Royal Thai Government Scholarships 2027 in Thailand | Tuition, Housing and Living Bursary at AIT

The Royal Thai Government Scholarships are administered by the Asian Institute of Technology in Pathum Thani, Thailand, and they are not one scholarship. After reading AIT’s own scholarship and admissions pages directly, we confirmed that the name covers four separate awards with different eligible countries, different faculties and — this is the part competitor pages miss — different amounts of published information. AIT states the full coverage for the Doctoral award and for one of the three Master’s awards. For the other two Master’s awards, AIT publishes no coverage details at all, so nobody can honestly tell you those are fully funded — though it does describe both as being for candidates who “wish to pursue their first master’s degree”.

Two other things worth knowing before you spend an evening on this. AIT publishes nothing about airfare or insurance for any of the four awards, and applying is not free — AIT charges a non-refundable processing fee of 800 Baht or US$25 which it states cannot be waived. The published deadline is 31 March 2027 for the August 2027 intake, and applications go through the AIT online admission portal with no separate scholarship form to fill in.

Key Highlights

Detail Description

The Asian Institute of Technology is an international postgraduate institute at Klong Luang in Pathum Thani province, just north of Bangkok. AIT describes itself as “an English speaking campus”, with communication, documents and teaching materials in English. It awards its own degrees and is organised into five faculties plus a business school rather than into conventional departments.

The Royal Thai Government funds these scholarships and AIT administers them. That division matters for a practical reason: the money and the naming come from the Thai government, but every question about eligibility, deadlines and selection is answered by AIT, and the application itself is an AIT admission application. There is no Thai government portal involved and no embassy step.

AIT’s own framing of these awards is worth carrying exactly. It describes administering “a number of Doctoral and master’s level non-binding scholarships” — and non-binding is the word that matters. Several government scholarships in Asia require graduates to return home or to work for the funder for a set period. These carry no such condition.

The Four Scholarships

Searching “Royal Thai Government Scholarship” returns pages that treat this as a single award. It is four, and which one you are eligible for is decided by your nationality and your intended faculty before anything else.

Which faculties each award covers is set out in the next section, and what each one pays is in the benefits table below it.

Available Fields of Study

AIT is a postgraduate institute in engineering, technology, environment and management, and the RTG awards are tied to faculties rather than to named degrees. The Doctoral award runs across all five faculties; the two Master’s awards split them between themselves and do not overlap.

• Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering — Doctoral, King’s Master’s
• Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology — Doctoral, King’s Master’s
• School of Management — King’s Master’s
• Faculty of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources — Doctoral, Queen’s Master’s
• Faculty of Climate Change and Sustainability — Doctoral, Queen’s Master’s
• Faculty of Public Policy and Sustainable Development — Doctoral, Queen’s Master’s

The Loom Nam Khong Pijai award is organised by theme instead: Infrastructure Development, Energy Technology, Oil, Gas and Natural Resources Development, and Environmental Engineering and Management.

Check which faculty your programme sits in before choosing the award to name in your statement of purpose. Two notes. The Loom Nam Khong Pijai scholarships are named for HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. And AIT’s RTG page abbreviates the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources faculty as “FFARN”, while the faculty’s own page abbreviates itself “FANR” — the same faculty, spelled two ways, which is worth knowing when you are searching AIT’s site for it.

Benefits

The registration-fee line is worth pausing on, because it is where these awards pull ahead of AIT’s other funding. AIT publishes its registration fees as 20,000 Baht per semester and living costs at around 11,500 to 15,000 Baht per month. The Doctoral RTG award covers the registration fees and provides accommodation and a living bursary on top of tuition. Students holding AIT’s own tuition-based scholarship pay those registration fees and living costs themselves.

Eligible Countries

Only one of the four awards carries a closed country list. The Loom Nam Khong Pijai (GMS) Scholarships exist to assist human resources development in six Greater Mekong Subregion countries — Cambodia, the southern part of China (Yunnan and Guangxi provinces), Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. If you are not from one of those six, that award is closed to you regardless of your academic record.

The other three are broad. The Doctoral award’s fourth eligibility group, “other Asian countries”, is what opens it across Asia rather than restricting it to Southeast Asia, and the King’s and Queen’s Master’s awards simply name Asian countries with no list at all.

