The Children's Environmental Center under the Environment Foundation announced it will accept applications for the "2026 Climate College Entrance Exam" (third edition) from Monday through Aug. 2.
The exam is open to 100 middle and high school students nationwide. Any middle or high school student born between 2008 and 2013 with an interest in climate and environmental issues may apply free of charge.
Group applications of five or more students from a school or environmental club are also accepted, and group supervisors will receive a certificate of appreciation issued in the name of the Environment Foundation's chairperson.
Now in its third year since launching in 2024, the Climate College Entrance Exam is an educational test designed to supplement climate and environmental education that is difficult to access through the standard school curriculum and to help young people grow into "climate citizens."
This year, subject-matter experts in environmental studies, social sciences and natural sciences joined the exam committee to craft questions that encourage students to think across disciplines about the range of issues surrounding the climate crisis.
The exam runs for 60 minutes in a setting modeled on the actual college entrance exam, with 40 questions in total — 38 multiple-choice and two short-answer — drawn from middle school environmental textbooks and major environmental issues.
After the exam, the question setters will work through the most challenging problems and discuss climate and environmental issues from the perspectives of different academic disciplines in a segment called the "Wrong-Answer Climate Talk Show."
Applications are open from Monday through Aug. 2 on the exam's official website.
All participants will receive a souvenir and a personalized climate score report. Top scorers will be awarded climate scholarships of 1 million won ($664) for first place, 500,000 won for second and 300,000 won for third.
Students living outside Greater Seoul will receive up to 50,000 won in public transportation reimbursement to reduce the cost of participation for students from other regions.
The exam will be held Aug. 29 at Kolon One & Only Tower in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and applicants will be notified of the final selection results individually on Aug. 6.
Past exam questions from the first and second editions are available to take online on the exam's official website.
"The Climate College Entrance Exam is an educational platform designed to help young people understand the climate crisis as a problem that touches every aspect of our society and lives, and to think for themselves about solutions," an Environment Foundation official said. "With experts from social sciences and natural sciences joining the environmental specialists on the exam committee, we hope this becomes an opportunity for students to look at the climate crisis through the lens of many different disciplines."
thlee@heraldcorp.com
