Requirements
Bachelor
Applicants must hold or be expected to hold a certificate equivalent to completion of secondary education, and neither the applicant nor their parents may hold Korean citizenship; dual Korean and foreign citizenship is not eligible for the international track. Admission is by document review, with no fixed quota per department.
Master's and PhD
Applicants need a bachelor's degree (or a master's degree for doctoral applicants) recognised as equivalent to a KAIST degree, from a four-year programme or an equivalent three-year Bologna-compliant degree; individual departments may add their own research-fit expectations.
Documents
Online application form, personal statement and study plan, academic transcripts and a certificate of graduation or expected graduation, at least one recommendation letter, proof of the applicant's and parents' nationality, and an English proficiency score report (or waiver evidence) valid within two years of the deadline. Graduate applicants add a research plan and, for most departments, contact with a prospective supervisor before applying.
How to apply
- Decide whether to apply Early (closing in October, for entry the following March) or Regular (closing in January, for the same March entry).
- Apply online and upload all required documents by the deadline; KAIST does not accept late submissions.
- Pay the KRW 80,000 (USD 80) application fee, since payment completes the application.
- Wait for the admission decision; KAIST's review is document-based only, with no interview for most undergraduate applicants.
- If admitted, confirm your KAIST Undergraduate Scholarship award and complete the Certificate of Admission and D-2 visa steps before travelling.
- Register and pay any outstanding fees once the semester's registration window opens.
English test waiver
KAIST accepts TOEFL iBT 83 (equivalent to 4.5 on the redesigned scale used for test dates from 21 January 2026), IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEIC 720 (Listening and Reading), or TEPS 326, valid within two years of the application deadline, for both undergraduate and graduate applicants. Applicants who hold citizenship of, or completed a full degree in, an English-medium country (the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and a small number of others) may apply for a waiver, as may current or graduating KAIST students.