Science ministry expands stipend program for STEM graduate students

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Thursday it will open applications for new universities to join the second-half round of its stipend program for science and engineering graduate students, designed to help them focus on research without financial strain.

Commonly referred to as the "Korean-style stipend," the program guarantees a minimum monthly payment — 800,000 won for master's students and 1.1 million won for doctoral students — and aims to establish a university-level integrated management system for student researchers.

To fund the program, the government provides three types of support: a subsidy to cover any shortfall below the minimum payment threshold, a contribution to help universities build their own funding pools, and an operational grant for each participating institution. Since the program launched last year, 43 universities have joined, with more than 52,000 STEM graduate students now guaranteed monthly support at or above the minimum threshold.

Participation has also lifted overall stipend levels. Among the 35 universities that joined last year, average monthly payments for master's students rose from 1.32 million won to 1.57 million won after joining, while doctoral students saw their average increase from 1.88 million won to 2.29 million won.

The ministry said this second-half call for applications will be the last round of new university selection under the program's first phase. Through 2027, when the first phase ends, the focus will be on spreading university-centered stipend payment and management systems and building the necessary institutional foundations. In the second phase, the ministry plans to raise support levels, strengthen payment stability, and enhance university autonomy and accountability, drawing on operational results and policy improvements from existing participants.

"The STEM Research Lifestyle Support Project is designed to guarantee stable research conditions for science and engineering graduate students and to establish a university-level system for managing and disbursing student support payments," said Lee Jun-bae, director general for future talent policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT. "We hope universities will participate actively in this second-half application round so we can expand the support base for STEM graduate students."