What this Korea Academic Credit Bank planner calculates
South Korea rules and 2026 reference date
This page applies South Korea’s Academic Credit Bank System rules verified on July 28, 2026.
It is a study and budget planner, not a National Institute for Lifelong Education credit-recognition result, curriculum review, or degree-award decision.
A Credit Bank degree is not completed merely by reaching a total-credit number.
The learner must meet the total, major, general-education, major-required, and qualifying 18-course-credit conditions together, while observing the 24-credit term cap and 42-credit academic-year cap.
The calculator separates credits already recognized from verified future non-class credits, then derives the remaining course credits, a term schedule, the earliest award-window reference, and an itemized KRW budget.
Tuition is intentionally not filled with a claimed national average.
Enter a quote from the actual education provider and keep it separate from the official KRW 4,000 learner-registration fee and KRW 1,000 credit-recognition application fee per newly planned credit.
2026 degree-credit requirements
Article 13 of the Enforcement Decree supplies the 140, 80, and 120 total-credit thresholds.
Article 16 supplies the 48, 36, and 42-credit additional-major thresholds, while Article 7 of the Enforcement Rule and the official NILE degree guide preserve the qualifying 18-course-credit condition.
South Korea Academic Credit Bank degree requirements verified in 2026| Degree route | Total | Major | General | Course minimum | Important boundary |
|---|
| Bachelor degree | 140 | 60 | 30 | 18 | Major-required work included |
| Two-year associate degree | 80 | 45 | 15 | 18 | Major-required work included |
| Three-year associate degree | 120 | 54 | 21 | 18 | Currently limited to the specialized Iryo field |
| Additional bachelor major | 48 | 48 | 0 | 18 major | Eligible credits after the prior degree |
| Additional two-year associate major | 36 | 36 | 0 | 18 major | Eligible credits after the prior degree |
| Additional three-year associate major | 42 | 42 | 0 | 18 major | Eligible credits after the prior degree |
Elective credits are not a separate fixed minimum
A bachelor route leaves 50 credits after subtracting the 60-major and 30-general minimums from 140, but those 50 do not all have to be classified as electives.
Major or general credits above their minimums can also contribute to the total, so the planner labels the residual as flexible allocation.
How the minimum course-credit formula works
Total, major, general education, and qualifying coursework are separate gates.
If a bachelor learner has 50 major, 20 general, and 60 elective credits, the total gap is only 10, but the major gap and general gap are each 10.
Since one course cannot be counted simultaneously in both classifications, the minimum new course load is 20 credits rather than 10.
First-degree route
- Find the total-credit gap after recognized and verified future non-class credits
- Find the major and general-education gaps separately
- Find the gap between 18 and qualifying coursework already recognized
- Use the largest of total gap, major plus general gaps, and qualifying-course gap
Additional-major route
Only eligible major credits earned after the prior degree count toward the 48, 36, or 42-credit requirement.
The planner uses the larger of the remaining major gap and the remaining 18-major-course gap, then classifies all suggested courses as major coursework.
Reaching 140 can still leave 18 course credits
A learner might reach 140 total, 60 major, and 30 general credits through transfer, qualifications, and passed self-study examinations while having no evaluation-recognized or time-registration coursework.
The numeric total is high enough, but the separate 18-course-credit condition still requires 18 qualifying course credits.
The 24-credit term cap and 42-credit academic-year cap
Annex 3 to the Enforcement Decree limits covered course-source credits to 24 per term and 42 per academic year.
The academic year runs from March 1 through the end of the following February, Term 1 runs from March 1 through August 31, and Term 2 runs from September 1 through the end of February.
The end date of the learning course controls the period, so this is not a January-to-December calculation.
Credit sources inside and outside the Korean course-credit caps| Cap treatment | Credit sources | Per term | Per academic year |
|---|
| Inside cap | Evaluation-recognized courses, time registration, self-study exam-exemption coursework, and applicable school coursework | 24 credits | 42 credits |
| Outside cap | Recognized qualifications, passed Self-Study Degree Examinations, and national intangible heritage credits | Not applicable | Not applicable |
A learner selecting 24 credits per term cannot simply repeat 24 in both terms of the same academic year.
After 24 credits in Term 1, only 18 remain under the 42-credit annual cap, which produces the from-zero bachelor sequence 24, 18, 24, 18, 24, 18, and 14 over seven terms.
Cost model and official application fees
Korea does not impose one national tuition price for every Credit Bank education provider.
Program, practicum, provider, and scholarship terms vary, so the calculator accepts the learner’s provider quote rather than publishing an unsupported average.
Course tuition
Minimum new course credits multiplied by provider-quoted tuition per credit
Official fees
KRW 4,000 learner registration plus KRW 1,000 per newly planned recognition credit
Other budget
Qualification exams, books, practicum, documents, delivery, and other confirmed costs
Credits already recognized are assumed to have completed their application process, so the model does not charge them again.
It charges only the minimum new course credits and the entered future non-class credits at KRW 1,000 per credit.
Fee waivers, provider filing arrangements, scholarships, repeat courses, failed examinations, and extra practicum charges require separate confirmation.
Worked planning examples
Example 1: bachelor route with 90 recognized credits
Assume 45 major, 24 general, and 21 elective credits are already recognized, including 18 qualifying course credits.
