Yonsei University for Indian Students: Fees, English Programmes and Admission

Yonsei University: Key Facts

The facts not already in the box above. Each row names the official page it comes from and the date we checked it. Figures change, so confirm on the source before you rely on one.

Each row is dated with the day we checked its source.

Yonsei University Fees

Yonsei publishes separate tuition tables for international students, set per semester in Korean won (KRW). The first semester costs a little more than the semesters after it. The undergraduate table below shows the colleges with one first-semester rate and one later rate; the full table, including Educational Sciences, Computing, Nursing, Medicine and Dentistry, is in Yonsei’s PDF.

Source: Yonsei University, 2026 Undergraduate Tuition Fee for International Students (PDF, one page, linked from Tuition: Undergraduate), checked 31 October 2026. Later semesters are 2-8, or 2-12 for Pharmacy. The PDF adds: “International freshmen entering Yonsei University will study at the Global Basic Education Division affiliated with Global Leaders College(GLC) for 1 year”. The UIC admission pages we read do not mention this, so if you are applying to UIC, check with UIC.

On top of tuition, UIC lists miscellaneous fees of KRW 56,000 a semester (KRW 61,000 in the first semester), which take its per-semester total for international students to KRW 8,258,000. UIC adds that “the total cost does not include personal expenses”.

Source: Underwood International College, Tuition fee & Scholarship (fees for one semester of the 2026 academic year), checked 31 October 2026.

Graduate school fees

Graduate students pay a one-time admission fee and tuition each semester. Yonsei’s Spring 2027 admission guideline gives the same amounts as tuition “for Fall semester 2026” and says they “are subject to change”.

Sources: Yonsei University, 2026 Graduate School Tuition and Admission Fee for International Students (PDF, one page, linked from Tuition: General Graduate School); Yonsei Graduate School, Spring 2027 Graduate School Admission Guideline for International Students (PDF, page 30). Checked 31 October 2026. Other fields are in the PDF.

Living costs are on top of these figures. For costs and visas in Korea as a whole, start with our Study in South Korea page.

English-Taught Programmes at Yonsei University

Yonsei teaches in English in two places: Underwood International College for undergraduate degrees, and a set of graduate schools that it marks “Taught entirely in English”. In the rest of the Graduate School, Yonsei says the “percentage of courses offered in English varies according to the major”. Yonsei’s regular undergraduate degree programme is taught in Korean, and Yonsei says “Korean proficiency is required”.

Sources: Yonsei University, Admissions: Graduate and Scholarship. Checked 31 October 2026.

Underwood International College (UIC)

UIC is Yonsei’s English-taught undergraduate college. Its FAQ says “All courses are conducted in English” and that it offers three Yonsei degrees: a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Majors sit in three groups: the Underwood Division (including Economics, International Studies, Political Science and International Relations, and Life Science and Biotechnology), the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Division (including Asian Studies, Information and Interaction Design and Quantitative Risk Management) and the Integrated Science and Engineering Division (Nano Science and Engineering, Energy and Environmental Science and Engineering, and Bio-Convergence).

Do not confuse UIC with Global Leaders College (GLC), Yonsei’s other college for international students. UIC describes GLC’s language of instruction as “Primarily Korean, with some courses available in English”.

International students enter UIC in one of two rounds a year. Applicants on the International Students Track must be non-Korean, with non-Korean parents.

Source: Underwood International College, First Year Students (International), Application Schedule, checked 31 October 2026. Document submission means the paper documents must arrive at the UIC office; UIC says it “will NOT extend the deadline under any circumstances”.

How UIC chooses: a document review out of 200 points and an interview out of 100, for a total of 300. UIC’s FAQ says “there are no exact cutoff” for GPA or SAT/ACT scores, and that test scores such as the SAT, ACT, A Levels, IB or AP are not mandatory but “strongly recommended”. You apply either directly on UIC’s online application (fee KRW 150,000) or through the Common App (fee USD 150), then post the paper documents to the UIC office. UIC says it “does not offer/accept a fee waiver”.

English proof is now required. Until the 2026 intake, English test scores were optional at UIC. From the 2027 intake, every applicant must show English proficiency in one of three ways: a TOEFL, IELTS or other listed test or exam (UIC sets “No minimum scores”), a high school diploma from a country where English is the sole official language (UIC names the United States, Canada excluding Quebec, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand), or a Medium of Instruction certificate if your entire high school curriculum was taught in English, apart from native language and history courses.

Sources: Underwood International College, First Year Students (International) and FAQ; Yonsei University, Scholarship (UIC majors). Checked 31 October 2026.

Graduate admission for international students

Yonsei says “International students may apply through the international student track or the GKS (Global Korea Scholarship) Program”. Three graduate schools are marked “Taught entirely in English”: the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), the Global MBA and the Graduate Institute of Theology. In the main Graduate School, each department sets its own language requirement: a Korean (TOPIK) or English (such as TOEFL or IELTS) score, or an accepted substitute document.

