KAIST Scholarship Eligibility 2027: Requirements for International Students

Quick Answer: Who Is Eligible for the KAIST Scholarship?

You can apply for the KAIST Scholarship if you are not a Korean citizen and you meet KAIST’s academic requirements for the program you want to join.

There are two separate application paths:

• Undergraduate applicants must be finishing or have finished secondary school (high school).
• Graduate applicants must hold, or be about to earn, the right prior degree. A bachelor’s degree for a master’s program. A master’s degree for a PhD program.

There is no separate KAIST Scholarship application form. You get considered for the scholarship when you apply for admission and select “KAIST Scholarship” in the Statement of Financial Resources part of your application. If KAIST admits you and you selected this option, you are reviewed for the scholarship at the same time.

This page explains admission eligibility and scholarship eligibility for both undergraduate and graduate applicants. For what the scholarship actually pays for, see the KAIST Scholarship Benefits page. For step-by-step application instructions, see the How to Apply page.

KAIST Scholarship Eligibility for Undergraduate Students

To be eligible for the KAIST Scholarship at the undergraduate level, you need to meet KAIST’s international undergraduate admission requirements. There is no extra eligibility test just for the scholarship. If you are eligible to be admitted and you select the KAIST Scholarship as your funding option, you are eligible to be considered for it.

Basic requirements for undergraduate applicants:

• You must not hold Korean citizenship, including dual citizenship.
• You must have finished, or be on track to finish, secondary school (high school) before you enroll.
• You must apply through KAIST’s international admissions track. KAIST does not have a transfer program, so even if you already have college credit somewhere else, you would enroll as a freshman.
• You need an English proficiency test score, unless you qualify for an exemption (for example, if your prior education was fully in English).

KAIST does not publish a required incoming GPA for undergraduate admission itself. Academic performance is reviewed as part of your full application, alongside recommendation letters, your study plan, and other materials. What KAIST does publish is a GPA rule to keep the scholarship after you enroll. That is covered in the GPA section below.

KAIST Scholarship Eligibility for Graduate Students

Graduate eligibility works differently from undergraduate eligibility, so do not use the undergraduate rules above for a graduate application.

To apply for KAIST’s international graduate admission, and be considered for the KAIST Scholarship at that level, you generally need:

• For a Master’s or Master’s-PhD Integrated program: a bachelor’s degree, or a degree KAIST recognizes as equivalent, completed or expected to be completed before your program starts.
• For a PhD program: a master’s degree, or a recognized equivalent, completed or expected to be completed before your program starts.
• Non-Korean citizenship. Dual citizens who hold Korean citizenship are not eligible for this track.
• An English proficiency test score, since KAIST teaches its international programs in English. Some applicants may qualify for an exemption if their prior degree was taught fully in English.

Graduate admission also looks at your study and research plan, your transcripts, and often your fit with a research advisor or lab. KAIST does not publish one fixed GPA cutoff for graduate admission itself. Some departments describe a “adequate GPA” requirement without giving one universal number, so check your specific department’s page for the program you want.

Graduate scholarship structures are also not identical to the undergraduate one. Beyond the standard KAIST Scholarship, KAIST offers related graduate-only scholarships, such as the KAIST Global Presidential Scholarship (KGPS) for qualifying master’s and Master’s-PhD Integrated applicants, and a Presidential Scholarship for qualifying Master’s-PhD Integrated and PhD applicants. You do not fill out a separate form for these. You are considered for them through the same graduate scholarship selection process.

Citizenship and International Student Requirements

Both undergraduate and graduate KAIST Scholarship tracks share the same core citizenship rule:

• You must not hold Korean citizenship.
• If you hold dual citizenship and one of those citizenships is Korean, you are not eligible to apply through the international track.
• Applicants of Korean ethnicity who are not Korean citizens can generally still apply, but KAIST may ask for extra documents, such as immigration records, to confirm your citizenship status. Check the current official guide for the exact documents required.

International students who are ethnically Korean but do not hold Korean citizenship should read KAIST’s current admission guide closely, since this group sometimes faces extra document checks that other international applicants do not.

Academic Requirements

Academic requirements differ by level, but the underlying idea is the same: you need to show KAIST that you can succeed at the level you are applying for.

• Undergraduate: completed or nearly completed secondary school, with transcripts showing your coursework and grades.
• Graduate: a completed or expected prior degree at the right level (bachelor’s for master’s applicants, master’s for PhD applicants), plus transcripts from that degree.

KAIST reviews your full academic record, not just one number. This includes your coursework, your grades, your recommendation letters, and any standardized test scores you submit.

Degree and Graduation Requirements

• Undergraduate applicants need to have graduated, or be on track to graduate, from secondary school before their KAIST program starts.
• Master’s and Master’s-PhD Integrated applicants need a bachelor’s degree, or KAIST’s recognized equivalent, completed or expected by the time their program starts.
• PhD applicants need a master’s degree, or KAIST’s recognized equivalent, completed or expected by the time their program starts.

KAIST publishes a list of what counts as an equivalent degree for applicants whose education systems differ from the standard four-year bachelor’s model, such as European Higher Education Area qualifications or British-pattern honors degrees. If your degree structure does not clearly match a standard bachelor’s or master’s, check KAIST’s current equivalency list before you apply.

