many US PhD programmes bundle a tuition waiver with admission — and HEC's own provisional-award document list asks for a tuition waiver letter alongside the admission letter, which tells you the programme expects admits to have secured exactly that. Before choosing a Category II university, get the tuition-waiver question answered in writing by the graduate school: it is the single largest variable in your four-to-five-year budget.
Are you eligible? The complete checklist
HEC's official FAQ sets six conditions. Every one is a hard filter — there is no appeal or waiver path documented on the official pages:
| Criterion | Rule | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Pakistani or AJK national | Both categories |
| Education | Minimum 4-year bachelor's degree (BS/BSc/BE — 16 years of formal education). No master's required. | Both categories |
| Divisions | No 2nd or 3rd division in the entire academic career — matric onward | Both categories |
| Age | Max 35 years for general applicants; max 40 for regular government employees, regular faculty of public-sector universities/government colleges, and regular researchers of approved R&D organisations — calculated as of the closing date | Both categories |
| Test score | Valid GRE General ≥ 300 (total) or HEC HAT ≥ 60% | Both categories |
| Other awards | Must not be availing any other scholarship; PhD holders are not eligible | Both categories |
Two exclusions deserve emphasis because third-party roundups sometimes blur them. First, MS-leading-to-PhD routes are not covered — this is PhD-only, confirmed by the press release. Second, being eligible does not mean you get an award: the advertisement cautions that eligible applicants are not all guaranteed awards, and selection is merit-based with no reserved quota.
The age limit rule, explained with a worked example
The age criterion is the most misunderstood part of this scholarship, because it has three moving pieces: the two age ceilings, the qualifying groups for the higher one, and the reference date. Here is each piece, exactly as HEC's official FAQ states it:
- General applicants: 35 years maximum. If you are a private-sector engineer, a fresh BS graduate, or a lecturer at a private university, your age on the closing date must not exceed 35.
- Extended ceiling: 40 years maximum — but only for three specific groups: (a) regular government employees, (b) regular faculty of public-sector universities and government colleges, and (c) regular researchers of approved R&D organisations. Note the word "regular" — contract and visiting staff are not the group HEC describes.
- Reference date: the advertisement's closing date. For the Spring/Summer 2027 intake, that is 30 October 2026. The age is calculated as of that day, not as of your application date or the interview date.
Worked example: a lecturer at a public-sector university born on 1 November 1986 turns 40 on 1 November 2026. On the closing date (30 October 2026) she is 39 years and 364 days old — under 40, and therefore within the limit. A private-sector applicant born on 1 October 1991 is exactly 35 years and 29 days old on 30 October 2026 — over the 35 ceiling, and therefore ineligible as a general applicant. If your birthday falls within a few weeks of 30 October, compute the difference precisely: one day decides the outcome.
GRE vs HAT: which test do you need?
HEC accepts either test for both categories — you need a valid GRE General score of 300 or above (total), or an HEC HAT score of 60% or above. The choice is yours, and the strategic considerations differ:
- Take HEC's HAT if your target universities accept it and you have no other use for a GRE score. It is administered in Pakistan through etc.hec.gov.pk, and the 60% threshold is the number HEC itself sets.
- Take the GRE if your target US universities require it for admission anyway — which many top-50 departments still do. A 300 total is the floor HEC sets, but competitive departments will want more; check each department's page rather than treating 300 as "enough" for admission.
- Score validity matters. GRE scores are valid for five years; HAT validity follows HEC's own rules. An expired score on 30 October 2026 is the same as no score.
Crucially, HEC's test requirement is separate from the university's admission requirement. Your US university may demand TOEFL or IELTS — HEC explicitly says those are not HEC requirements (FAQ question 10), but an HEC scholarship does not waive the university's own English-proficiency rule. If your department wants a TOEFL score, you still need one. GRE information is at ets.org; HAT registration and details are at etc.hec.gov.pk.
Do you need IELTS/TOEFL or a master's degree?
Two persistent myths, both answered directly by HEC's official FAQ:
- IELTS/TOEFL: not required by HEC. FAQ question 10 settles it — HEC does not require either test. But read the sentence again: the US university you apply to may require them anyway. Always separate the two authorities: HEC decides the scholarship, the university decides admission. Meeting only HEC's side leaves you without an admission letter, and without an admission letter there is no scholarship.
