GKS Graduate
Master's, Doctoral and Research Programme
The graduate track is the most competitive route for Indian applicants and the one where a strong study plan, research fit and recommendation letters change outcomes more than raw CGPA.
The three programmes
Master's Programme
1 year Korean language + 2 years master's
Who applies: Bachelor's degree holders and final-year students graduating before the entry date
- · Study plan quality matters as much as grades
- · Many English-taught programmes available in engineering, business and policy
- · Two recommendation letters, ideally from your final-year project or thesis supervisors
Doctoral Programme
1 year Korean language + 3 years doctoral
Who applies: Master's degree holders and those completing a master's before the entry date
- · A research proposal aligned with a specific lab is the strongest differentiator
- · Contact professors early; a supportive professor greatly improves admission odds
- · Publications, conference papers and patents carry real evaluation weight
Research Programme
Short-term research stay as defined in the guideline
Who applies: Professors, researchers and scholars invited for research in Korea
- · Requires an inviting Korean institution or host professor
- · Different document set from the degree programmes
- · Announced separately from the main graduate cycle in some years
Eligibility
- Indian nationality; both parents Indian nationals and not Korean nationals
- Generally under 40 years of age as of the entry date in the guideline
- Bachelor's degree (master's applicants) or master's degree (doctoral applicants)
- Overall grade of at least 80/100 or top 20% of your class, per the official conversion
- Good physical and mental health
Selection process
- Embassy Track: Embassy screening and interview in India → NIIED committee → university admission (three choices)
- University Track: single-university screening → NIIED committee → admission
- Evaluation weighs academic record, study plan, recommendations, language ability and extracurricular/research achievements
Documents that decide the outcome
- Statement of Purpose — your story, connected to your field and to Korea specifically
- Study Plan — coursework, research direction, language plan and post-graduation contribution
- Research Proposal — mandatory in practice for competitive doctoral applications
- Two recommendation letters on letterhead, sealed and signed across the flap
- Consolidated transcript with a grading-scale legend, apostilled
Common mistakes
- A study plan that could apply to any country — no Korea-specific reasoning
- Naming a professor who has retired or moved institutions
- Recommenders writing generic two-paragraph letters at the last minute
- Wrong GPA conversion inflating your score, caught during verification
- Ignoring the University Information file, which lists department-level restrictions
Master's and doctoral quotas, English-programme availability and department restrictions change per cycle — always cross-check the University Information file for your target department.
- Official source:
- NIIED GKS Graduate guideline and University Information files
- Applicable cycle:
- GKS 2027 cycle
- Last updated:
- 2026-07-27
- Version:
- v1.0 — revision history maintained per guideline release