Admissions·East & Southeast Asia· 9 min read

Yonsei University Admission Guide for International Students

Applying to Yonsei University as an international student: the fully English-taught Underwood International College and its three divisions, the first-year Residential College at Songdo, and how the regular and GKS routes work.

Last updated 12 July 2026

Key facts

Type: Private research university; part of Korea's "SKY" group (with SNU and Korea University)
Roots: Trace to 1885 (Gwanghyewon); formed by the Yonhi–Severance union — see official history
Campuses: Sinchon (Seoul), Yonsei International (Songdo, Incheon), Mirae (Wonju)
English-taught undergrad: Underwood International College — 3 divisions (UD/HASS/ISE), ~16 majors — verify per program
First year: Residential College at Songdo for all freshmen (since 2014), then mostly Sinchon — verify
Known strengths: Medicine (Severance lineage), business, international studies — rankings vary, verify officially
Student visa: D-2 after admission — verify on official immigration (not immigration advice)

Yonsei's identity: SKY, Severance medical roots, and three campuses

Yonsei University is a private research university in Seoul and, together with Seoul National University and Korea University, one of the three schools popularly grouped as "SKY." It traces its roots to 1885, when Gwanghyewon — Korea's first modern hospital — was founded, and Yonsei took its present form in the 1950s through the union of Yonhi College and Severance Medical College; see Yonsei's official history for the full timeline.

That heritage is why medicine — delivered through the Severance-lineage Yonsei University College of Medicine and Severance Hospital — sits alongside long-established programs in business and international studies. Yonsei runs three campuses: the main Sinchon campus in central Seoul, the Yonsei International Campus (YIC) in Songdo, Incheon, and the Mirae Campus in Wonju.

International students apply through dedicated international-admission tracks, separate from the domestic Korean process, at both undergraduate and graduate level. Programs, campuses and deadlines are revised each cycle, so confirm the current specifics on Yonsei's official pages.

One of the "SKY" universities (with Seoul National and Korea University)
Roots to 1885 (Gwanghyewon); Severance-lineage medicine, plus business and international studies
Three campuses: Sinchon (Seoul), Yonsei International (Songdo, Incheon), Mirae (Wonju) — verify per program

Underwood International College (UIC): fully English-taught, three divisions

Yonsei's flagship English-medium undergraduate route is Underwood International College (UIC), established in 2005 and named after Horace G. Underwood, one of the university's founders. UIC teaches its degrees in English and has grown into one of Yonsei's largest colleges, with several thousand students from dozens of countries.

It is organised into three divisions — the Underwood Division (UD), the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Division (HASS), and the Integrated Science and Engineering Division (ISE) — spanning roughly 16 majors. UD covers fields such as Economics, International Studies, Political Science and International Relations, Comparative Literature and Culture, and Life Science and Biotechnology; HASS runs interdisciplinary majors like Asian Studies, Culture and Design Management, Justice and Civil Leadership, and Quantitative Risk Management; ISE offers Nano Science and Engineering, Energy and Environmental Science and Engineering, and Bio-Convergence.

UIC runs its own admissions within Yonsei, so read the UIC pages — not only the general Yonsei ones — for its specific requirements, majors and deadlines, and confirm which are current for your cycle.

Fully English-taught undergraduate college, established 2005; named after founder Horace G. Underwood
Three divisions — UD, HASS and ISE — across roughly 16 majors
UIC has its own admissions pages — verify requirements there, not only the general Yonsei ones

The first-year Residential College at Songdo, then Sinchon

A defining part of the Yonsei undergraduate experience is the Residential College (RC). Since 2014, all first-year undergraduates — including international students — spend their freshman year in the RC program at the Yonsei International Campus in Songdo, Incheon, living in one of its themed residential houses with shared academic and co-curricular programs.

From the second year, most students move to the Sinchon campus in Seoul for their major coursework. In practice this means your first year and later years may be on different campuses, which affects housing, commuting and budgeting.

Confirm which campus your specific program uses, and the current RC and housing rules, on Yonsei's official pages — arrangements can differ by major and are updated each year.

RC program (since 2014): first year at Songdo for all freshmen, including internationals
Themed residential houses at the Yonsei International Campus (Incheon)
Most students move to Sinchon (Seoul) from year two — verify per program

Applying as an international undergraduate: English-taught vs Korean-medium

International undergraduate eligibility usually falls into official categories — for example, applicants who completed their entire schooling abroad, or who (with their parents) hold non-Korean citizenship — so first confirm which category applies to you.

Your language requirement then follows the medium of instruction: UIC and other English-taught programs generally expect TOEFL, IELTS or an equivalent (and some tracks also consider standardised tests as part of the profile), while Korean-medium degrees generally require Korean proficiency through TOPIK. Verify the exact accepted tests and minimum levels on the official pages rather than assuming.