The international student track admits twice a year. For Spring 2027 entry, online applications closed on 14 October 2026 at 17:00 Korea time; interviews are on 14 November 2026 (dates may vary by department) and final results on 4 December 2026. Yonsei had not posted Fall 2027 dates when we checked; for Fall 2026 entry, the application period was 6-13 April 2026. The application fee is KRW 130,000, or USD 130 through PayPal.

Sources: Yonsei University, Admissions: Graduate; Yonsei Graduate School, Int’l Student Track: Spring, Int’l Student Track: Fall and Spring 2027 Admission Guideline for International Students (PDF, pages 1-3). Checked 31 October 2026.

Scholarships at Yonsei University

At UIC, scholarships come in three kinds:

• Admissions Scholarship: full tuition for four years, for newly admitted international students. You do not apply separately: UIC says recipients “are to be selected from admitted applicants according to their academic credentials”, and they must keep a set GPA each semester to keep it.
• Merit-based Scholarship: full, half or one-third of the tuition per semester, for enrolled UIC students. All UIC students are considered automatically.
• Need-based Scholarship: full, half or one-third of the tuition per semester, for enrolled students in financial need, who apply with documents and may be interviewed.

Source: Underwood International College, Tuition fee & Scholarship, checked 31 October 2026.

For graduate students, the Yonsei International Student Companion Scholarship “will be automatically awarded to eligible international graduate students without any application or selection process”. It is a stipend for non-Koreans admitted to the General Graduate School through the international track, for up to four semesters (master’s and PhD) or six (integrated degree), and it does not apply to students of the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing. Yonsei says GIT (which its scholarship page calls the Global Institute of Theology) “offers 100 percent financial aid for tuition, accommodation and living expenses for all students”.

Sources: Yonsei Graduate School, Spring 2027 Admission Guideline for International Students (PDF, page 29); Yonsei University, Scholarship. Checked 31 October 2026.

Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) at Yonsei

The Global Korea Scholarship is funded by the Korean government and run by NIIED. Yonsei says GKS students “can pursue their bachelor’s or master’s degree at Yonsei University”, and that GKS financial aid “includes tuition, monthly living stipend, medical insurance, and airfare”. Depending on their Korean and their programme, GKS scholars “may be required to complete a Korean language training program before beginning their degree studies”. NIIED lists Yonsei as a “Type A” university in both the undergraduate and the graduate guidelines.

• Undergraduate (GKS-U), Embassy Track: you apply through the Korean embassy in your country and choose up to three universities, at least one of them a “Type B” university; Yonsei can be one of the other two. The 2027 Embassy Track application closed on 30 September 2026, 18:00 Korea time.
• Undergraduate, University Track: in the GKS-U guidelines, “UIC” means “University Industry Cooperation”, not Underwood International College. Yonsei is not on the 2027 list of University Track UIC universities, so for Yonsei the undergraduate GKS route is the Embassy Track.
• Graduate (GKS-G): Yonsei takes GKS students through the Embassy Track and through its own University Track (General and R&D). Yonsei’s R&D places are for Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Medical Science. For the 2026 cycle, Yonsei’s University Track documents had to arrive between 9 and 20 March 2026, by 5 p.m.; the R-GKS programme is for Type B universities only, so it does not cover Yonsei.

NIIED sets places by country, and India and Nepal get different numbers:

Sources: NIIED, 2027 GKS-U Application Guidelines (PDF, pages 2-5 and 9); NIIED, 2026 GKS Application Guidelines for Graduate Degrees (PDF, pages 4-8 and 10, as posted on Yonsei Graduate School’s GKS page); Yonsei Graduate School, GKS Program; Yonsei University, Scholarship. Checked 31 October 2026. The 2027 graduate guidelines were not posted when we checked.

For every Korea scholarship we track, with deadlines, see scholarships in South Korea and PhD scholarships in South Korea.

Yonsei University for Indian and Nepali Students

For UIC, you apply online, directly or through the Common App, and post your documents to Seoul. Three points to plan for if you are applying from India or Nepal:

• English proof: India and Nepal are not on UIC’s list of countries where English is the sole official language, so plan on a test score such as TOEFL or IELTS, or a Medium of Instruction certificate from an English-medium school.
• Legalised documents: UIC asks for transcripts and the graduation certificate with an Apostille (for schools in a Hague Convention member country) or with certification from the Korean Embassy or Consular Office in the country where your school is.
• GKS places differ: NIIED sets separate places for India and Nepal on every track; check the row for your country in the table above.

Sources: Underwood International College, First Year Students (International); NIIED GKS guidelines as cited above. Checked 31 October 2026.

Preparing for the English requirement? See our TOEFL preparation and IELTS preparation courses, and our SAT preparation if you want to add an SAT score, which UIC strongly recommends.