Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will run a stand-alone artificial intelligence (AI) college starting next year.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and KAIST said on the 11th that they held a board meeting, decided to establish an AI college, and will begin recruiting students next year.
Under the KAIST AI college, five departments will be newly established: the AI undergraduate school, the Department of AI Computing, the Department of AI Systems, the Department of AI Transformation (AX), and the Department of AI Futures.
It will start with 20 full-time faculty members, five per department, and continue to expand faculty with AI expertise. Enrollment will total 300: 100 undergraduates, 150 master's students, and 50 doctoral students.
The undergraduate program will be offered to current students starting in the spring semester next year. KAIST runs a system in which first-year students do not declare a major, so from the second year they can choose a department within the AI college as their major.
The graduate program will recruit new master's and doctoral students starting in the fall semester of the same year. The intake will be 200 and may be adjusted depending on demand.
Starting with KAIST, the government plans to establish AI colleges at other institutes of science and technology in 2027, including Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST).