28/10/2009 | Newsletter, Korea

View from the Top: Seoul National University

By: Tim Rogers

In the recently published 2009 Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings, Seoul National University (SNU) claimed 47th spot, the culmination of six years of international research success that has resulted in an increase in visibility, a growth in research income and a doubling of the number of international students enrolled at the University. With an increasing focus on internationalization through collaborations with universities all over the world and a growing number of international Masters and PhD students, Topgradschool.com speaks to the academic leading the international development of one of Asia’s most important universities.

Professor Hiwon Yoon is perhaps one of the most vigorous international leaders in her field in Asia. Gaining her PhD from Paris in the early 1980’s, Professor Yoon is Vice President of International Affairs and Director of the Centre for Multicultural Education. She is also responsible for one of the most dynamic and successful programs of internationalization at any Asian university. With operational partnerships established with more than 550 international universities all over the world, including the Universities of Oxford, Yale, Auckland and Tokyo, SNU is considered an excellent destination for international students interested in pursuing their graduate program in English or Korean, particularly those with research-orientated ambitions.

70% of our professors have gained their PhD’s from international universities

Since its founding in 1946, as Korea’s first national university, SNU has always had the international context in mind and, according to Professor Yoon, this continues today. “Much of the focus for the University is to be international. We can trace the history of SNU to one of the Royal Institutes founded 1,600 years ago and what is common now as it was then is that we are open to everyone with the right academic ability from any background. We have welcomed students from Malaysia, Nepal, Brunei and Bangladesh for many years and this has had a valuable effect for Korean students to understand other cultures. We offer international exposure through academic programs, professors and other students - 70% of our professors have gained their PhD’s from international universities and we now have more than 200 members of staff appointed as visiting lecturers and professors. We allow our students to see a different language and, more importantly, experience a different way of thinking.”

There is very little that is ordinary about the SNU story. Located a short distance from the center of South Korea’s capital, Seoul, the University occupies a purpose built 200 square kilometre campus housing 27,000 students, over 9,000 of whom are pursuing Masters or PhD programs. With 98 graduate departments and six professional schools, the most popular areas for students are in the College of Social Sciences, the College of Natural Sciences and the University’s largest academic area, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. For international students, all departments offer individual courses in English, but it is the Graduate School of International Studies where full degree programs are offered in English, with degrees in international cooperation and international commerce attracting most graduate students.

The number of patent applications submitted by University members of staff has more than doubled over the last five years

However, for many international students it is the quality and breadth of SNU’s research reputation that attracts them to the campus. To facilitate research activities, the University organizes all active research projects under a dedicated unit, called the SNU R&DB Research Foundation, which manages research funds and supports effective relationships between the University and the commercial and industrial sectors. The overall impact of this has been to ensure the development of research at SNU maximizes the opportunities it may have outside in the commercial world. As a result, the number of patent applications submitted by University members of staff has more than doubled over the last five years and the number of successful registrations, quadrupled. Research areas such as nanotechnology, pharmacology, materials science and engineering have been particularly successful in recent years.