POSTECH Global Young Leaders Program 2026-2027: Fully Funded Exchange in South Korea

The POSTECH Global Young Leaders Program (GYLP) is a fully funded, full-academic-year exchange supported by the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and POSCO. This page is now a historical reference for the 2026-2027 cycle. That intake is closed: its application period ran through February 2026, and POSTECH’s current program page does not announce a next application round. Do not treat the page as an open call or submit documents against an old deadline.

The 2026-2027 program itself was a substantial exchange rather than a short visit. Selected students were scheduled to spend 10 months in Korea, taking POSTECH courses, completing Korean-language study, joining LEAD+ educational and cultural activities, and carrying out winter research. The scholarship package included a round-trip flight ticket, a one-time 500,000 KRW visa and transportation fee, and 1,000,000 KRW in living expenses each month. POSTECH also lists additional scholarship opportunities connected with program participation.

At a glance

What the scholarship covered

POSTECH describes GYLP as fully funded by POSCO and POSTECH and says that expenses throughout the selected student’s stay in Korea would be covered. The published package had several distinct components, so applicants should not reduce it to a generic “scholarship” label.

First, the program provided a round-trip flight ticket. It also provided 500,000 KRW once for visa and transportation costs. Living expenses were listed as 1,000,000 KRW per month. The official page additionally names Nuri Impact Creator, Hangeul Merit, and Bud Bridge Builder opportunities. Those are supplemental opportunities, not a guaranteed replacement for the core package, and the page does not give a fixed value for each one.

The funding was tied to participation in an academic exchange. Students were expected to follow POSTECH exchange rules, complete the required course load, take Korean-language courses, participate in winter research, and take part in the program’s activities. Funding therefore should be understood as support for the complete GYLP experience, not as an unrestricted cash award.

Program structure

The 2026-2027 schedule covered one full academic year from September to June. The program’s LEAD+ component stands for Leadership, Engagement, Achievement, and Development. POSTECH describes it as a program-specific combination of educational sessions and cultural excursions. Examples on the official page include Jeju ESG Discovery, a Seoul Heritage Excursion, and leadership and communication discussions. The precise excursions can change between cohorts, so these examples describe the program’s character rather than a promise for every year.

Academic exchange was the central component. GYLP students were required to take at least six major courses at POSTECH, excluding general and liberal-arts courses. Course selection still had to follow the academic-exchange rules and should be checked against the student’s home-degree requirements before departure. A student interested in credit transfer needed approval from the home university rather than assuming that every POSTECH course would count automatically.

Korean-language study had two stages. After acceptance and before arrival, students were expected to complete online Korean-language courses during the summer break. During the program, they had to take offline Korean-language courses offered by the POSTECH Institute of Culture and Language, or PICL. This requirement applied even though the exchange was academically focused and could include courses taught in English.

Winter research was another required element. During the winter break, students had to participate in research for at least four weeks and at least 20 hours per week. Students were responsible for finding a research adviser during the fall semester on campus. That makes early faculty outreach important: the research placement was not presented as an automatically assigned lab position.

Published 2026-2027 timeline

POSTECH’s program page gives the following schedule for the closed cycle:

• Application period: December to February.
• Admission result: April.
• Orientation week: August 24-28.
• Fall semester: September 1-December 18.
• Winter break: December 21-February 14.
• Spring semester: February 15-June 4.
• Official transcript and certificate: July.

The archived deadline in this entry is February 28, 2026. Since the application period is over and POSTECH has not published another cycle on the official program page, the date is retained only to identify the closed round. A future applicant should wait for a new official announcement instead of relying on this schedule.

Eligibility

The published eligibility rules required the applicant to be currently enrolled in the second or third year of an undergraduate degree program at one of POSTECH’s strategic partner institutions. This is not a general public scholarship for every university student. The home institution must have the relevant POSTECH partnership, and the student must remain enrolled for the exchange period.

The GPA benchmark was 3.3 out of 4.3 or an equivalent result. POSTECH gives several equivalencies: a B+ letter grade, 3.3 out of 4.0, 4.5 out of 5.0, or 85 percent. Students using a different grading system needed to ask their home institution for an official explanation or GPA document rather than making their own conversion.