- A master's degree: not required. FAQ question 9 confirms that a four-year bachelor's (16 years of education) is sufficient. Most US graduate schools admit 4-year bachelor's holders directly into PhD programmes, with exceptions by department. If your BS/BE is a four-year programme, you are educationally qualified; do not spend a year on an MS just to "be safe" unless your target department explicitly requires one.
Priority subject areas
HEC gives preference to applicants admitted in its priority academic disciplines. The official broad areas are:
- Life Sciences and Medicine — crop production, agricultural biotechnology, computational biology, cancer biology, pharmacology, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences, biotechnology
- Natural Sciences
- Engineering and Technology — water management, sustainable energy systems, climate-change engineering, bioengineering, automotive engineering, metallurgical engineering, chemical engineering, software engineering, computer science, AI and robotics
- Social Sciences and Management — rural development, urban planning, sustainable energy, education, public policy
- Arts and Humanities — creative art and design
A note on provenance, in keeping with this guide's honesty standard: the broad categories above are the official ones, while the detailed subfield enumeration circulating on third-party pages could not be re-verified against an official HEC page this run. Before you rule a discipline in or out, check the live advertisement. The strategic point stands regardless: admission in a priority discipline strengthens your case at the merit stage.
Which QS ranking year counts?
This is the most consequential unresolved question in the whole 2027 call. The official position is that the QS World University Rankings overall ranking decides your category — a university's subject ranking or general reputation cannot be substituted without HEC's confirmation. Two third-party pages claim the 2027 advertisement specifies the latest QS 2027 overall ranking, but that claim rests on a single source and could not be verified against the official advertisement this run.
Why it matters: a university sitting at rank 48 in one QS edition and 55 in another swings from Category I (full tuition) to Category II (USD 12,000 tuition cap) — a difference of tens of thousands of dollars. Until HEC confirms the reference edition on the live portal:
- check your university's rank in the most recent published QS edition and the one before it;
- if your university sits within 10 ranks of a boundary, treat the lower category as your planning assumption (see the Category II budget example above);
- ask the graduate school which ranking edition they see other HEC scholars citing.
The two deadlines you must not mix up
| Intake | Application deadline | Status today (19 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Spring / Summer 2027 | 30 October 2026 (Friday) | 11 days left |
| Fall 2027 | 30 March 2027 | 162 days left — a second window if you miss this one |
Three things about these deadlines. First, the dates come from HEC's official July-2026 press release, quoted independently by Dunya News and The Nation — our research team could not reload the official advertisement page itself today (a network error), so confirm the dates on scholarship.hec.gov.pk before you plan around them. Second, the advertisement gives the date with no closing hour. Commonwealth closes at 4:00 pm PKT and HEC LAT at midnight — but for this scholarship nobody has published a time. Never plan a submission for the final evening of an un-timed deadline. Third, if the Spring/Summer window closes before your admission letter arrives, the Fall 2027 window exists for exactly that reason — a missed October is not a missed scholarship, only a later start.
For the full October deadline cluster — Commonwealth (20 Oct), LAT registration (20 Oct), IRSIP, Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Fellowship and more — see our Scholarships Closing Soon roundup and the complete 2026–27 deadline calendar, both kept current.
Your 11-day action plan to the 30 October deadline
Eleven days is enough if you work in the right order. Do the irreversible and slow things first — attestations and admission letters take days; the portal form takes an evening.
- Days 1–2 — admission letter status. If you do not yet have a conditional or unconditional PhD admission offer from a QS top-100 university, email the graduate schools today: ask for the admission decision timeline and whether a conditional offer is possible. No admission letter, no application — this is the single point of failure.
- Days 1–3 — attestations. Take your degrees, transcripts, CNIC, domicile and passport to a gazetted officer (Grade 17+) for attestation. This is the official requirement for the provisional award letter, and doing it now means you are ready whenever the portal or the PAL stage asks.