A typical file includes the online application, official transcripts and school certificates, language-test results, a study plan or personal statement, recommendation letters, proof of financial means, and a passport copy, with certified translations where documents are not in English or Korean. Some UIC/Yonsei tracks have offered a direct application and, for eligible applicants, a Common Application option — availability changes by cycle. Yonsei often requires hard copies by a document deadline and charges an application fee per cycle; a missing document can disqualify an application, so follow the official checklist precisely.

Confirm which international eligibility category applies to you
English-taught → TOEFL/IELTS (some tracks also weigh other tests); Korean-medium → TOPIK — verify levels
Meet the document deadline and pay the per-cycle fee; missing documents can disqualify you

Graduate study and English-taught options

For master's and doctoral study you apply to a specific department or graduate school and, for research degrees, indicate your field and interests. Yonsei offers notable English-taught graduate options — for example the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) — alongside many Korean-medium programs and mixed-medium departments, so check the medium of instruction for your target program.

Graduate applications typically require transcripts and degree certificates, a study or research plan, recommendation letters, and language-proficiency evidence (Korean and/or English depending on the program). PhD applicants especially benefit from a clear fit with a department's or supervisor's research.

Requirements differ by graduate school, so confirm the current documents, tests and deadlines on the relevant department's and the central graduate-admissions pages.

Apply to a specific department/graduate school
English-taught options exist (e.g. GSIS) alongside Korean-medium — check the medium of instruction
Study/research plan, references and language proof are standard — confirm per program

Scholarships, fees and the D-2 visa (brief — see the dedicated guides)

Tuition and fees vary by college and program, so check current amounts on Yonsei's official pages rather than older figures. Funding comes from Yonsei's own international scholarships and from external options — most notably the government-run Global Korea Scholarship (GKS).

The Korea-wide GKS process, the TOPIK test and the D-2 student visa are covered in our dedicated Korea guides, so this page keeps them short. In outline: international students in Korea generally need a student (D-2) visa arranged after admission, and no agent can "guarantee" a Yonsei place or a GKS award for a fee — treat any such promise as a scam.

This is general information, not immigration advice — verify current scholarship, tuition and visa requirements on each official source before acting.

Tuition varies by college — verify current figures on Yonsei's official pages
Yonsei scholarships plus external GKS — see our GKS and English-taught-programs guides for detail
D-2 student visa after admission — verify on official immigration (not immigration advice)

Frequently asked questions

What is Underwood International College, and how is it different from just "studying in English" at Yonsei?

UIC is Yonsei's flagship fully English-taught undergraduate college, established in 2005 and named after founder Horace G. Underwood. It is organised into three divisions — Underwood (UD), Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS), and Integrated Science and Engineering (ISE) — across roughly 16 majors, and it runs its own admissions within Yonsei. If you want an English-medium bachelor's degree, UIC is usually the main route — verify its current requirements on the official UIC pages.

Do all first-year students really live at the Songdo campus?

Yes. Under Yonsei's Residential College program (in place since 2014), all first-year undergraduates, including international students, spend their freshman year at the Yonsei International Campus in Songdo, Incheon, in themed residential houses, before most move to the Sinchon campus in Seoul from year two. Confirm the current RC and housing rules on Yonsei's official pages, as arrangements can differ by major.

Is Yonsei a suitable choice for studying medicine?

Yonsei's medical education runs through its Severance lineage — the Yonsei University College of Medicine and Severance Hospital — reflecting roots that trace to Korea's first modern hospital in 1885. Medical admission is highly structured and separate from other routes, so check the official College of Medicine and international-admissions pages for eligibility, medium of instruction and requirements rather than assuming a general application route applies.

Do I need TOPIK or TOEFL/IELTS for Yonsei?

It depends on your program's language. English-taught programs, including UIC, generally accept TOEFL or IELTS, while Korean-medium degrees generally require Korean proficiency via TOPIK. Check the medium of instruction and the matching requirement for your major on the official pages, and verify the accepted tests and minimum levels.

Where do I confirm scholarships and the student visa?

Yonsei lists its own international scholarships on its official pages, while the government's Global Korea Scholarship is detailed on the Study in Korea portal; the D-2 student visa is arranged after admission. See our dedicated GKS and Korea guides for the full process, and verify current rules on each official source. This is general information, not immigration advice.

Official sources

This guide explains the process and is for guidance only. Eligibility, dates, fees and rules change every year — always confirm the current details on the official site before you act.

Verified against: Yonsei University — About: History of Yonsei; Underwood International College — Admissions; Underwood International College — About (divisions & structure); Yonsei — UIC Residential College Experience (Songdo); Study in Korea (Korean Government) — GKS & study information.

Last verified: 12 July 2026.