There is an important inconsistency on the official page concerning English proficiency. In the eligibility section, POSTECH lists TOEFL iBT 90, IELTS Academic 6.5, or Duolingo 120. In the required-documents section, it says that the certificate must be one of TOEFL iBT 100, IELTS Academic 7.5, or Duolingo 135. The page also says that other tests and certificates from a home institution are not accepted, while applicants whose home institution is in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States are exempt from the English-proficiency requirement.

Because the two official sections conflict, a future applicant should confirm the applicable score with POSTECH International Relations before applying. For preparation purposes, the higher scores in the required-documents section are the safer standard, but this historical page does not claim that the conflict has been resolved.

Documents listed by POSTECH

The official required-documents list for the cycle included the following items:

• Certificate of enrollment issued within six months. POSTECH says an apostille from the Korean Embassy or an official apostille center was required for non-OECD nationals.
• Official academic transcript in English with the overall GPA. If the transcript did not show the overall GPA, the applicant needed an additional document from the home institution proving it.
• English-language certificate issued within two years, subject to the score requirements and exemptions described above.
• Recommendation letter. Up to three could be submitted. A letter could come from home-institution faculty, professors, supervisors, or another person able to comment on the applicant’s background, goals, and potential; friends and relatives were expressly excluded.
• Passport copy. The passport had to remain valid for six months from the end of the program.
• CV or résumé. POSTECH did not require a specific form.
• Statement of purpose of 500 to 1,000 words, focused on academic and research background, interests, and reasons for joining GYLP.
• Self-introduction video lasting 3 to 10 minutes. POSTECH recommended subtitles when audio quality was insufficient.
• Letter of nomination signed by the home institution’s outgoing coordinator.

These requirements explain why the nomination and document-preparation stages could not be left until the public closing date. Enrollment certificates, transcript corrections, apostilles, language scores, recommendation letters, and a signed nomination letter each depended on another office or person.

How the application process worked

For the closed cycle, students were instructed to prepare the required documents and submit the application through POSTECH’s International Relations portal. During the application period, the office could send system emails asking for supplemental or revised documents. Applicants were responsible for responding with the corrected material as soon as possible.

POSTECH then evaluated applications individually. An online interview could be required for some applicants. The review considered academic and research background, personal statement, study plan at POSTECH, recommendations, language proficiency, overall fit, and the availability of placements. The official page says the evaluation and selection process usually took four to five weeks after the application deadline.

Admission results were sent by email with an admission package that included the Global Young Leaders Guide. A complete submission therefore did not guarantee admission. Students also needed to plan for course approval, passport and visa documentation, the pre-arrival Korean course, and the search for a winter research adviser after arrival.

Practical preparation notes for a future announcement

If POSTECH opens another cohort, the sensible first check is whether the student’s university is still a strategic partner and what internal nomination procedure that university uses. The public POSTECH deadline may not be the home institution’s deadline. A student should then compare the exchange’s six-major-course requirement with the home degree plan, ask the registrar how GPA equivalency will be documented, and verify which English score applies in light of the conflicting official wording.

The statement of purpose should connect a student’s current academic work to specific POSTECH study and research interests. The video should explain the same fit clearly, with usable audio and subtitles if needed. Recommenders should receive the student’s transcript, CV, draft statement, and a short list of relevant projects so that their letters can address actual evidence rather than generic enthusiasm.

The winter research requirement deserves particular planning. A student should review POSTECH laboratories and faculty areas after admission, introduce themselves during the fall semester, and confirm the minimum four-week, 20-hour-per-week commitment before agreeing to a project. The program page places responsibility for finding the research adviser on the student.

Historical status and official source

This entry is intentionally marked as a historical reference. The 2026-2027 application window has passed, the published program schedule belongs to that cohort, and the official POSTECH page currently presents no announced next cycle. There is no valid current deadline to invent. Readers should use the official POSTECH International Relations page for any future announcement, updated funding terms, revised eligibility rules, or a new application portal:

https://ir.postech.ac.kr/ir/in/global-young-leaders.do

The organisation behind the program is Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), working with POSCO. The official page is the controlling source for future cycles because details such as English-score thresholds, cultural activities, course requirements, and application timing can change.