- Days 2–4 — test score. Confirm your GRE (≥300 total) or HAT (≥60%) score is valid and that you have the score report in hand. If neither is valid, book immediately — and be honest with yourself about whether the Fall 2027 window is the realistic target instead.
- Days 4–6 — tuition waiver letter. Write to the graduate school requesting the tuition waiver letter HEC's PAL list names. A waiver in hand converts a Category II shortfall into a solved problem.
- Days 6–8 — supervisor contact details. Collect the official email addresses of the university graduate school and your prospective advisor/supervisor — the PAL list asks for them explicitly.
- Days 8–9 — portal profile. Register on scholarship.hec.gov.pk, complete your profile, and upload scanned documents. Download and save the acknowledgement of every submission.
- Days 9–10 — final review. Re-check every field against your CNIC and degrees (name spellings and dates must match exactly), confirm the QS band of your university on the portal, and submit. Do not leave this for 30 October itself.
Required documents checklist
The document list below is HEC's official provisional-award-letter (PAL) list (FAQ question 8), read directly on 19 October 2026. The PAL stage comes after shortlisting, but gathering these now costs nothing:
| Document | Attestation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PhD admission letter from the US university | Original/verified copy | Conditional or unconditional; university must be in the QS top 100 overall |
| Tuition waiver letter (if issued) | From the graduate school | Named explicitly in the PAL list — chase this early |
| Copies of all academic documents (degrees, transcripts) | Attested by a gazetted officer | Every qualification in your career, matching the no-division rule |
| CNIC, domicile, passport copies | Attested by a gazetted officer | Ensure the passport is valid for the full planned stay |
| Contact emails: graduate school + advisor/supervisor | — | Official university email addresses, not personal ones |
| Employment / experience certificate | As required | Only where applicable (relevant for the 40-year-age group) |
| GRE or HAT score report | Official report | GRE ≥ 300 total or HAT ≥ 60%; must be valid on 30 Oct 2026 |
What you will not find in HEC's official PAL list — and should not treat as requirements: a research proposal, recommendation letters, and a no-objection certificate appear on some third-party pages, but they are not in FAQ question 8. The closest official line is "employment/experience certificate, where required". Do not invent requirements HEC never published.
How to apply on scholarship.hec.gov.pk, step by step
- Register on the portal. Go to scholarship.hec.gov.pk and create your profile. Use the exact name spelling from your CNIC and degrees — mismatches between your profile, your CNIC and your transcripts are one of the most common avoidable delays.
- Complete the profile fully. Fill in personal, academic and employment details. Save as you go; incomplete or saved-but-unsubmitted profiles have historically not counted as applications on HEC portals.
- Select the programme. Choose the US–Pakistan Knowledge Corridor PhD Scholarship (2027 call) and the correct intake — Spring/Summer 2027 (deadline 30 October 2026) or Fall 2027 (deadline 30 March 2027). The wrong intake selection is an unforced error.
- Upload scanned documents. Admission letter, test score report, academic documents, CNIC/domicile/passport. Scan at a readable resolution — evaluators reject illegible uploads.
- Review everything against the source documents. Names, dates, division history, test scores, university QS band. Then submit — and download the acknowledgement or confirmation for your records.
- Watch for the merit list. After document verification, HEC publishes merit outcomes through the portal. Keep your registered email and phone active for months after the deadline — the PAL stage moves on HEC's timetable, not yours.
What happens after you apply
Applications go through document verification first; third-party coverage reports that the HEC US PhD merit list follows once verification completes. If you are shortlisted, HEC issues a Provisional Award Letter (PAL) — and this is where the document list above becomes binding: admission letter, tuition waiver letter, gazetted-officer-attested academics and identity documents, graduate-school and supervisor contact emails. The PAL leads to a scholarship agreement, and the programme carries service expectations toward Pakistan's academic sector — the project's founding purpose is building Pakistan's own faculty and research capacity, so understand the return obligations before you sign.
One structural fact to internalise: there is no reserved quota and selection is strictly merit-based. Being eligible does not guarantee an award — the advertisement says so explicitly. Your admission letter gets you in the door; your academic record, test score and priority-discipline fit decide whether you walk through it.
