NUIST-WMO Fellowships:

NUIST runs two scholarships for international students, and most people only hear about one of them.

The one everyone finds is NUIST’s own Excellent Freshmen Scholarship. It is good, it needs no nomination, and at master’s level it pays no monthly money at all.

The one almost nobody writes about is the NUIST-WMO Fellowships Education Program, set up jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and NUIST for young people from developing countries studying meteorology. It pays full tuition, a free university dormitory, comprehensive medical insurance and CNY 2,000 a month, and WMO covers your round-trip international air ticket and international insurance on top.

There is one condition, and it decides everything. You need a nomination from your country’s Permanent Representative with WMO. In Pakistan that sits with the Pakistan Meteorological Department, and our WMO Fellowships guide explains how that works.

Why this beats NUIST’s own award

Read the master’s stipend row twice. A master’s student on NUIST’s own award pays their own living costs for two years. On this one they receive CNY 2,000 a month and arrive on a ticket somebody else bought.

At doctoral level the comparison is closer. NUIST’s own first class pays CNY 2,500 against this programme’s CNY 2,000, but this one adds the flights and comprehensive insurance, which usually more than covers the difference.

Who qualifies

1. Citizen of a country other than China, in good mental and physical health.

2. Master’s applicants: a bachelor’s degree, under 35. Doctoral applicants: a master’s degree, under 40.

3. CGPA of 3.0 or above out of 4.

4. NUIST’s own admission requirements, on top of the fellowship rules.

5. English: TOEFL 80 or IELTS 6.0 for English-taught programmes, if you come from a non-English-speaking country.

Master’s study runs two years, doctoral study three years or longer.

The three-cornered application

This is the part that trips people, because the paperwork moves between three parties in a fixed order.

Step one: get the nomination. Your country’s Permanent Representative with WMO signs a Fellowship Nomination Form, usually called the FNF. Nothing else begins until this exists.

Step two: apply to NUIST. Use NUIST’s online system, select “NUIST-WMO Scholarship”, and upload your documents including the FNF. What you are seeking from NUIST at this stage is a Pre-admission Letter.

Step three: go back to WMO. Submit the FNF and the Pre-admission Letter to the WMO Secretariat before the deadline.

So the sequence runs nomination, then university, then back to WMO. A candidate who applies to NUIST first and seeks the nomination afterwards has the order wrong and will not finish in time.

What you submit

Your passport home page, a notarised highest diploma and notarised transcripts, your English certificate, a study plan or research proposal of more than 1,000 words in English, two recommendation letters from professors or associate professors, a Foreigner Physical Examination Form valid six months, and a non-criminal record certificate usually issued within the six months before you apply.

Then the two that make this programme what it is: the WMO Fellowship Nomination Form and the NUIST Pre-admission Letter.

Supporting material helps. NUIST names published papers and a supervisor’s acceptance letter, and for a doctoral applicant that acceptance letter is worth chasing early regardless of whether it is compulsory.

A thousand words of research proposal is a serious piece of writing, and our personal statement guide covers building the argument. Write it around a meteorological problem your own department faces, because the nomination behind you comes from that department.

Step-by-step, with a calendar

Step 1, now: find out who handles WMO nominations at PMD, and what their internal timetable looks like. That date governs everything.

Step 2, November: identify a NUIST supervisor whose work overlaps yours and write to them.

Step 3, December: get your diploma and transcripts notarized. Pakistani notarization and attestation take weeks.

Step 4, December: book IELTS or TOEFL if you hold neither. IELTS 6.0 is the bar, which is low by European standards.

Step 5, January: write the thousand-word proposal.

Step 6, January: request the nomination, with the proposal and the supervisor contact already in hand. Asking with a complete case works better than asking in principle.

Step 7, February: apply through NUIST’s online system and obtain the Pre-admission Letter.

Step 8, March: submit the FNF and Pre-admission Letter to the WMO Secretariat before the deadline.

If you cannot get a nomination

Then this programme is closed to you, and two routes remain open in the same field.

NUIST’s own Excellent Freshmen Scholarship, with a 31 May deadline and no nomination anywhere in the process. And the ICTP Earth System Physics diploma in Trieste, a funded pre-PhD year with a 15 March deadline.

FAQ

What does it cover?

Full tuition, a free university dormitory, comprehensive medical insurance, CNY 2,000 a month, and a WMO-funded return international air ticket with international insurance.

Do I need a nomination?

Yes, from your country’s Permanent Representative with WMO.

Who is that in Pakistan?

The role sits with the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

What levels does it fund?

Master’s over two years and doctoral over three years or more.

What are the age limits?

Under 35 for master’s, under 40 for doctoral.

What grades do I need?

A CGPA of 3.0 or above out of 4.

What English score?

TOEFL 80 or IELTS 6.0 for English-taught programmes.

How is this different from NUIST’s own scholarship?

It needs a nomination, but it pays a monthly stipend at master’s level where NUIST’s own award pays none, and it covers your flights.

What is the FNF?

The WMO Fellowship Nomination Form, signed by your Permanent Representative.

What order do I apply in?

Nomination first, then NUIST for a Pre-admission Letter, then back to the WMO Secretariat.

When is the deadline?

NUIST’s page shows 31 March 2025. Treat 31 March as the pattern and confirm the current year.