For applicants in Pakistan and India, the practical reading is this: both countries fall inside “other Asian countries” and “Asian countries”, so three of the four awards are open to you — the Doctoral award and both Master’s awards. India is additionally a BIMSTEC member, which the Doctoral award names explicitly; Pakistan is not, and qualifies through “other Asian countries” instead. Neither is eligible for Loom Nam Khong Pijai. Since AIT publishes no closed list for the Master’s awards, confirm your own eligibility with rtg@ait.ac.th before paying the processing fee.

Eligibility Criteria

Two bars apply, and the gap between them is the thing to plan around. AIT admission has one standard. The RTG scholarship has a higher one, and being admitted does not mean being funded.

On English, be precise about what AIT publishes where. The Doctoral and Loom Nam Khong Pijai awards each carry a stated requirement of IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with 6.0 in writing, or an AIT EET score of 6.0. The King’s and Queen’s Master’s awards carry no eligibility list at all on the RTG page, so no English requirement is stated for them. What does apply across the board is AIT’s separate admissions rule: full scholarship consideration requires an official score of 6 in writing and 6 overall, dated within the last two years. Plan for that bar on all four.

Eligible for the Doctoral award

• An outstanding record in a 4-year undergraduate programme and a 2-year Master’s programme from an accredited institution in a related field
• Bachelor’s and Master’s GPA of 3.5 or equivalent
• Two recommendation letters and a research proposal

Eligible for the Loom Nam Khong Pijai Master’s award

• An outstanding record in a 4-year undergraduate programme from an accredited institution in a related field
• Bachelor’s GPA of 3.5 or equivalent
• Nationality of one of the six GMS countries

Eligible for the King’s and Queen’s Master’s awards

• Intended for a first master’s degree. AIT describes both awards as for candidates who “wish to pursue their first master’s degree”. It does not say in so many words that holding a master’s already makes you ineligible — there is no eligibility list for these two awards at all — but it is the only thing AIT says about who they are for, so if you already hold a master’s, ask rtg@ait.ac.th before paying the fee rather than assuming you qualify
• Excellent undergraduate academic achievement — AIT publishes no numeric GPA threshold for these two
• Nationality of an Asian country

What AIT requires of every applicant

• English proficiency, with no “no IELTS” route. IELTS Academic with a writing band of 6, or AIT’s own EET at 6. Scores are valid for two years. TOEFL and CEFR may be considered on equivalent scores, but TOEFL ITP is not accepted
• Exemption is narrow — citizens educated in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA, with proof of both citizenship and study there. A registrar-signed certificate of English-medium instruction is the alternative route, and AIT states it “reserves the rights to accept or reject such certificate”, so it is not an entitlement
• The writing test after admission, which catches more people than the certificate route. AIT requires the AIT Writing Placement Test (AWPT) — its FAQ also calls it the AWT and the AIT Academic Writing Test — from new students in four situations, not just one: those who submitted no test score for admission, those who used an English-medium certificate, those who took the EET online, and those who took the EET outside Thailand where AIT’s Language Center did not run it. The test gates registration for classes, and an AWPT score of 6, an IELTS writing 6.0, or a pass in EL 19 must be reached by the end of your second semester as a condition of registering for your thesis, dissertation or research project. Below 6.0 you take mandatory English Language courses at the Language Center until you meet the requirement
• Conditional admission is not scholarship eligibility. AIT may conditionally admit applicants with good records but lower English scores, requiring AIT English classes until the score improves. That route gets you into AIT; it does not meet the scholarship’s score requirement

Application Timeline

The RTG scholarship page gives no results date, no interview stage, no notification timeline, no count of awards and no named selection body — only that AIT administers “a number of” them. AIT’s admissions FAQ adds that it offers “a limited number” of awards on “a competitive basis”, and that submitting the admission application means you are automatically considered for every scholarship whose deadline has not expired. Plan on the 31 March 2027 deadline as the fixed point and treat everything after it as unknown until AIT tells you otherwise.

Required Documents

There is no separate scholarship document set. What you submit is an AIT admission application, and these are the pieces that carry the scholarship decision.

• Academic transcripts and degree certificates — for the 4-year Bachelor’s, and the 2-year Master’s if you are applying for the Doctoral award
• Two recommendation letters — explicitly required for the Doctoral award
• A research proposal — explicitly required for the Doctoral award
• An English test score — IELTS Academic or AIT EET, dated within the last two years for scholarship consideration
• A statement of purpose that names the scholarship. AIT states applicants may describe in their statement of purpose that they are seeking this scholarship, and that this can instead be a separate file uploaded to the portal. This is the only place the scholarship is requested, so do not leave it out
• The 800 Baht or US$25 processing fee — non-refundable, and AIT states it cannot be waived

How to Apply

Step 1: Work out which of the four awards fits you

Match your nationality and intended faculty against the tables above. An applicant from Pakistan or India to the School of Management is looking at the King’s Master’s; one to Climate Change and Sustainability at the Queen’s Master’s; a PhD applicant can use the Doctoral award in any of the five faculties. If you are not from one of the six GMS countries, rule out Loom Nam Khong Pijai before writing anything.