Because exact graduation-timing cutoffs shift a little each cycle, confirm the current 2027 cutoff dates on KAIST’s own Eligibility page before you finalize your documents.

English Language Requirements

KAIST teaches its international programs in English, so English proficiency is a real requirement at both levels, not just a recommendation.

• You generally need to submit one accepted English proficiency test score, such as TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic.
• Test scores usually need to be recent. KAIST sets a window for how old a score can be, so check the current cycle’s rules.
• You may qualify for an exemption if your prior education, undergraduate or secondary, was conducted fully in English. If you plan to claim this exemption, KAIST typically asks for a certificate confirming English was the language of instruction.

KAIST does not treat the Korean-language test TOPIK as a standard requirement for international admission. You do not need to know Korean to apply or study at KAIST, though some students choose to learn it during their time there.

GPA or Academic Performance Requirements

This is one of the areas where people mix up two different things: getting the scholarship versus keeping it.

• To be admitted and considered for the scholarship: KAIST does not publish one fixed minimum GPA that applies to every applicant. Your academic record is reviewed as part of a full application.
• To keep the scholarship after you enroll: KAIST ties continued funding to maintaining satisfactory academic performance. For undergraduates, this is commonly reported as needing to stay above a set GPA threshold (on KAIST’s own grading scale) after your freshman year. Because this kind of threshold can be revised between cycles, confirm the exact current number on KAIST’s official scholarship terms before you rely on it.

If your GPA falls below the required standard after enrollment, your continued scholarship funding can be affected. KAIST’s own materials describe the general policy. They do not publish every detail of the review process publicly, so check your program’s current terms for specifics.

Are There Age Limits?

KAIST does not publish a general maximum or minimum age limit for international undergraduate or graduate admission. What matters more is whether you meet the academic and graduation requirements for the level you are applying to.

If a third-party site tells you there is a hard age cutoff, treat that as unconfirmed unless you can find it stated on KAIST’s own admission or eligibility page.

Can Current KAIST Students Apply?

KAIST does not run a transfer program for international undergraduate applicants. This means:

• If you are currently studying elsewhere and want to move to KAIST, you would apply and enroll as a freshman, not as a transfer student. Prior coursework at another university does not carry over.
• Current KAIST undergraduates who want to continue to a KAIST graduate program apply through the standard graduate admission process for that program, not through a special internal track.

Can Students Apply From Any Country?

Yes. KAIST’s international admission tracks are open to applicants from any country, as long as you are not a Korean citizen and you meet the academic requirements above. KAIST does not restrict eligibility by home country or region.

Some applicants may qualify for an application fee waiver based on their country, such as applicants from Least Developed Countries. Fee waiver eligibility is separate from scholarship eligibility, so check the current fee waiver rules if this applies to you.

Undergraduate vs Graduate Eligibility Comparison

Requirement	Undergraduate	Graduate (Master’s / PhD)
Citizenship	Non-Korean citizen	Non-Korean citizen
Dual Korean citizenship	Not eligible	Not eligible
Prior education needed	Secondary school completed or on track	Bachelor’s degree for Master’s; Master’s degree for PhD
Transfer credit accepted	No — enrolled as freshman	Not applicable
English proficiency test	Required, exemptions possible	Required, exemptions possible
Published incoming GPA cutoff	Not published for admission itself	Not one fixed number; varies by department
GPA to keep scholarship	Yes, a minimum standard after freshman year	Yes, tied to satisfactory academic performance
Separate scholarship application	No — selected in the admission application	No — selected in the admission application
Age limit	None published	None published

Who Is NOT Eligible?

Based on KAIST’s published rules, you are generally not eligible for the KAIST Scholarship international track if:

• You hold Korean citizenship, including as a dual citizen.
• You are applying to transfer undergraduate credit from another university. KAIST does not accept transfer applications at the undergraduate level.
• You have not completed, and are not on track to complete, the required prior education for your level (secondary school for undergraduate, the right prior degree for graduate programs).
• You cannot provide any accepted English proficiency test score and do not qualify for an exemption.

Missing a document, submitting late, or having a weak application are separate issues from formal eligibility. KAIST does not always state that a specific mistake causes automatic rejection. These are practical risks to avoid, not official eligibility rules, so this page does not list them as eligibility requirements.

2027 Eligibility Checklist

• Confirmed you do not hold Korean citizenship, including dual citizenship
• Confirmed your prior education matches the level you are applying for (secondary school for undergraduate, correct prior degree for graduate)
• Confirmed your degree, if applying to graduate school, meets KAIST’s equivalency standards
• Prepared an accepted English proficiency test score, or confirmed you qualify for an exemption
• Checked KAIST’s current official Eligibility page for the exact 2027 cutoff dates
• Checked the current GPA standard needed to keep the scholarship after enrollment
• Confirmed you plan to select “KAIST Scholarship” in the Statement of Financial Resources section
• Checked whether you qualify for any application fee waiver

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Read Next

Now that you know who can apply, you may want to check what the scholarship actually covers on the KAIST Scholarship Benefits page, or walk through the full submission process on the How to Apply page.