Guide
Exchange to Korea: The Nomination-to-Arrival Timeline
The most common way to miss an exchange semester in Korea is not rejection. It is discovering that your home university's internal deadline passed eight months before the semester you wanted. This is the calendar, in order, with the dates that are actually published.
- Count back roughly a year from your target semester: internal selection at home, then nomination, then host application, then visa.
- Nomination windows for a Spring semester close the September before; for a Fall semester, they close in March or April. SNU's Spring nomination deadline is September 10.
- Your home university's internal selection runs earlier still, often a full semester before the nomination window.
- Results take two months: SNU announces Spring results in late November and ships acceptance packages in December, for a March start.
- The visa is the last leg, not an afterthought: apply as soon as the acceptance package lands, within the Certificate of Admission's window.
The published windows, verified
Host universities publish their nomination and application windows each cycle. The 2026-cycle windows at three majors, from their own pages:
| Host | For Spring semester (Mar-Jun) | For Fall semester (Sep-Dec) |
|---|---|---|
| SNU | Nomination by Sep 10, application by Sep 25 | Nomination by Mar 10, application by Mar 25 |
| Korea University | Apply Oct 1 to 31 | Apply Apr 1 to 30 |
| Ewha | Apply Oct 15 to Nov 15 | Apply Apr 15 to May 15 |
Two patterns worth internalizing: Spring semesters are decided the previous autumn, and Fall semesters the previous spring. And SNU's schedule shows the full pipeline: Spring nominations close September 10, screening runs October and November, results come in late November, and acceptance packages ship in December for a early-March semester start.
The whole journey, step by step
From first inquiry to arrival in Korea
Ask your international office a year ahead
Internal selection at your home university typically runs a semester before the host's nomination window. Ask for the list of Korean partners, the seats per partner, and the internal deadline. This conversation is the one that decides whether you go.
Win the internal selection
Home universities select on GPA, motivation, and fit against their quota. Host requirements are modest by comparison: SNU asks a 2.5/4.0 undergraduate GPA and one completed semester, and Korea University asks 2.5/4.0 with two completed semesters.
Get nominated
Your university formally nominates you to the host inside the host's nomination window. You cannot do this step yourself; it is university-to-university.
Complete the host application
After nomination you file the host's own application with transcripts, passport scan, photo, and forms, by the host's deadline. Ewha, for example, requires the same email address used in the nomination and a student agreement signed by you and a home advisor.
Wait for screening, then receive the acceptance package
Screening takes roughly two months. The package includes the Certificate of Admission for your visa, an official acceptance letter, and pre-arrival information including housing application windows.
Apply for the D-2-6 visa immediately
The visa runs on the Certificate of Admission with roughly a three-month application window from its issue date. Apply as soon as the package arrives and before booking non-refundable travel.
Arrive, register, and start
Sort housing check-in, attend orientation, and apply for your residence card within 90 days of arrival. Health insurance enrollment follows registration automatically for D-2 students.
If you missed the window
Honestly: for exchange, you wait for the next cycle, because nomination cannot be retrofitted. But two doors stay open later. Direct-apply visiting programs run on their own windows (at SNU the visiting deadline actually falls earlier than exchange, September 10 for Spring; at KU and Ewha the windows match their exchange dates). And summer schools accept applications into May for a late-June start, no nomination needed.