Step 2: Check your GPA and your IELTS date against the thresholds

For the Doctoral and Loom Nam Khong Pijai awards the bar is GPA 3.5 and IELTS 6.0 overall with 6.0 in writing. Check the date on the certificate as well as the score — AIT requires one dated within the last two years for full scholarship consideration, so a 2024 sitting will not serve a 31 March 2027 deadline.

Step 3: Sit or retake the English test early

AIT places no limit on EET attempts, but a retake and its reporting time has to fit before 31 March 2027. AIT’s own advice to applicants below the minimum is to study English at home and reapply rather than submit underprepared.

Step 4: Apply for admission through the AIT portal

Applications go through the AIT online admission portal. There is no separate scholarship application — the admission application is the scholarship application.

Step 5: Name the specific award in your statement of purpose

The easiest step to miss and impossible to recover. AIT considers you because you said you wanted it, either in your statement of purpose or in a separate file uploaded to the portal. Name the award — His Majesty the King’s Scholarship for Doctoral Programs, Her Majesty the Queen’s Scholarship for Master’s Programs — rather than “the Royal Thai Government Scholarship”, since four awards carry that name.

Step 6: Pay the processing fee and submit before 31 March 2027

800 Baht or US$25, non-refundable and not waivable. AIT’s FAQ is inconsistent about when it is paid — one answer says the fee “must be sent together with your application”, another says it is paid after submitting — but both agree payment must be received before your application is processed, so budget for it at submission time. If anything about your eligibility is unclear — particularly for the King’s or Queen’s Master’s, where AIT publishes neither coverage nor a GPA threshold — email rtg@ait.ac.th first. Spending 800 Baht to find out you were ineligible is avoidable.

Also Check

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is the Royal Thai Government Scholarship fully funded?

For the Doctoral award, effectively yes — AIT states it covers tuition, registration fees, accommodation and a bursary for living expenses for the full 41-month programme, at a stated value of approximately 1.96 MB. The Loom Nam Khong Pijai Master’s award covers tuition, accommodation and a living bursary for 22 months at approximately 1.10 MB. For the King’s and Queen’s Master’s awards, AIT publishes no coverage details at all, so treat any site calling those two fully funded as unsourced. No award has a published airfare or insurance component, and every applicant pays the 800 Baht processing fee.

2. What is the deadline for the Royal Thai Government Scholarships 2027?

31 March 2027, for the August 2027 intake. That is the only RTG deadline AIT publishes. AIT’s faculties also run a January semester and its School of Management runs five terms a year, but no RTG deadline is published for a January start — ask rtg@ait.ac.th if that is your target. AIT publishes no results date or notification timeline for these awards.

3. Which countries are eligible for the Royal Thai Government Scholarships at AIT?

Asian countries, with the detail differing by award. The Doctoral award names Bhutan, Laos PDR, Timor-Leste and Thailand, then ASEAN countries, BIMSTEC countries, and other Asian countries. The King’s and Queen’s Master’s awards are open to qualified candidates from Asian countries, with no country list published. Applicants from Pakistan and India are eligible for all three of those — India as a BIMSTEC member and Pakistan under “other Asian countries”. The Loom Nam Khong Pijai award is closed to both: it is restricted to Cambodia, southern China, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.

4. How do I apply for the Royal Thai Government Scholarships 2027?

Through the AIT online admission portal, and nowhere else. AIT states there is no separate scholarship application to fill out — you apply for admission, then describe in your statement of purpose, or in a separate file uploaded to the portal, that you are seeking the scholarship. Name the specific award rather than “the Royal Thai Government Scholarship”, because four different awards share that name. There is no Thai government portal and no embassy step.

