KAIST Scholarship for International Graduate Students, Fall 2027 Entry

About this scholarship

KAIST in South Korea admits international students to Master's, integrated Master's-PhD and PhD programmes, all taught in English, and says 94% of its international students receive the KAIST Scholarship. The scholarship covers full tuition and National Health Insurance and pays a monthly stipend. The online application for fall 2027 entry is open from 7 January to 5 February 2027.

Funding type

Covers: full tuition for 4 semesters in a Master's, 10 semesters in the integrated Master's-PhD and 8 semesters in a PhD. A monthly stipend. The amount depends on the department, the programme, the advisor and your research work, and the 2027 guide gives no figure. KAIST's 2026 International Student Viewbook gave the stipend as KRW 350,000 a month for Master's and KRW 400,000 for PhD students, and said a stipend may also be awarded depending on your involvement in research. Ask the department or your intended advisor what applies in 2027. National Health Insurance premiums at actual cost. Dormitory costs are not included. KAIST's FAQ says you pay them from the stipend. Scholarship applicants are also considered for two further awards with no separate application. The KAIST Global Presidential Scholarship (KGPS) gives full tuition and KRW 1,000,000 a month for 4 regular semesters to selected Master's and integrated students. The KAIST Prestige Scholarship (KPS) gives full tuition and KRW 300,000 a month for 8 regular semesters to selected integrated and PhD students. Integrated students receive KPS from the start of the PhD stage. Tuition in 2027 is KRW 9,559,000 per semester in most departments. KAIST puts other costs for a student living on campus at about KRW 5,350,000 for six months, including about KRW 700,000 for the dormitory and KRW 3,500,000 for food (2026 figures). The pages do not mention travel costs. Admission and scholarship decisions are made separately, so an offer can come with or without the scholarship.

Tuition fees

Covered

Living costs

Partially covered

Travel

Not specified

Insurance

Covered

Eligibility requirements

Nationalities

All except listed nationalities — South Korea

Residence condition

Residence not mentioned

Citizens of any country other than South Korea. Korean citizens, including dual citizens, cannot apply through international admission The eligibility rules do not name Palestine or any Arab country, and none is excluded For a Master's or the integrated Master's-PhD you need a bachelor's degree by the end of August 2027. It must equal a four-year Korean bachelor's degree, and a three-year Bologna-compliant bachelor's degree is also accepted For a PhD you need a master's degree by the end of August 2027 Applicants of Korean ethnicity with foreign citizenship must meet extra conditions set out in the guide You must be able to study full time. Admitted students must not have any professional responsibilities while studying at KAIST Only one application per application term is allowed. Applying to more than one department or degree leads to disqualification The KAIST Scholarship is open in all departments except the GTIP track of the Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation Not every programme takes every degree level in fall 2027. Physics and Chemistry, for example, take integrated and PhD students but no Master's students. Check the table in the guide

Minimum grade

Not stated

Work experience asked for

Not stated

Return condition

Return condition not stated

How to apply

Straight to the provider

Language requirements and exemptions

Language test required IELTS 6.5 TOEFL iBT TOEIC 720 Other test Waiver possible

You must send one English test score that is valid on the application deadline. The guide accepts tests taken on or after 5 February 2025. Minimum scores: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall, TOEFL iBT 83 for tests taken before 21 January 2026 or 4.5 for tests taken on or after that date, TOEIC Listening and Reading 720, or TEPS 326. TOEFL Home Edition and IELTS Online are accepted. TOEFL MyBest scores, IELTS One Skill Retake and ITP tests are not accepted. From the fall 2027 cycle you can ask for a waiver if you are a citizen of one of the English-speaking countries on KAIST's list, or completed a bachelor's degree or higher there. The list includes the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. A waiver is also possible with a degree taught in English and completed in one of a second list of countries, with a certificate of English medium of instruction. Sudan is on that list, and neither list has any other Arab country. The ITTP track of the Graduate School of Global Digital Innovation does not ask for a score.

University admission details

Admission included in application?

One online application covers admission and the scholarship. In Step 1 you choose the KAIST Scholarship as your financial resource. The application is open from 7 January 2027 at 10:00 to 5 February 2027 at 17:00, Korea Standard Time. Applications after the deadline are not accepted. Recommendation letters are due by 12 February 2027. They are optional, but KAIST strongly encourages them. You can name up to two recommenders. Decisions are announced on 28 May 2027 through the application system. The fall semester starts on 30 August 2027. The application fee is USD 80 and is not refunded. After you pay, you cannot change the form or the uploaded files. Naming an advisor is not mandatory, but many departments ask Master's applicants to contact faculty in advance, and KAIST strongly recommends it for integrated and PhD applicants. Departments contact applicants directly if an interview is needed. If you are admitted, you must send your degrees and transcripts certified by Apostille, by the Korean embassy in the country where you studied, or by that country's embassy or consulate in South Korea. You send them by post or hand them in. Nationals of countries on the UN list of least developed countries who rank in the top 5% of their bachelor's or master's class can ask for an application fee waiver from 1 December 2026 at 10:00 to 6 December 2026 at 18:00 Korea time, with a letter from their department head by 10 December 2026 at 18:00. The list includes Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Required documents

Copy of the identity page of your valid passport, with the passport number blacked out Identity documents of both parents, with passport numbers blacked out. If only one parent has custody because of death, divorce or another reason, send that parent's document and the death or divorce certificate A public document that shows your relationship to your parents, such as a certificate of family registration or a birth certificate Certified copies of your bachelor's degree certificate and transcript, and of your master's documents if you hold a master's degree. A certificate of expected graduation is accepted if you have not graduated yet English test score report, or proof that you qualify for a waiver Curriculum vitae in PDF, with no set form Statement of purpose of up to 5,000 bytes and short answers to the questions in the form, written in the online application Certificate of employment and proof of awards, publications or other achievements, all optional Up to two recommendation letters, uploaded by the recommenders themselves Documents not in English or Korean need a translation by the issuing institution or a public notary. Files must be PDF and no larger than 3 MB

Application steps

Read the 2027 Fall International Graduate Admission Application Guide on the KAIST admissions notice page. Check that your department takes your degree level in fall 2027 and look for faculty whose research matches yours. Take your English test early. Scores from tests taken after the application deadline are not considered. From 7 January 2027, create an account at gradapply.kaist.ac.kr and choose the KAIST Scholarship as your financial resource in Step 1. Upload your documents, pay the USD 80 fee and finish before 5 February 2027 at 17:00 Korea time. KAIST advises finishing early because heavy traffic can cause payment errors. Ask your recommenders to upload their letters by 12 February 2027, and check your email and the Application Status page until it shows COMPLETE.

Requirement checklist

Scholarship contacts

KAIST Office of Admissions, international graduate admissions: advanced.adm@kaist.ac.krCopy

Universities and contacts