Incoming Exchange: Applying to KAIST

Who can apply?

An Inbound Exchange student is someone from one of our partner institutions who meets the exchange eligibility requirements.
(These requirements may vary for each institution. Check detailed eligibility requirements for your institution with your international student exchange advisors). Depending on the institutional agreement, eligible students may study for one or two semesters at KAIST.
The tuition fees are to be paid to their home university. If you wish to study at KAIST as an exchange student, you should first contact the Exchange Coordinator at your home university for the details of the selection process such as eligibility, required documents and deadlines.
Check out KAIST’s list of partner institutions to be sure that your school is included.

KAIST will only process applications with official nominations from our partner universities.

Entry Requirements

In order to apply for the Inbound Exchange Program you must satisfy the following criteria :

• Minimum 1 year of full-time study at a partner university
• GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.0 or better (on a 4.3 point scale) or equivalent
• TOEFL iBT 80 or its equivalent in other English language proficiency test

Nomination by Email

• Nomination should be sent to incomingexchange@kaist.ac.kr by home university coordinator before proceeding with your
  online registration.
• Home university coordinator should include the following information in the nominations: Full name, Major, Program, Year of study,
  GPA & English test result

Nomination Deadline

• Spring Semester: October 1st
• Fall Semester: April 1st

Application Period

• Spring Semester: September 1st - October 15th
• Fall Semester: March 1st - April 15th

Application Procedure

A. Once your nomination is accepted by the IRT, please proceed with the online registration by clicking on the orange button 'Click here for Registration' on the right top of this page.

B. Online registration

※ In order for you to sign up on our webpage, you must provide a nomination code. If you are officially nominated by your university, please contact your home university coordinator to ask for the code.

• Create an account with your email address (nomination code required)
• Complete the online application form and upload the following required documents
• - Original (Official) Transcripts; All in English
• - English Language Proficiency Test Result
• - Copy of Passport; not your student ID or ID card of your country




Applicants must make sure to press the “Submit” button after completing their applications. Pressing “Temporarily Saved” does not mean that it is submitted.

C. Useful Links

• KAIST Academic Calendar & Policies - https://www.kaist.ac.kr/en/html/edu/03100101.html
• KAIST Course - https://erp.kaist.ac.kr/com/lgin/SsoCtr/initExtPageWork.do?link=estblSubjt
• Dormitory - https://kds.kaist.ac.kr/main.do?lang=en
• Campus Life & Student Services - https://io.kaist.ac.kr/campus/campuslife.do

Timeline

※ Welcome packages contain the Certificate of Admission (for visa application) and other necessary information.

Course Information for Applicants

• We encourage you to take courses required for graduation at your home university in preparation for the changes occurred in any circumstances at KAIST.
• Undergraduates (Bachelor)
  • - Minimum of 4 courses (12 credits)
  • - Maximum of 8 courses (24 credits)
• Graduates (Master)
  • - Minimum of 3 courses (9 credits)
  • - Maximum of 4 courses (12 credits)
• Students from combined programs of Bachelor and Master (ex. 5-year program), please be extra cautious when choosing your program
  at KAIST. If you are going to be master, but currently a bachelor, you should choose MS (master). Remember that there is no 5th year in
  bachelor at KAIST, so please do not get confused with the year. If you are not sure of what to choose, please email us and seek for
  our advise before proceeding with your application.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

• Many of the students coming from European institutions attempt to do a thesis work during an exchange semester.
  Please note that thesis courses are not open for exchange students to register. However, if you still must do a thesis work in KAIST,
  the only way for you to do so is to register for the Individual Studies course(only on condition that you received an approval from
  the professor in charge). Also, please remember that the Individual Studies course is worth 1 credit for BS and generally 3 credit for MS but you need to check with the departments and prefessors regarding credits and class openings because some departments do not open the individual study course.
• Students are not allowed to register for courses from different levels of degree program. Bachelor students should only take courses
  for Bachelors and vice versa for Master students. The courses are classified by the course code/number. Course No. of 1xx~4xx is for
  Bachelors, 4xx~8xx is for Masters. (ex. MS211 = Bachelor course, BiS752 = Master course)
  
  * For more information about Course Code and Number Indication, please visit the following webpage.
  https://kaist.ac.kr/en/html/edu/03100309.html
• There is no official calculation to define the equivalence of ECTS and KAIST credits. The conversion for credits should be figured
  out according to your home university's regulation and follow their calculation. Please kindly consult your home university’s coordinator
  for credit transfer issues.
  • - Course list for each semester is uploaded 2 months prior to the starting date of a semester.
  • - Course Information link: caist.kaist.ac.kr/totalOpeningCourse
• Exchange students are advised to take required courses for their graduation at home university and follow the guidance/regulation of your home university regarding the credit conversion and course recognition.
  
• Transcripts
  
  • 2 copies of official transcripts will be delivered to your home university coordinators by IRT. Please be aware that it could take up to
    2 months after the semester has ended.

FactSheet

KAIST FactSheet(2025Fall).pdf