Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

University in South Korea

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)

Motto| A Proud Creator of Future Science and Technology
Type| National
Established| 1993
President| Kichul Lim (임기철)
Students| 2,122 (as of January 2018)
Undergraduates| 868 (as of January 2018)
Postgraduates| 1,254 (as of January 2018)
Address|

123 Cheomdan-gwagiro (Oryong-dong), Buk-gu

Gwangju

South Korea

35°13′35″N 126°50′24″E﻿ / ﻿35.2265°N 126.8400°E﻿ / 35.2265; 126.8400
Website| gist.ac.kr
Korean name
Hangul|

광주과학기술원

Hanja|

光州科學技術院

Revised Romanization| Gwangju Gwahak Gisurwon
McCune–Reischauer| Kwangju Kwahak Kisurwŏn

The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) is a research-oriented university focused on science and technology that is located in Gwangju, South Korea. GIST is a member of the research-oriented universities group consisting of GIST-KAIST-UNIST-UST-POSTECH-DGIST.

## History

[edit]

The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) was established by the South Korean government in 1993 as a research-oriented graduate school to train highly skilled scientists and researchers, to create a strong research base for further development of advanced science and technology, and to promote collaborative foreign and domestic research programs within industry and academia.[1] According to a 2012 news article in the Korea JoongAng Daily, "All classes are taught in English, and master’s and doctoral thesis are all written in English. Doctoral students only receive their degrees if they have published more than one work as the first author in scientific journals, encouraging them to be research leaders. And in 2001, GIST became the first Korean university to introduce a thesis quality certification [program], gaining attention from the science field and the media."[2]

Then in 2010, GIST College was established at GIST to offer Korea's first liberal arts oriented science curriculum for undergraduate students.[3] According to GIST College Professor Kyung-Deok Roh, "GIST College is the only university that pursues and practices the philosophy of liberal arts education in Korea. ... However, GIST College has unique traits that separate it from conventional liberal arts colleges. It is because GIST first started out as a research-oriented graduate school, and as such its undergraduate education can utilize and benefit from the knowledge, infrastructure, and expertise that the research institution already possesses. In other words, GIST College, while upholding liberal arts as the core of its undergraduate education, can also work closely with the graduate school for deeper-level education and research. This is a feature that makes GIST College all the more special."[4]

## Rankings

[edit]

In the 2016/2017 QS World University Rankings® Result tables, GIST was ranked number 2 in the world in the category of citations per faculty.[5] In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014–2015, GIST was ranked 96th in the world in the category of Engineering & Technology.[6]

University rankingsQS National[7]|  General|  11

|
|

THE National[8]|  General|  12–13
ARWU National[9]|  Research|  24–29
QS Asia
(Asia version)[10]|  General|  105
THE Asia
(Asia version)[11]|  General|  62
USNWR Asia[12]|  General|  144
ARWU World[13]|  Research|  801–900
QS World[14]|  General|  =359
THE World[15]|  General|  401–500
USNWR World[16]|  General|  =966
THE World (Young)[17]|  General/Young|  =85

### Special Rankings

[edit]

QS World Universities Ranking  | #3 in the World number per citations per faculty

|

Times Higher Education World University Technology Rankings  | #4 in South Korea
Patent application/registration number Ranking (HanKuk economy paper)  | #2 in South Korea
Technology transfer income Ranking (HanKuk economy paper)  | #1 in South Korea
Research fund per faculty Ranking (Korea Research Foundation)  | #2 in South Korea
Thomson Reuters  | #8 in South Korea

## Timeline

[edit]

August 5, 1993  | Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology Act promulgated

|

October 11, 1993  | Dr. Doo-Bong Ha inaugurated as first president
February 27, 1997  | First master's degrees conferred
Jan 22, 1998  | Dr. Hyo-Gun Kim was appointed as the 2nd president
February 20, 2000  | First doctorate degrees conferred
Feb. 16, 2002  | Dr. Jung-Woong Ra, was appointed as the 3rd president
March 26, 2004  | English acronym changed from KJIST to GIST, following Romanization change of the city name from Kwangju to Gwangju
Feb. 16, 2006  | Dr. Sung-Gwan Huh was appointed as the 4th president
Jun. 04, 2008  | Dr. Jung-Ho Sonu was appointed as the 5th president
Jun. 04, 2012  | Dr. Young-Joon Kim was appointed as the 6th president
February 25, 2014  | First bachelor's degrees conferred
March 11, 2015  | Dr. Seung Hyeon Moon inaugurated as 7th president
March 6, 2019  | Dr. Kiseon Kim inaugurated as 8th president
Oct. 11, 2019  | Artificial Intelligence Graduate School is established
July 7, 2023  | Dr. Kichul Lim inaugurated as 9th president

## Departments

[edit]

### GIST College (bachelor's programs)

[edit]

* Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences (freshmen)
* Majors (sophomores, juniors and seniors)
* Physics Concentration
* Chemistry Concentration
* Life Science Concentration
* Engineering and Applied Science Concentrations
* Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Concentration
* Mechanical Engineering Concentration
* Materials Science and Engineering Concentration
* Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering Concentration

### Graduate Schools (master's and doctoral programs)

[edit]

* School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
* School of Mechanical Engineering
* School of Materials Science and Engineering
* School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering
* School of Life Sciences
* School of Physics and Chemistry
* Department of Physics and Photon Science
* Department of Chemistry
* Department of Nanobio Materials and Electronics
* Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering

## See also

[edit]

* List of national universities in South Korea
* List of universities and colleges in South Korea
* Education in Korea

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology Act
2. ^ "GIST's research prowess earns 7th place ranking". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
3. ^ "삼단비교보기 - 로앤비". www.lawnb.com. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
4. ^ Roh, Kyung-Deok (2014). "GIST College and "3C1P" Educational Philosophy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2017.
5. ^ "QS Intelligence Unit | 2016/2017 QS World University Rankings® Result tables – Excel". www.iu.qs.com. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
6. ^ THE World University Rankings 2014/15 - Engineering and Technology
7. ^ "QS University Rankings 2025". Top Universities. 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
8. ^ "THE University Rankings 2025 - South Korea". Times Higher Education (THE). 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
9. ^ World University Rankings - 2023 (2024). "South Korea Universities in Top 500 universities". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
10. ^ "QS World University Rankings: Asia 2025". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
11. ^ "Asia University Rankings 2024". Times Higher Education. 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
12. ^ U.S.News & World Report (2024). "2024-2025 Best Global Universities in Asia". Retrieved 24 June 2024.
13. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
14. ^ "QS World University Rankings". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
15. ^ "THE World University Rankings". Times Higher Education. 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
16. ^ U.S.News & World Report (2024). "2024-2025 Best Global Universities Rankings". Retrieved 24 June 2024.
17. ^ "Young University Rankings 2024: South Korea". Times Higher Education (THE). 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
18. ^ "2023 JoongAng Ilbo University Rankings". JoongAng Ilbo. 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
19. ^ U.S.News & World Report (2024). "Best Global Universities in South Korea". Retrieved 24 June 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Graduate Official Website, in English
* Undergraduate Official Website, in Korean and English Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States