Pakistani and Azad Jammu and Kashmir nationals who have secured admission to a PhD programme at a US university ranked in the QS World University Rankings top 100 have until October 30, 2026, to apply for the Higher Education Commission's fully funded scholarship under the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor initiative, for the Spring/Summer 2027 intake. Students applying for the Fall 2027 intake have until March 30, 2027, to submit their applications. The scholarship is restricted strictly to PhD-level study; it does not cover master's degrees or combined MS-to-PhD programmes. Applicants must already hold admission to a qualifying US university before applying, and must have completed at least a four-year bachelor's degree, equivalent to 16 years of formal education, while maintaining an academic record that has not fallen below the second or third division at any stage. Funding differs depending on where the applicant's university ranks. For universities placed in the QS top 50, HEC covers the full tuition fee as invoiced by the university, along with an annual stipend of $19,200 and $2,000 per year toward health insurance. For universities ranked between 51 and 100, HEC provides tuition support of up to $12,000 per year, in addition to the same $19,200 annual stipend and $2,000 health insurance allowance. HEC has advised applicants in this second category to arrange additional funding from their university, since the scholarship may not cover the full cost of their programme. To be eligible, applicants must not currently hold another scholarship, and either a General GRE score of at least 300 or a score of at least 60 percent on HEC's own HAT test is required. Age limits apply: 35 years for most applicants, extended to 40 years for regular government employees, public-sector university or government college faculty, and researchers at approved public-sector R&D organisations. Interested applicants must apply online through HEC's scholarship portal at scholarship.hec.gov.pk. HEC advises students to check the programme's dedicated information page for the latest eligibility rules and required supporting documents, noting that requirements can vary depending on the specific university and doctoral programme, and to begin preparing transcripts, a research proposal and English-language test results well ahead of the deadline.