Global Scholarships for ASEAN Students That Do Not Require GRE or GMAT Scores

Why GRE and GMAT matter less for most global scholarships

The GRE and GMAT are standardized tests built mainly for US graduate school admission. Scholarship programs based in the UK, Japan and the EU, and the branch of Fulbright placing students outside business schools, generally do not ask for either test. Most instead judge you on your degree transcript, English test score, essays and referee letters.

This does not mean every program skips standardized testing. Individual US or UK business schools, especially for MBA and some finance master's programs, often keep their own GMAT requirement even when the scholarship funding you does not. Check the admission requirements of the specific university course you plan to apply to, separately from the scholarship's own rules.

Chevening (United Kingdom)

Chevening's eligibility page lists an undergraduate degree, two years of work experience and unconditional offers from three UK university courses, with no mention of GRE or GMAT, per Chevening's eligibility criteria . Because you secure your own university offers, the real test requirement comes from whichever UK course you apply to. Most UK taught master's programs outside business schools do not set a GRE or GMAT requirement either.

Fulbright Foreign Student Program

Fulbright eligibility and requirements are set by the commission or embassy in each country rather than centrally, per Fulbright's program overview . In Indonesia, the AMINEF Master's Degree Program lists TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo score requirements and does not mention GRE or GMAT, according to AMINEF's program page . Confirm your own country's Fulbright Commission requirements directly, since some fields of study or host universities still set their own GRE or GMAT requirement separate from Fulbright itself.

MEXT (Japan)

None of the seven MEXT scholarship categories, from research students to the Young Leaders Program, list a GRE or GMAT requirement on the Study in Japan MEXT scholarship page . Japanese universities more commonly set their own entrance examinations or interviews for MEXT candidates instead of a US-style standardized test.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's Degrees

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's programs require a bachelor's degree, or proof you will finish one before the program starts, with no EU-wide GRE or GMAT rule, according to the European Commission's Erasmus Mundus page . Each consortium sets its own extra criteria, so check the specific joint program page for any test it adds on top of the baseline rules.

Why UK, EU and Japanese systems skip these tests

The GRE and GMAT grew out of the US graduate admission system, where hundreds of universities needed one common yardstick to compare applicants from different undergraduate systems. The UK, Japan and most EU countries built their master's admission process around the applicant's existing degree transcript and a course-specific interview or written proposal instead. Since Chevening, MEXT and Erasmus Mundus route you into that system, they inherit its lighter testing requirements rather than importing the US model.

This matters most if you studied at a university whose grading system looks unfamiliar to an international panel. A transcript with clear grades, class rank if available, and a short explanation of your grading scale in your personal statement does more work for you here than a GRE score would.

How to verify a specific program before you apply

Scholarship-level rules are only half the picture. Open the admission requirements page of the exact university course tied to your scholarship application, search for GRE, GMAT and standardized test, and note anything the university itself lists beyond the scholarship's baseline. Do this before you invest weeks in personal statements for a program that turns out to want a test you have not taken.

What you still need instead

• A strong IELTS or TOEFL score, since almost every program above still requires proof of English proficiency.

• A clear personal statement or motivation letter tied to the scholarship's own stated goals.

• Referee letters that back up your academic and professional record with specific examples.

• A transcript that shows consistent performance, since panels lean harder on grades when no standardized test score exists to compare candidates.

When you still need GMAT or GRE

MBA programs, some US-based master's in finance or engineering, and PhD programs at US research universities often keep their own GRE or GMAT requirement regardless of which scholarship funds you. Always check the admission page of your target university program, not only the scholarship page, before you skip test preparation.

How to spend the time you save

Skipping GRE or GMAT preparation frees months you would otherwise spend on test practice. Redirect that time into your personal statement drafts, referee relationships and English test preparation instead, since these carry more weight in the scholarships listed above. A stronger IELTS score, a sharper motivation letter, and referees briefed early beat a rushed GRE attempt that no panel in this list even asks to see.