Korea University Admission 2027: Deadlines, Requirements, Fees for International Students

Admission at a glance

Korea University (KU) is a private research university in Seongbuk, Seoul, one of Korea's best known institutions internationally. International undergraduates who hold foreign nationality along with both parents apply through International Undergraduate Admission I, choosing majors from a long list spanning the Business School, Liberal Arts, Engineering, Informatics and other colleges, or through Admission II's Global Open Major, a College of International Studies programme where students take general and Korean-language courses in year one before being assigned a major in years two to four based on demonstrated Korean or English ability. Both routes evaluate applicants by document review alone, covering academic ability, aptitude, language proficiency and activities, with no fixed quota per major and no published acceptance rate.

Korea University runs one undergraduate international intake a year, for a September start. The most recent, Fall 2026, opened online applications on 2 March 2026 and closed 27 March 2026, with results announced 12 June 2026; the Fall 2027 cycle had not been published at the time of this review, though KU's own admission guide flags that from the Spring 2027 cycle, language score submission becomes compulsory for every applicant, since an online Korean placement test that previously stood in for a missing score is being discontinued. Language proficiency for most majors needs only a valid Korean or English test result, without one fixed pass mark; the Global Open Major is the exception, needing TOPIK level 5, IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 to be assigned into it.

Tuition runs from about KRW 5.8 million a semester in Humanities and Social Sciences to KRW 6.7 million in Natural Sciences and roughly KRW 7.7 to 7.8 million in Engineering, Art and Design and the newer Global Open Major and Interdisciplinary Studies units. The undergraduate application fee is KRW 150,000 for Humanities or Science applicants and KRW 200,000 for Art and Design, and KU's own guide warns that a proof of bank balance of at least KRW 20,000,000 will be required at the D-2 visa stage for successful applicants.

Requirements

Bachelor

Both the applicant and the applicant's parents must hold non-Korean nationality, or the applicant must have completed the entire Korean-equivalent primary-to-secondary curriculum abroad, and the applicant must have completed regular primary and secondary education equivalent to grades 1 to 12 in Korea; GED, home schooling and other equivalency routes are not recognised. Applicants submit one valid Korean or English proficiency document; Global Open Major assignment specifically needs TOPIK level 5, IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100.

Master's and PhD

Korea University's graduate schools set their own admission requirements and deadlines by department; the Graduate School of International Studies and other specialised graduate schools run separate application cycles from the general Graduate School.

Full requirements and documents