5. What GPA do I need for the Royal Thai Government Scholarship?

3.5 or equivalent for the Doctoral award, in both your Bachelor’s and your Master’s, and 3.5 in your Bachelor’s for the Loom Nam Khong Pijai Master’s award. This is the condition that rejects the most applicants, and it sits well above AIT’s general admission standard — AIT’s own tuition scholarship asks for a Master’s GPA of 3.50 with an undergraduate GPA of 2.75. For the King’s and Queen’s Master’s awards AIT publishes no number, asking only for “excellent undergraduate academic achievement”. It does describe both as being for candidates who “wish to pursue their first master’s degree“, which is the only thing it says about who they are for — though it stops short of stating that an existing master’s disqualifies you, so ask rtg@ait.ac.th if that is your situation.

6. Is IELTS required for the Royal Thai Government Scholarships?

Yes. AIT requires IELTS Academic 6.0 overall with 6.0 in writing, or an AIT EET score of 6.0, for the Doctoral and Loom Nam Khong Pijai awards — and it states that full scholarship consideration requires an official score of 6 in writing and overall dated within the last two years. There is no “no IELTS” route here. TOEFL iBT, CBT and paper-based scores and CEFR may be considered on equivalent scores, but AIT publishes no thresholds for them, and TOEFL ITP is not accepted. Exemption is limited to citizens educated in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA, or a registrar-signed certificate of English-only instruction that AIT may accept or reject.

7. Is there an application fee for AIT?

Yes — 800 Baht or US$25, non-refundable, and AIT states it cannot be waived. One fee covers the admission application that also serves as your scholarship application, so you are not paying twice. But it does mean checking your eligibility before you pay is worth an email to rtg@ait.ac.th, particularly for the King’s and Queen’s Master’s awards where AIT publishes neither a GPA threshold nor the coverage.

8. What is the difference between the Royal Thai Government Scholarship and the AIT Scholarship?

Separate awards, with different sizes, standards and deadlines. The RTG Doctoral award covers tuition, registration fees, accommodation and living costs; the AIT Scholarship covers “full, or a portion of, tuition fees” only, leaving the student to pay any remaining tuition, registration fees of 20,000 Baht per semester and living costs of around 11,500 to 15,000 Baht per month. The entry bar is lower for the AIT Scholarship — IELTS 5.0 at Master’s and 5.5 at Doctoral against the RTG’s 6.0 — and so are the deadlines: 10 December 2026 for the January 2027 intake and 15 July 2027 for the August intake, against the RTG’s 31 March 2027. One caution on that July date — AIT’s own pages disagree. The AIT Scholarships page gives 15 July 2027, while the apply-online page gives 10 June as the deadline for AIT Scholarships including “RTG Fellowships”. Both are official, so confirm which applies to you before working to either. Both awards are requested through the same admission application.

9. Does the Royal Thai Government Scholarship cover airfare?

AIT does not say. Airfare, travel allowances and health insurance appear nowhere on AIT’s RTG scholarship page for any of the four awards. That is an absence rather than a refusal, so it is worth asking rtg@ait.ac.th directly — but budget for your own flights to Bangkok and your own insurance until you have an answer in writing. Where another site lists an airfare figure for this scheme, it did not come from AIT’s RTG page.

10. Is there a bond or service obligation after the Royal Thai Government Scholarship?

No. AIT describes all four as non-binding scholarships, and repeats the word when stating each award’s value. There is no requirement to return to your home country for a set period, no obligation to work for the Thai government or for AIT, and nothing to repay. That is a real difference from several other government-funded schemes in Asia, and it is worth weighing if you are comparing this against an award that does tie you down.

Final Thoughts

The Royal Thai Government Scholarships are a strong proposition for a postgraduate applicant in engineering, environment, agriculture, public policy or management with a high GPA and an IELTS 6.0 — formally 3.5 for the Doctoral and Loom Nam Khong Pijai awards, and unstated for the two royal Master’s awards. The Doctoral award covers tuition, registration fees, accommodation and living costs across 41 months with no bond attached, and the whole thing is requested inside a single admission application rather than a separate competition.

What this article has tried to do differently is mark the edges of what AIT actually publishes. Two of the four awards have no published coverage at all, none has a published airfare or insurance component, no results date exists, and the “MB” unit in the stated values is never defined. None of that makes the scheme weak — it makes comparing it against AIT’s own tuition scholarship harder than it looks, and it means one email to rtg@ait.ac.th before paying the processing fee is the highest-value ten minutes in this application.

The order matters if you are going ahead. Confirm which of the four your nationality and faculty point to, check your IELTS certificate against the two-year rule, then write the statement of purpose that names the award — that sentence is the only place in the whole application where the scholarship is actually requested. Verify every figure on the official AIT RTG scholarship page before the 31 March 2027 deadline.