KAIST at a Glance

History

In the late 1960s, as Korea shifted its focus from light industry to heavy industry, the lack of highly-educated scientists and engineers emerged as a serious problem. Korea, then heavily dependent on foreign products and technologies, had difficulty conducting its own research and development (R&D).

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) was established in 1971 as the nation’s first research-oriented graduate school in science and technology. In 1986, KAIST started offering undergraduate degree programs as well. In 1989, the university’s campus moved out of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, to Daejeon, about 50 minutes away by high-speed train from Seoul. In 2009, KAIST merged with the Information and Communications University, a public university established in Daejeon in 1997 with a primary focus on information and technology research.

KAIST was initially staffed with a number of Korean engineering and science faculty members educated in the United States. Over the past 45 years, KAIST has recruited distinguished professors; built state-of-the-art research facilities; and provided excellent education and diverse benefits to its students, including scholarships, research grants, living expenses and exemptions from mandatory military service.

KAIST has set itself a new model for research universities in Korea and established its reputation for pioneering research throughout the world. Despite its relatively short history, KAIST ranked 41st in the 2019 World University Rankings and earned 1st place in Asia's Most Innovative University Rankings for 2016-2019.

Current Status

KAIST has three campuses, one in Seoul and two in Daejeon. The Seoul campus is situated in Seoul, the capital of Korea. The main campus and the Munji campus are both located in the center of Daedeok Innopolis in Daejeon. Daedeok Innopolis is the largest scientific and technological R&D cluster in Korea, comprising government & private research institutes, start-ups and venture companies.

KAIST consists of 5 colleges, 6 schools and 38 Departments/Divisions.

As of 2019, there are 639 tenure-track faculty members and 703 permanent staff members. KAIST places great emphasis on recruiting best international and female faculty members possible. In 2019, the numbers of international faculties are 53 from 12 different countries. The university strives to continuously increase international and female representation on its faculty.

The total budget for the fiscal year 2019 is USD 856 Billion KRW. 24% of the budget is endowed by the Korean government. A large portion of the budget (approximately 40%) is secured through research grants, and the rest comes from various other income sources such as donations.

Education System

KAIST has adopted a student-centered, autonomous academic system. The Open Major System allows undergraduates to take courses in the fields of possible interest and then choose a major that best suits their aptitude by the end of their first academic year. 

The Education 3.0 Program has been implemented since 2012 to enhance the quality and effectiveness of education by encouraging discussions and active learning with the application of advanced information technology. Under this program, students are able to study whenever and wherever they choose and can have more tailored learning experiences. For instance, calculus and chemistry courses are offered to students via the combination of online lectures and class discussions led by professors.

KAIST admits students on the basis of their overall high-school grades, teacher recommendations, study plans, personal statements and other data that demonstrate their excellence and potential. KAIST also puts special emphasis on students’ personality, responsibility and creativity. This multi-pronged admission procedure enables the university to identify students with extraordinary potential and well-rounded personality.

Since its establishment, KAIST has maintained a larger population of graduate students than undergraduates, positioning itself as a research-oriented university.  As of 2019, 10,504 students are studying at KAIST: 3,766 are undergraduates; 2,872 are in master's programs; 1,222 are in integrated M.S-Ph.D. programs; and 2,644 are Ph.D. candidates. About 50% of undergraduates are from science magnet high schools in Korea while the rest comes from general high schools or from abroad.

KAIST has produced many Ph.D. graduates in their 20s through integrated MS-Ph.D. programs and the Accelerated Graduation System. All Ph.D. candidates are required to publish their papers in world-renowned academic journals to ensure high quality of their dissertation.

Research

From the outset, KAIST has emphasized the importance of both basic and applied sciences. As Korea's foremost institution, KAIST undertakes mid- to long-term strategic R&D projects in order to promote technological innovation that will benefit humanity and industrial society.