The Category II funding gap: plan your real budget
If your university sits in the 51–100 band, the tuition cap deserves a five-minute budget exercise, because it is the one part of this scholarship that is not "fully funded". Worked example for a four-year PhD:
- Tuition invoice: USD 22,000/year → HEC pays USD 12,000; your shortfall: USD 10,000/year × 4 = USD 40,000
- Living: USD 19,200/year (USD 1,600/month) — HEC covers this fully
- Health insurance: USD 2,000/year — HEC covers this fully (or actual cost if lower)
- Airfare: PKR 250,000 — HEC covers this
USD 40,000 over four years is a real number — and it is exactly why the PAL document list names the tuition waiver letter. A full tuition waiver from the university's graduate school collapses the shortfall to zero; a partial waiver halves it; no waiver means you fund it yourself or through a research assistantship. This is not a reason to skip Category II — many outstanding US PhD programmes sit in the 51–100 band — but it is a reason to get the tuition question answered in writing before you rank your university choices.
Common rejection reasons and how to avoid them
- A division hiding in your record. The no-2nd/3rd-division rule covers your entire career. Check your matric, inter, bachelor's and any master's marksheets — one forgotten division is an instant disqualification.
- The wrong QS band. Applying under Category I with a university ranked 62nd, or under either category with a university outside the top 100 overall. Verify the overall — not subject — ranking on the current QS list before applying.
- An expired or below-threshold test score. GRE below 300 total or HAT below 60% fails the filter regardless of the rest of your file. And an expired score on 30 October is the same as no score.
- MS-leading-to-PhD admission. If your admission letter is for a master's route into a PhD, the programme excludes you. The letter must be for the PhD itself.
- Holding another scholarship. "Must not be availing any other scholarship" is an active condition — it applies at the time of application, not just at award.
- Missing gazetted-officer attestation. Self-attested or unattested copies do not meet the PAL requirement. A gazetted officer (Grade 17+) must attest the academic and identity documents.
- Submitting on 30 October evening. With no published closing hour, a portal that closes at an unannounced time beats you. Submit days early.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline for the HEC Knowledge Corridor PhD Scholarship 2027?
The deadline is 30 October 2026 for the Spring/Summer 2027 intake, and 30 March 2027 for the Fall 2027 intake, per HEC's official announcement (quoted by Dunya News and The Nation). HEC has published no closing hour for 30 October, so submit days early and confirm the date on the live portal.
What is the age limit for the Knowledge Corridor PhD scholarship?
General applicants must be 35 or younger; regular government employees, regular faculty of public-sector universities and government colleges, and regular researchers of approved R&D organisations may be up to 40. Age is calculated as of the closing date — 30 October 2026 for the current intake.
Is GRE compulsory, or is HAT enough?
Either is accepted: a GRE General score of 300 or above (total), or an HEC HAT score of 60% or above. Choose based on what your target US universities require for admission — many top-50 departments want the GRE anyway, while the HAT is the simpler path if your departments accept it.
Can I apply with an MS leading to a PhD?
No. The 2027 call is exclusively for PhD programmes. Master's degrees and MS-leading-to-PhD routes are explicitly excluded. Your admission letter must be for the PhD programme itself — a letter for a master's route into a PhD does not qualify.
Do I need IELTS or TOEFL for the Knowledge Corridor scholarship?
Not for HEC — FAQ question 10 says neither test is an HEC requirement. But your US university may require them for admission, and an HEC scholarship does not waive the university's own rules. Check each department's admission page separately.
Do I need a master's degree to apply?
No. A four-year bachelor's degree (16 years of education) is the minimum, per HEC's official FAQ. Most US graduate schools admit 4-year bachelor's holders directly into PhD programmes, though some departments have their own requirements. A four-year bachelor's holder applies directly to the PhD.
What does Category II actually cover?
Category II (QS 51–100) pays up to USD 12,000 per year in tuition — you cover any shortfall — plus the same USD 19,200/year living stipend, USD 2,000/year health insurance, and PKR 250,000 return airfare as Category I. See the worked budget example above before choosing a Category II university.
Can I apply if I have a second division in one degree?
No. HEC's rule is no 2nd or 3rd division in your entire academic career, and it applies to both categories. This is one of the most common disqualification reasons, so verify every marksheet before you invest in an application: one forgotten division is an instant disqualification, and there is no waiver path documented.
