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 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:

• Completed a minimum of 1 year full-time study at their home university
• GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.0 or better (on a 4.3 point scale) or equivalent
• 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
• 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 2 months prior to the start of your research at KAIST

Procedure

A.Contact the laboratory where you wish to work and obtain permission from the professor who is in charge of the lab.

B. Students who are accepted for the VSR Program must obtain a D-2-5 visa. Successful applicants should contact their nearest Diplomatic Mission with respect to visa requirements.

For more information on visa, please click here.

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

※ The lab is responsible for filling out the forms.

D. Complete the form that you receive from the lab and submit it back to them. Then, the lab will complete the documents and submit them to IRT to further process your registration.

E. IRT will contact the successful applicants, who will then be required to fill out an online application form at the International Office (IO) website and pay the registration fee online upon completing the application. For more information about the registration fee, please refer to the fee information below.

F. After the submission and payment, KAIST will issue your student ID and inform you about the procedure for dormitory through the KAIST International Scholars and Student Services Team (ISSS).

• 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)
  - Most of applicants(90%) will be assigned to a dormitory room. However, it is possible that the dormitory may not be available due to limited capacity. In this case, please find housing near KAIST. Information on finding your own housing and Korea’s real estate system can be found at "Finding Off-campus Housing by Yourself(link)" ISSS will assist you if you encounter any problems.
  - Dormitory rooms cannot be assigned to those who have contagious diseases such as phthisis.
• Using KAIST facilities/equipments
  - A deposit (KRW 100,000) should be paid after arrival to use the library and school facilities/equipment.
  - Dorm room cleaning fees can be deducted from the deposit, and the remaining amount will be returned at the end of the program.

Fees

Inquiry

Application (irt@kaist.ac.kr), Campus Life (isss@kaist.ac.kr)