Last March, 289 undergraduate freshmen enrolled at GIST, an increase of 42 students from the previous year. In response to the increase in enrollment, GIST is taking steps to improve campus infrastructure, including measures to support academic activities and expand student housing.
Steady Increase in Undergraduate Enrollment
A total of 289 undergraduate freshmen entered GIST in the spring semester of the 2026 academic year, up from 247 students the previous year. GIST had initially announced plans to admit approximately 200 students through regular admissions and around 30 through additional admissions. Following the early and regular admission processes, 253 students enrolled through regular admissions and 36 enrolled through additional admissions, bringing the total to 289 students. In the fall semester, approximately seven additional freshmen entered through the international student admission track.
Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs Lee Soo-jung explained that the large number of outstanding applicants made it possible to admit more students. The 2026 applicant pool was also particularly large, resulting in intense competition throughout the admissions process. As a result, the exceptionally strong pool of applicants enabled GIST to expand its intake of highly qualified students beyond the original plan.
The increase in enrollment is also connected to preparations for the establishment of the College of Artificial Intelligence. In 2025, GIST had announced that it planned to admit approximately 230 students for the 2026 academic year. However, discussions regarding the establishment of the AI College in 2027 began during the latter half of the year, and the university subsequently expanded its intake to about 290 students. Since GIST allows students to choose their major beginning in their second year, the upcoming academic restructuring appears to have been reflected in the increased admission numbers.
The number of undergraduate students admitted to GIST has steadily increased over the years, growing from 100 at the founding of the undergraduate program in 2010 to approximately 200 admitted to the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences, now known as the Challenge and Exploration Program, in the early 2020s. In 2024, the Department of Semiconductor Engineering was established, adding approximately 30 students through additional admissions, and enrollment rose further to 233 in 2024 and 247 in 2025.
Beginning in the 2027 academic year, the number of places offered through early admissions within the university’s standard quota will increase by 100, bringing the total planned enrollment to approximately 330 students. The actual number of students admitted will be determined based on the university’s educational capacity.
Academic Support Measures in Response to Increased Enrollment
Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised about teaching conditions for foundational and general education courses as the number of freshmen increases.
To ensure smooth course operation despite the increase in enrollment, additional support is being provided based on the characteristics of individual courses and their teaching conditions.
For mathematics and science recitation sections and discussion-based courses, additional teaching assistants are being assigned according to enrollment. The university is also reviewing the capacity of general-purpose classrooms to accommodate increased demand for courses.
English and writing courses, which form the foundation of language education, will continue to be offered in small sections. The three offerings of Fundamentals of Writing and the four offerings of Advanced Writing will now be treated as equivalent. Previously, students could take Fundamentals of Writing followed by Advanced Writing, but beginning this year, students may take only one of the seven offerings. The existing system for English courses, in which English 1 must be completed before English 2, will remain unchanged. In response to the increased enrollment, the Language Education Center also opened an additional section of English 1 during the fall semester.
Student Residence Hall C Opens to Improve Housing Conditions
As demand for student housing has increased, the Student Services Team has been analyzing current occupancy and pursuing both short-term housing solutions and long-term expansion of residential facilities.
As an immediate measure, Residence Hall C has begun operating after rooms in Building E of the Married Students’ Apartments were remodeled for undergraduate housing, in addition to the existing Residence Halls A and B. Building E was originally intended for married graduate students and researchers. Beginning this year, 43 rooms in Building E are being used as undergraduate housing. Because the building is relatively accessible to outsiders, eligibility is currently limited to male students who have completed at least three semesters.
The operation of Residence Hall C allows the university to accommodate approximately 130 additional undergraduate students. Currently, Residence Halls A, B, and C have a combined capacity of 1,047 places, of which 851 are currently occupied, resulting in an occupancy rate of 81.3%.
With more than 300 new students expected to seek housing in the 2027 academic year, further expansion of student housing will likely remain necessary. The Student Services Team stated that, as a short-term measure, it is exploring whether unused spaces on campus can be converted into residential facilities. In the long term, the university is consulting with the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Planning and Budget regarding securing government funding for the construction of a new residence hall. The university said it would transparently announce the construction schedule and scale once funding has been secured.
Efforts Underway to Bring In a Fast-Food Outlet to Vacant Space in 2-hak
Continued enrollment growth could further worsen difficulties in using the cafeteria at Student Union Building 2 (hereafter “2-hak”), an issue that has already been raised by students.
2-hak currently houses a cafeteria and a convenience store. Until 2024, a snack restaurant called “Rakrak” operated on the second floor, but it moved to the second floor of Student Union Building 1 (“1-hak”) that year. The space has remained vacant since November 2024.
In a survey conducted by the GIST News on difficulties students experience during lunchtime, one respondent said that the line at 2-hak was so long that they usually relied on the convenience store because it let them make it to their classes on time.
Another respondent described the situation as follows: “The restaurants near 1-hak are difficult to get to, and the convenience store is also crowded. I sometimes order delivery just so I can make it on time, but minimum-order requirements often make even that impossible.”
The General Affairs Team identified the vacant second-floor space in 2-hak as the most urgent issue and is focusing on resolving it. Last year, the team attempted to attract a fast-food restaurant based on the results of a student survey. However, the effort ultimately failed after the company withdrew, citing the inability to guarantee minimum sales.
Although the General Affairs Team offered exceptionally favorable rental terms during the process, GIST explained that securing a restaurant tenant is difficult in practice because the university has a relatively small student population compared with other universities and campus businesses face a significant loss of revenue during academic breaks.
For this reason, the General Affairs Team relaunched the process of selecting an operator for a fast-food restaurant on the second floor of 2-hak. Since the beginning of this year, the team has actively contacted franchise companies directly in an effort to secure a tenant.
The first two rounds of the bidding process failed because no companies submitted bids. However, one company participated in the third round, allowing the process to move forward. On September 2, a proposal evaluation committee, which included students, was convened to evaluate the company. Negotiations with the company are currently underway, and the final operator and contract terms have not yet been determined.
GIST stated that it would continue monitoring and improving campus conditions through cooperation among relevant departments in order to minimize inconvenience for members of the university community.
GIST said, “We intend to use this change as an opportunity to further improve our educational and residential infrastructure. Throughout this process of change, we promise to communicate closely with members of the university community and build a better environment.”
As enrollment is expected to continue increasing, it will be important for GIST to develop stable and concrete measures that deliver tangible improvements for students, rather than relying solely on temporary responses.
Translated by Dayeon Lee
(dayeon_lee@gm.gist.ac.kr)