GBF Young Scientist Award (GBF YSA) 2026 Application Guide

The GBF Young Scientist Award is a scholarship for outstanding students who have won recognized STEM competitions in the Philippines. It helps qualified awardees continue their college education through financial support and scholar development opportunities.

In this guide, learn about the GBF Young Scientist Award qualifications, requirements, benefits, priority courses, partner school rules, application deadline, and application process.

Qualifications:

The GBF Young Scientist Award scholarship is only for students who already received the GBF YSA recognition. To avail of the scholarship, the awardee must also meet the course, school, and timing requirements of GBF.

To qualify, the applicant must:

• Be a recipient of the GBF Young Scientist Award
• Be enrolled or planning to enroll in a STEM undergraduate course identified by the Philippine government through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as a priority field of study
• Study in a qualified school, which may be:
  • a Philippine university recognized by CHED as a Center of Excellence (COE) or Center of Development (COD) for the desired course, or
  • an international university with equal or better ranking than a Philippine university with COE or COD status for the same STEM course
• Avail of the scholarship on time, depending on when the award was received:
  • If the recipient was in high school during conferment, the scholarship must be availed immediately after Grade 12
  • If the recipient was already in college during conferment, the scholarship must be availed in the first term of the immediately succeeding academic year

Requirements:

Recipients of the GBF Young Scientist Award who want to avail of the scholarship must submit documents to GBF. These documents will be used to check if the awardee meets the scholarship requirements.

You may be asked to submit:

• Accomplished data sheet from GBF
• Certificate of university registration or proof of enrollment
• Other supporting documents that GBF may require

Note: GBF will directly contact eligible recipients regarding the exact requirements and submission instructions.

Benefits:

The GBF Young Scientist Award provides financial support for school expenses and also gives access to scholar development opportunities. Qualified scholars may also be given internship opportunities within the Gokongwei Group.

Benefit	Details
Annual Financial Grant	₱85,000 per year for tuition and other fees
Scholar Development Programs	Leadership camps, bootcamps, and other learning activities
Internship Opportunity	Optional internship opportunity within the Gokongwei Group

Note: The annual grant is subject to the terms and conditions of the scholarship agreement.

Priority Courses:

The GBF Young Scientist Award is intended for students taking eligible STEM degree programs. The scholarship supports courses identified by the Philippine government as priority STEM fields.

Covered courses include:

• Science
• Technology
• Engineering
• Mathematics

Note: The chosen course must be a government-identified STEM priority course during the first year of scholarship availability.

Partner School:

The GBF Young Scientist Award does not publish a fixed list of partner schools. Instead, the awardee must enroll in a school that meets GBF’s academic standards for the chosen STEM course.

The school must be either:

• A Philippine university recognized by CHED as a Center of Excellence (COE) or Center of Development (COD) for the desired STEM course, or
• An international university with equal or better ranking than a Philippine university with COE or COD status for the same course

Note: Since there is no published school list, applicants should confirm first if their school and course meet the scholarship standards.

Application Deadline:

The GBF Young Scientist Award does not usually have an open public application period like regular scholarship programs. Instead, it is an exclusive merit-based award given to top winners of selected Philippine STEM competitions partnered with the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF).

Application status

• No open public application
• The GBF Young Scientist Award is awarded to qualified winners of partner STEM competitions, such as:
  • the Department of Education (DepEd) National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF)
  • the DOST-SEI imake.wemake.innovate.collaborate.

Note: Students cannot apply directly for the GBF Young Scientist Award through a regular scholarship form. Instead, eligible winners from partner competitions may be considered for the award and scholarship opportunity.

How to Apply:

The GBF Young Scientist Award scholarship is not applied for through a public online form. Instead, GBF directly sends the scholarship offer, instructions, and requirements to qualified GBF YSA recipients. 

Step 1: Receive the conditional scholarship offer

• GBF will send a conditional scholarship offer to recipients of the GBF Young Scientist Award.

Step 2: Fill out the required data sheet

• Interested recipients must complete the data sheet provided by GBF.

Step 3: Submit the required documents

• Recipients must submit the supporting documents requested by GBF, such as proof of enrollment or certificate of university registration.

Step 4: Wait for GBF’s evaluation

• GBF will evaluate the submitted data sheet and supporting documents to check if the recipient qualifies for the scholarship.

Step 5: Receive the final scholarship offer

• Qualified recipients will receive a final scholarship offer and scholarship agreement from GBF.

About GBF Young Scientist Award (GBF YSA):

The GBF Young Scientist Award is a full STEM college scholarship granted to top winners of Philippine-based STEM competitions. It is one of the scholarship programs of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) that supports students who show excellence, innovation, and strong potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Through the GBF Young Scientist Award, qualified scholars are given support to continue their college education in priority STEM courses. For the past years, GBF has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) through the National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF) and with the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) through imake.wemake.innovate.collaborate. The program currently has 19 active scholars.

Final Thought:

The GBF Young Scientist Award is a valuable opportunity for students who have already proven their excellence in STEM competitions and are looking for support for college.

Aside from the annual financial grant, the scholarship also gives scholars access to development programs and possible internship opportunities that can help them grow academically, personally, and professionally.

If you are a GBF Young Scientist Award recipient, make sure to watch for scholarship instructions from GBF and prepare your school documents early to avoid delays in the scholarship process.

You may also browse other foundational scholarship to find more STEM scholarship opportunities that match your course, school, and long-term academic goals.

Reference:

1. Gokongwei Brothers Foundation. (n.d.). GBF Young Scientist Award Scholarship for Excellence. https://www.gokongweibrothersfoundation.org/programs/gbf-young-scientist-award-scholarship-for-excellence?ref=for-learners