Korea University of Technology and Education Ranks First Among Four-Year Universities Nationwide with 82.8% Employment Rate

The Only General University with an 80% Employment Rate
IPP Long-Term Field Training and Engineering Education Model Prove Their Effectiveness

Campus View of Korea University of Technology and Education

Korea University of Technology and Education, located in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, ranked first among four-year universities nationwide with an employment rate of 82.8% in the Ministry of Education's "2024 Higher Education Graduate Statistics Survey." Korea University of Technology and Education was the only general university to exceed an 80% employment rate. This figure is 20 percentage points higher than the average employment rate for four-year general universities, which stands at 62.8%, demonstrating the competitiveness of its practice-oriented engineering education.

According to Korea University of Technology and Education on January 5, the survey targeted graduates from August 2023 and February 2024. Of the university's 787 graduates, excluding those who pursued further studies or military service, 579 out of 699 found employment, resulting in an employment rate of 82.8%. This marks a 2.7 percentage point increase from the previous year's 80.1%.

Korea University of Technology and Education has returned to the top spot after five years, having previously achieved first place nationwide in 2019 with an employment rate of 84.7%.

Since the Ministry of Education began linking university employment rate surveys with the national health insurance database in 2010, the university has secured the top position nationwide seven times over the past 15 years, solidifying its reputation as a "university strong in employment."

Employment rates were generally high across all departments. The Department of Energy, New Materials, and Chemical Engineering recorded the highest rate at 89.9%, followed by the Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Communication Engineering at 88.4%, the Department of Mechatronics Engineering at 86.9%, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at 86.5%, the Department of Design and Architectural Engineering at 82.8%, the Department of Industrial Management at 82.7%, and the Department of Computer Engineering at 70.7%.

The retention employment rate, which indicates the "quality" of employment (the percentage of graduates who remain employed for at least 11 months after being hired), was 89.6%, 10 percentage points higher than the national average for four-year universities (79.6%). This shows that graduates are securing stable, long-term employment rather than short-term jobs.

Notably, the Industry Professional Practice (IPP) program, which allows third- and fourth-year students to work at industrial sites for four to ten months, proved highly effective.

The employment rate among IPP participants was 88.0%, 10.9 percentage points higher than the 77.1% recorded by non-participants. Among 2024 graduates, 376 students (47.8%) participated in the IPP program, the highest participation rate among domestic universities.

These achievements have also been recognized by external evaluations. In the 2024 JoongAng Ilbo University Rankings, Korea University of Technology and Education placed sixth out of 58 universities in the "Education and Innovation Universities" category, and ranked first for four consecutive years from 2021 to 2024 in the "Field Practice Participation Rate" indicator.

President Yoo Gil-sang stated, "Since 2023, all members have focused on regaining the top employment rate, and as a result, we have returned to the top position. The increased employment rate, along with a 2026 early admission competition ratio of 11.20 to 1 and a regular admission competition ratio of 7.19 to 1, is evidence of the growing social trust in Korea University of Technology and Education."

He added, "We will further strengthen educational innovation and student growth support to continuously enhance the university's brand value."

Since its founding, Korea University of Technology and Education has operated a differentiated engineering education program, including a curriculum with a 50:50 balance between theory and experiments/practice, hiring professors with at least three years of practical experience, and making graduation research projects mandatory.

In addition, the university is accelerating the development of practice-oriented talent by building cutting-edge educational and research infrastructure such as the Dadam Future Learning Center and applying generative AI across its entire curriculum.