160 master's students were selected through convenience sampling and assessed using questionnaires measuring social anxiety, early maladaptive schemas, and fear of negative evaluation. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Findings revealed that the schema domains of "disconnection/rejection" (r = 0.544) and "impaired autonomy and performance" (r = 0.446) exhibited significant positive correlations with social anxiety (p < .01). Additionally, fear of negative evaluation showed a significant positive correlation with social anxiety (r = 0.509, p < 0.01). Demographic variables did not significantly predict social anxiety (p > 0.05). Early maladaptive schemas alone accounted for 38.5% of the variance in social anxiety (R² = 0.385, p < .001), and the addition of fear of negative evaluation to the model significantly increased the predictive power by 4.8% (ΔR² = 0.048, p = 0.001). In the final model, 43.3% of the variance was explained (R² = 0.433, adjusted R² = 0.356). Fear of negative evaluation emerged as the strongest direct predictor (β = 0.276, p < 0.001), and among the schema domains, only "unrelenting standards" (perfectionism) retained a significant direct effect on social anxiety (β = 0.158, p = 0.046). Thus, the influence of many schemas on social anxiety is exerted through the exacerbation of fear of negative evaluation. These findings underscore the necessity of simultaneous interventions targeting the reconstruction of fundamental schemas, reduction of fear of others' judgment, and modification of maladaptive perfectionism among university students.