Funding

Fully Funded

Program dates

TBA

Master's Scholarship•South Korea · Daejeon

KAIST Scholarship for International Graduate Students

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Application Deadline

September 1, 2026

Official Page

The KAIST Scholarship is the standard funding package attached to international graduate admission at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a research university founded in 1971 with its campus in Daejeon, South Korea. It covers tuition in full, pays the national health insurance premium, and adds a monthly stipend whose size depends on the student’s research involvement. KAIST states that 94% of its international student body is supported this way. There is no separate scholarship form: applicants tick the KAIST Scholarship option inside the graduate application, and those who qualify are then considered automatically for two higher-value named awards. It is open to every department except the GDI-Global Technology Innovation Program track, across Master’s, Master’s-PhD Integrated and PhD programmes. Admission runs in three rounds each year — Spring, Fall Early and Fall Regular — and the funding decision follows the admission decision.

Benefits & funding

  • Full tuition coverage for the degree programme.
  • Korean national health insurance.
  • A monthly stipend, with the amount tied to the student’s research involvement.
  • KAIST describes scholarship holders as financially independent, on the basis that the award covers tuition in full and guarantees minimum living expenses.
  • Automatic consideration for the KAIST Global Presidential Scholarship (KGPS) — full tuition plus a monthly stipend of 1,000,000 KRW for 4 regular semesters, for Master’s and Master’s-PhD Integrated students, with recipients recommended by department heads.
  • Automatic consideration for the KAIST Prestige Scholarship for International Ph.D. Students (KPS) — full tuition plus a monthly stipend of 300,000 KRW for 8 regular semesters, for Master’s-PhD Integrated and PhD students, with college deans making the final decision.
  • For scale, KAIST publishes 2023 academic-year costs of 19,118,000 KRW in tuition and 30,188,787 KRW in total annual cost, including 1,400,000 KRW on-campus housing, 7,000,000 KRW meals and a 1,726,080 KRW health insurance premium.
  • No airfare or relocation grant is stated.

Eligibility

  • Non-Korean citizenship is required; holders of Korean citizenship cannot apply through the international track.
  • Applicants of Korean descent holding foreign citizenship must either document renunciation of Korean citizenship completed before the application period opens, or provide certified proof of completing grades 1 to 12 outside Korea.
  • Master’s and Master’s-PhD Integrated applicants need a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent by the course start date; PhD applicants need a Master’s degree or equivalent by the course start date.
  • Accepted equivalents include four-year degrees, three-year Bologna-compliant Bachelor’s degrees, EHEA first-cycle qualifications and British honours degrees.
  • English proficiency valid as of the application deadline: TOEFL iBT 83 for a test taken before 21 January 2026, or 4.5 for a test taken on or after 21 January 2026; IELTS Academic 6.5; TOEIC 720; or TEPS 326.
  • Waivers of the English requirement are available to citizens or graduates of English-speaking countries, and to graduates of designated English-medium systems on production of a certificate.
  • Open to applicants in all departments except the GDI-Global Technology Innovation Program track.
  • No age limit and no work-experience requirement are stated.

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Application process

  1. 1
    Check the round: Spring admission runs mid-August to early September, Fall Early runs early to late December, and Fall Regular runs early to late March. The window for Spring 2027 entry is 18 August to 1 September 2026.
  2. 2
    Assemble degree certificates and transcripts, plus an English test score valid at the deadline or the documentation supporting a waiver.
  3. 3
    Applicants who need help with the application fee apply in a separate earlier window; for Spring 2027 entry it ran 29 July to 5 August 2026.
  4. 4
    Submit the application on the KAIST graduate application portal and select the KAIST Scholarship option within it.
  5. 5
    Arrange letters of recommendation through the portal — they can still be changed inside the designated submission period.
  6. 6
    Departments review applications and announce admission results; students admitted with the scholarship option are then considered automatically for KGPS or KPS where they qualify.

Program timeline

  1. Application fee waiver window for Spring 2027 entry

    Jul 29, 2026 to Aug 5, 2026

  2. Applications open for Spring 2027 entry

    Aug 18, 2026

  3. Application deadline for Spring 2027 entry

    Sep 1, 2026

  4. 2026-12

    Fall 2027 Early track application round, early to late December

  5. 2027-03

    Fall 2027 Regular track application round, early to late March

  6. exact dates to be announced by KAIST

    Fall 2027 entry