Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU) is a major institute of higher education in South Korea, recruiting the best high school graduates in the nation. Various ranking indexes have placed the university first among universities in Korea and fortieth in the world for 2001.
SNU was established as the first national government-funded university in modern Korea in 1946. As of 2000, the total student enrollment is 12,882: 20,470 at the undergraduate level and 9,412 at the graduate level. Women students constitute 41 percent of the total number. The faculty numbers 1,891. In recent years, SNU has made efforts to internationalize its programs to attract foreign students. Currently about six hundred foreign students from fifty-two countries enroll in various academic programs.
For the bachelor's degree, a four-year residence is required. Medical and dental students are required to spend two additional years for premedical and predental education, respectively. Both master's and doctoral programs have a two-year residence requirement. The academic year starting March 1 consists of two semesters: spring semester from March through mid-June and fall semester from September through mid-December. Admission is given only for the spring semester.
SNU offers programs for bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees at sixteen colleges as well as four graduate schools covering almost every academic and professional area, including public health, environmental studies, and international area studies. Especially strong fields are law, business administration, medicine, and engineering, which has expanded tremendously since 1980. SNU also includes the International Vaccine Institute, a United Nations–related research center established in 1999. SNU graduates play leading roles in various fields in Korean society, especially in government, large enterprises, and law.
Like most universities in Korea, restructuring has been underway at SNU since the early 1990s. Matters in dispute are the reorganization of academic structure and evaluation of faculty members.
Further Reading
Seoul National University. (2001) Bulletin, 2001–2002. Seoul: Seoul National University. Seoul National University.
(2001) General Information for International Students. Seoul: Seoul National University.
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