South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of National Defense said on Tuesday they will recruit candidates for the 13th class of undergraduate cadets, the second class of master’s cadets and the third class of pre-master’s cadets through next month’s Sept. 14.

The science and technology specialist officer programme is a scheme that trains outstanding science and engineering talent as specialised personnel in defence science and technology and assigns them to advanced weapons systems and technology research and development.

After completing a four-semester training programme, cadets earn their degrees and finish 8 weeks of military training. They are then commissioned as second lieutenants or first lieutenants in the science and technology specialist officer track, serving as R&D officers. They later serve for 3 years at the Agency for Defense Development and research units of each military branch, among other organisations.

Undergraduate cadets receive full tuition for up to 4 semesters and 2.5 million won per semester in professional competency development funding. Master’s cadets can receive 900,000 won per month in the same funding.

In this recruitment round, 25 undergraduate cadets will be selected for the 13th class without gender restrictions. Applicants are students in undergraduate science and engineering programmes at four-year universities nationwide who, as of September this year, are enrolled in their fourth or fifth semester or are expected to return from leave by March next year for their fifth or sixth semester.

Eligible fields include electrical, electronics, computer and AI; mechanical and aerospace; and pure sciences and other fields such as materials, chemical engineering, polymers, energy, physics, chemistry and life science.

For the second class of master’s cadets, 12 more candidates will be selected after 13 were chosen in the first half of the year. Students enrolled in the second semester of a science and engineering master’s programme at graduate schools nationwide as of September this year can apply.

An additional 6 candidates will also be selected for the third class of pre-master’s cadets, which is for applicants expected to enter a master’s programme in March next year.

Applicants must submit an online application through the science and technology specialist officer programme website by Sept. 14. Final successful candidates are expected to be announced in December.

Lee Jun-bae (이준배), director general for Future Talent Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said he hopes outstanding science and engineering students will grow into elite specialised personnel who will lead defence R&D through the programme.