Which QS ranking year applies to my university?
HEC uses the QS World University Rankings overall ranking to assign your category, but the reference edition for the 2027 call could not be verified against the official advertisement this run (third-party pages cite the QS 2027 edition). Confirm the edition on the live portal before applying.
Can I hold another scholarship alongside this one?
No. Applicants must not be availing any other scholarship at the time of application, per HEC's official eligibility rules. PhD holders are also not eligible. If you currently hold any other award, you must relinquish it before applying. The condition applies at the time of application, not only at award.
Sources
- HEC — US–Pakistan Knowledge Corridor, official FAQ page (hec.gov.pk) — read directly 19 October 2026
- HEC — US–Pakistan Knowledge Corridor, official Introduction page (hec.gov.pk) — read directly 19 October 2026
- Dunya News — "HEC announces PhD scholarships for top US universities" — 1 July 2026
- The Nation — "HEC announces applications for US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor PhD Scholarships" — 3 July 2026
- The Nation — "HEC offers PhD scholarships for top 100 US universities" — 2 July 2026
- EduVision — "HEC Announces PhD Scholarships in the USA 2026" — read 19 October 2026
- Bloom Pakistan — "HEC Announces US PhD Scholarships for Pakistani Students in 2027" — 15 October 2026
- result.pk — HEC US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor PhD Scholarship 2026 coverage — read 19 October 2026
- Excelsior Scholarships — "HEC US-Pakistan PhD Scholarship 2027: Apply Guide" — read 19 October 2026 (competitor audit)
- PakAdmissions — "HEC US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor PhD Scholarship" — read 19 October 2026 (competitor audit)
Related resources
- Scholarship Deadlines 2026–27: The Complete Calendar for Pakistani Students
- Scholarships Closing Soon: 12 Deadlines Between 20 October and 1 November 2026
- World Bank Government Analytics Fellowship 2027: The Complete Guide (Deadline 16 November)
- HEC Law Admission Test 2026: Registration Open Until 20 October, Test on 15 November
- SAT November 2026 Registration Guide: Test Date, Deadlines, Fees & How to Register
Verified vs disputed: this guide's source tracker
No competitor publishes this — and it is the single most useful section for an applicant who wants certainty instead of confidence. Every claim in this guide is tagged: ✅ means read on hec.gov.pk by our team on 19 October 2026; 📰 means from HEC's official announcement via two or more independent outlets; ⚠️ means single-source or unverified — treat with care.
| Claim | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Category II = QS 51–100 overall | ✅ official (current) | Official Introduction page + 2027 advertisement. HEC's own FAQ page still says 51–300/subject 51–100 — that page is stale (cites 2025–2026 intakes). For 2027, 51–100 applies. |
| Stipend USD 19,200/year | ✅ official | Official FAQ question 6. Several third-party pages print USD 19,000 — a typo. |
| Health insurance USD 2,000/year | ✅ official | Official FAQ question 6 — "or actual, whichever is lower". |
| Return airfare PKR 250,000 | ✅ official | Official FAQ question 6, both categories. |
| GRE ≥ 300 or HAT ≥ 60% | ✅ official | Official FAQ, both categories. |
| Age 35 / 40 as of closing date | ✅ official | Official FAQ — 40 only for regular government employees, public-sector faculty, approved R&D researchers. |
| Deadlines 30 Oct 2026 / 30 Mar 2027 | 📰 official-via-press | HEC's July-2026 press release, quoted independently by Dunya News and The Nation. The official ad page would not load for us today — confirm on the portal. |
| Closing hour on 30 October | ⚠️ unknown | The advertisement gives the date with no hour. Apply days early. |
| QS 2027 edition is the reference | ⚠️ single-source | Claimed by third-party pages from the 2027 ad; could not verify against the official ad this run. |
| Maximum 5-year award duration | ⚠️ single-source | Claimed by one third-party page only. Treat as unverified. |
| Detailed subfield priority list | ⚠️ single-source | Broad categories are official; the subfield enumeration could not be re-verified on hec.gov.pk this run. |