KAIST IO

Visiting Student Researcher Program

KAIST Visiting Student Researcher(VSR) Program

The Visiting Student Researcher(VSR) Program is for students who are currently enrolled in or taking a leave of absence from universities outside of South Korea and who wish to conduct on-site research in one of KAIST's laboratories for up to a year. This program does not provide any credit during the research period. Programs offering credits are the Exchange Program and International Summer School. More information can be found at Incoming Exchange and KAIST International Summer School (KISS).

Entry Requirements

All applicants must satisfy the following criteria in order to apply for the Visiting Student Researcher Program:

Currently studying at a university outside of South Korea and interested in doing a research at a KAIST laboratory
Have contacted KAIST laboratories of interest and have received official permission from the professor who is in charge of the KAIST laboratory

Depending on the labs, students may be required to meet the following criteria:

Have completed a minimum of 1 year full-time undergraduate study or a minimum of 1 semester full-time graduate study at their home university
GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.0 or better (on a 4.3 point scale) or equivalent
TOEFL iBT 80 or its equivalent on another English language proficiency test (Students whose nationality is a native English-speaking country can submit a copy of their passport instead of an English language proficiency test score)

Application Period

At least 3 months prior to the start of your research at KAIST

Procedure

A. Students contact the laboratory where they wish to work and obtain permission from the professor who is in charge of the lab.

B. The lab is required to download the application form below to start administrative procedures for successful applicants. The lab will ask successful applicant to fill in the application form via e-mail.

Guideline Application for VSR Administrative Support

※ The lab is responsible for filling out the form and submitting them to IRT.

C. Students complete the form forwarded by the lab and submit it back to them. Then, the lab will complete the documents and submit them to the International Relations Team (IRT) to further process your registration.

D. Once IRT forwards the information of the lab and the successful students, International Scholars and Student Services Team (ISSS) will provide general guidance on visa application. Depending on the nationality of the VSR or diplomatic mission, required documents may vary. Applicants must check the fees and the list of the required documents before submitting the visa application documents.

※ Students who are accepted for the VSR Program must obtain a D-2-5 visa.

E. IRT will contact students who will then be required to complete the online registration and pay the registration fee at the International Office (IO) website. For more information about the registration fee, please refer to the fee information below.

F. After the submission and payment, IRT will issue your student ID and ISSS will inform you about the procedure for dormitory.

Health check-up (to be filled out by a physician): It is mandatory to submit the 『Certificate of Health Check-up Form』 before entering KAIST to check the status of health and to protect KAIST members from contagious diseases.

Health Check-up Form
Allocation of dormitories (only for students who apply for the dorm)
Dormitory Fees: KRW 100,000~310,000 per month (paid after arrival)
Due to dormitory room shortage, dormitory rooms may not be available depending on the time of application.
In such cases, the student will be informed in advance.
Dormitory rooms cannot be assigned to those who have contagious diseases such as Tuberculosis.