UNIST draws record 11,211 applicants in early admissions — most since founding

UNIST drew more than 10,000 applicants in its early admissions round for the 2027 academic year, setting an all-time record since the university's founding.

The Ulsan-based science and technology university said Wednesday that 11,211 students applied for 565 spots in the undergraduate early admissions cycle, which closed Thursday, producing a competition ratio of 19.84 to 1. The applicant pool grew 41.6 percent from 7,919 last year.

The semiconductor engineering program — a contract department operated in partnership with Samsung Electronics — attracted 3,940 applicants for 35 seats, yielding the highest ratio of 112.57 to 1. A newly introduced admissions track for students with exceptional perseverance drew 248 applicants for 10 spots, a ratio of 24.8 to 1.

The general admissions track saw 8,975 applicants compete for 380 seats at a ratio of 23.62 to 1, surpassing last year's 19.96 to 1, while the equal-opportunity track recorded 27.48 to 1 with 1,099 applicants for 40 seats.

UNIST's undergraduate admissions team attributed the surge to student-centered admissions design, the launch of the new perseverance-focused track, and an aggressive outreach campaign targeting high schools across the country.

"In the age of AI, universities must become places that help students develop the strength to ask their own questions, endure failure, and find answers," President Park Jong-rae said. "We will redouble our efforts to nurture future talent with creative insight and the ability to connect across disciplines, drawing on the enthusiasm reflected in this year's application numbers."