Soongsil University Selected for Government Program Supporting STEM Graduate Researchers

Soongsil University has been selected for a government program aimed at giving science and engineering graduate students more stable financial support while they conduct research.

The university said it will receive about 5.5 billion won from September 2026 through February 2034 under the Ministry of Science and ICT's research living allowance program. The initiative links government funding with student support payments distributed through university-industry cooperation foundations.

Under the program, participating universities must guarantee monthly research living allowances of at least 800,000 won for master's students and 1.1 million won for doctoral students. Soongsil University's industry-academic cooperation foundation plans to establish a dedicated operating unit within its research management team.

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We expect stable and continuous financial support for science and engineering graduate students to further strengthen the university's research competitiveness.

The university said the funding will support full-time master's and doctoral students in science and engineering and help create performance-based rewards for outstanding researchers and laboratories. It plans to build the support system during the initial phase, then expand its own funding and gradually raise support levels in a second phase.

Foundation director Jeong Jae-hyun said stable, continuing financial support would strengthen the university's research competitiveness. President Lee Yoon-jae called the selection a starting point for reforming the university's research ecosystem and improving research quality.

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The selection for the research living allowance program is a starting point for innovation in the research ecosystem.