NRF Centers of Research Excellence (선도연구센터)

NRF Centers of Research Excellence

Supports major research centers in Korea that drive strategic science leadership and multidisciplinary team excellence.

The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Centers of Research Excellence program — known in Korean as 선도연구센터 — is one of NRF's largest group-research instruments, administered under the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). The FY2026 first-tranche call was issued under MSIT Notice No. 2025-1005 on 2025-11-13 and covers six distinct center tracks: SRC (Science Research Center), ERC (Engineering Research Center), MRC (Medical Research Center), RLRC (Regional Leading Research Center), IRC (International Research Center), and NRL2.0. Each track targets different institutional scales and research ambitions.

Award sizes and durations vary substantially by track. SRC, MRC, and RLRC receive 1.5 to 1.65 billion KRW per year for seven years; ERC receives 2 billion KRW per year for seven years; IRC receives 5 billion KRW per year for ten years; and NRL2.0, the largest track, receives 10 billion KRW per year for ten years. Eligibility is restricted to Korean universities — individual PI applications are not accepted for this instrument. Applications are submitted as Korean-language HWP and PDF files, with track-specific eligibility and evaluation criteria published in the detailed guidelines accompanying each call.

Competition for these awards is among the most rigorous in the Korean academic system. NRF evaluates proposals through a multi-stage process comprising preliminary qualification review, expert panel assessment, a PM consultative group review, and final confirmation by a program committee under MSIT. Applicants selecting the correct center track is the critical first decision, as each track carries substantially different budgets, durations, and peer-review expectations. The Centers of Research Excellence instrument is best suited to established university departments with multi-year research infrastructure and prior NRF grant track records.