KAIST's major research programs include the HRHR (high risk high return) Program, Undergraduate Research Participation (URP) Program and EEWS (energy, environment, water, and sustainability) Program. The HRHR Program aims to discover creative research ideas and provide research funding if those ideas are feasible to implement. The URP Program provides undergraduate students with ample opportunities to participate in research projects, thereby obtaining research skills and in-depth knowledge in science and engineering. The EEWS Graduate School, established in 2009, addresses pressing issues concerning the future of humanity, namely energy, environment, water, and sustainability. The graduate school adopts multi-disciplinary research programs to explore new research areas and develop disruptive technologies in collaboration with leading research institutions and industrial corporations worldwide.

The KAIST Institute (KI) was established in 2006 to conduct interdisciplinary research. KI consists of six research institutes and two centers: KI for BioCentury, KI for IT Convergence, KI for Robotics, KI for Nanocentury, KI for Health Science and Technology, KI for Artificial Intelligence, Saudi Aramco-KAIST CO2 Management Center(CMC) and Fourth Industrial Revolution Intelligence Center(FIRIC). At KI, over 200 faculty members and 250 researchers and students are currently engaged in various interdisciplinary research activities.

Total research grants of the projects commissioned by the Korean government and private businesses were nearly KRW 400 billion (USD 343 million) in 2018. KAIST has a total of 9,508 domestic and 1,535 international patents registered over the past 13 years (from 2006 to 2019).

International Exchanges

KAIST has a wide range of bilateral exchange programs and collaborative programs; hosts international academic conferences, workshops, and symposiums; promotes academic exchanges with overseas universities; and conducts international joint research projects.

KAIST has continually hosted the International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU) since 2008. This forum attracts a significant number of leaders from research universities around the world to discuss issues related to higher education and explore development strategies that benefit the world’s university community. In 2016, more than 150 representatives of 85 research universities and institutions from 33 nations attended the IPFGRU to share their expertise, insights and best practices under the theme of “Social Responsibilities of Higher Education and Strategic Global Partnership.”

KAIST is gaining prominence in the world’s academic societies with outstanding research outcomes produced by distinguished faculty and researchers. KAIST is recognized as a global research university, appearing consistently since 2008 in the World University Rankings, published by Times Higher Education (110th in 2020) and QS (41st in 2019). In addition, KAIST ranked 3rd in the 2015 Asian University Rankings and placed 10th in the 2015 Top 100 World's Most Innovative Universities, released by QS and Reuters, respectively.

KAIST offers a variety of scholarships, grants and fellowships to international students, creating an environment that promotes cultural diversity and global citizenship. About 80% of courses are offered in English, and more than 1,000 international students from over 90 countries are studying at KAIST. The university operates bilateral exchange programs and other collaborative programs with 232 partner institutions around the world such as the University of Oxford, the University of California, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Melbourne (Australia), and Ecole Polytechnique (France).

International Students at KAIST

Number of International students

This map shows the current number of enrolled international students by their nationality. Click on the blue figures for more details.

Number of International students (Per year)

Graduates

The total number of graduates as of January 2020 is 64,739 (BS: 18,189; MS: 33,230; Ph.D.: 13,320).

KAIST graduates teach and conduct research at MIT, UCLA, Harvard, Caltech, Technische Universitat Graz, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and other prestigious universities. Major business establishments including Samsung, SK Telecom, LG, Hyundai, and NHN employ large numbers of KAIST graduates. Most government-funded research institutes in Korea such as the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) are also staffed by many KAIST graduates.

As of 2016, 64.7% of BS graduates advanced to higher degree programs. KAIST graduates account for 20% of all engineering doctorates in Korea and 10% of all engineering professionals in Korea. Nearly 25% of the R&D personnel at Samsung Electronics are KAIST graduates. Many KAIST graduates have also established their own businesses, totaling 1,832 start-ups in 2018.

KAIST Alumni Around the World

This map shows the number of alumni who have provided their overseas employment status. For Korea, the number of international alumni currently employed at a Korean company is included in the data.