The learner has independently verified a future 5 major and 10 elective credits from cap-exempt non-class sources, bringing the pre-course projection to 105 credits.
Worked bachelor example with 90 credits already recognized| Diagnostic item | Gap | Interpretation |
|---|
| Total | 35 credits | 140 minus 105 |
| Major | 10 credits | 60 minus 50 |
| General education | 6 credits | 30 minus 24 |
| Qualifying coursework | 0 credits | 18 already satisfied |
| Minimum courses | 35 credits | 10 major, 6 general, 19 flexible |
If the learner starts in Term 2 of academic year 2026, has already used 18 capped credits that year, and prefers 18 credits per term, the planner assigns 18 credits in Term 2 and 17 in Term 1 of academic year 2027.
That is two planned terms and about 12 months, with August 2027 shown only as the earliest reference if all evidence is ready by the relevant deadline.
Example 2: 140 bachelor credits from zero
With no recognized or future non-class credits and a 24-credit preferred term load, the annual cap creates the seven-term sequence 24, 18, 24, 18, 24, 18, and 14.
Starting in Term 1 of academic year 2026 produces about 42 months of courses and an August 2029 award-window reference.
If the learner enters a provider quote of KRW 50,000 per credit solely as an example, tuition is KRW 7,000,000, recognition applications are KRW 140,000, and an unregistered learner adds KRW 4,000, for KRW 7,144,000 before other costs.
KRW 50,000 is not a statutory amount or a claimed national average.
Step-by-step use
- Select the first bachelor or associate route, or the correct additional-major route.
- Copy major, general, and elective credits already recognized on the official Credit Bank record.
- Enter how many of those are qualifying evaluation-recognized or time-registration course credits.
- Add only future non-class credits whose value and classification you verified in the official qualification, examination, and curriculum rules.
- Choose the academic year, starting term, manageable term load, and capped credits already used in that year.
- Enter the provider’s KRW tuition quote and separate qualification, exam, practicum, book, and document budgets.
- Compare the suggested allocation and term table with the Standard Curriculum, available courses, and current application notice.
Limits that the numeric model cannot decide
Major-required work
Meeting 60 major credits is not enough if the selected Standard Curriculum requires specific courses or a separate required-credit count.
Duplicate courses
Overlapping evaluation-recognized, transfer, time-registration, or self-study courses may allow only one recognition.
Qualifications
Credit value, major linkage, duplicate subject matter, and the number of usable qualifications depend on the official current standard.
One-provider ceiling
Evaluation-recognized and exam-exemption coursework can face one-provider ceilings of 105 bachelor, 60 two-year associate, or 90 three-year associate credits.
Additional-major timing
Credits earned before the earlier degree generally cannot be reused for the new additional-major degree.
Application deadlines
February and August awards require course completion, grade reporting, recognition, evidence, and an application by the announced deadline.
A calculated minimum is not an official recognition result
Transfer-course classification, duplicate and substitute courses, qualification linkage, foreign-school documents, and licensed health-workforce programs need individual evidence review.
Even when every numeric card is satisfied, check the official learner record, Standard Curriculum, and a NILE learning-plan consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Do qualification credits count toward the 24-credit term cap?
Recognized qualifications and passed Self-Study Degree Examinations are outside the course caps under the official NILE explanation.
A Self-Study Degree Examination exemption course is coursework and remains inside the cap.
Can a 140-credit bachelor degree be completed in three years?
Coursework alone can supply at most 126 credits across three complete academic years because of the 42-credit annual cap.
Verified transfer, qualification, or passed self-study credits may shorten the route only if total, major, general, qualifying-course, and major-required conditions all remain satisfied.
Can every prior-college credit be used?
Recognition and classification depend on the transcript review, target major, course overlap, and current standards.
Enter credits already confirmed on the official learner record instead of treating an unreviewed transcript estimate as final.
Can any 18 course credits satisfy the requirement?
A first bachelor or associate route needs at least 18 credits from evaluation-recognized learning courses or time registration regardless of classification, subject to all other requirements.
An additional-major route needs those 18 credits in major coursework and must also meet its full major and major-required conditions.
Is the February or August date guaranteed?
No.
The planner maps a last Term 1 to August and a last Term 2 to the following February, but the course must end and grades, recognition evidence, and the degree application must be ready by the official deadline.
A late course end or report can move the award to the next window.
Official sources and maintenance anchors
The National Law Information Center OPEN API was checked on July 28, 2026 and returned each governing instrument as current.
The implementation records Credit Recognition Act MST 253403 and Articles 7, 8, and 9; Enforcement Decree MST 282911, Articles 13 and 16, and Annex 3 serial 17949261; and Enforcement Rule MST 233555, Article 7.
The current Enforcement Decree took effect on January 27, 2026, while the exact degree classifications, fees, and practical schedule notes were cross-checked against the official NILE Credit Bank pages.
Future maintainers must recheck Articles 13 and 16, Enforcement Rule Article 7, Annex 3, the KRW 4,000 and KRW 1,000 fees, and the current application calendar whenever the governing rules or NILE guidance changes.
Build the plan from your official record and actual quote
Prepare the official learner record, the Standard Curriculum for the intended major, and a written provider quote before replacing the defaults above.
Then compare the resulting credit gaps, term schedule, and budget with an official NILE learning-plan consultation and the current application notice.