Seoul National University
Undergraduate Profile | Click here for Graduate/Postgraduate Profile
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
| 50= | 76 | Arts & Humanities | 31 | Natural Sciences |
| 43 | Engineering & IT | 33 | Social Sciences | |
| World Rankings | 40 | Life Sciences & Biomedicine | ||
Source: QS World University Rankings™ Copyright © 2008 QS Intelligence Unit
| 51= | 91 | Arts & Humanities | 38 | Natural Sciences |
| 56 | Engineering & IT | 57 | Social Sciences | |
| World Rankings | 46 | Life Sciences & Biomedicine | ||
Source: QS World University Rankings™ Copyright © 2008 QS Intelligence Unit
| 63 | ||||
| World Rankings |
Source: QS World University Rankings™ Copyright © 2008 QS Intelligence Unit
- Profile
- Statistics
- Additional Info
- Departments
- Programs
- Scholarships
From the Start of the New Nation
Korean people have always maintained their faith in the power of education, even through colonial occupation and war during the tumultuous first half of the 20th century. Thus in 1946, just months after Korea regained its independence, Seoul National University was established as the first piece of the educational foundation for the new nation.
After a few short years, the campus had to be abandoned at the start of the Korean war in 1950, as civilians fled south to escape the frontlines. But the passion of the professors and students sustained the school through the war, with classes held outside refugee camps.
Comprehensive Research University
Thanks to this 'education fever', Seoul National University has grown remarkably in the past six decades. Now comprising 16 colleges and associated graduate schools, 6 professional graduate schools, and 65 research institutes, the SNU community has expanded to nearly 23,000 students and 2,500 faculty members. It has moved to Gwanak campus which has 192.366km2 of campus and 300 of buildings for education and research. SNU is in building new campuses outside of Gwanak such as 'Bio information technology port at Cheongna(0.6km2, by 2017), Advanced institute of convergence technology (0.1km2, by 2008) and Greenbio research complex (by 2010).
A Tradition of Academic Excellence
SNU trains the most outstanding students in Korea in a wide array of areas in the undergraduate, masters and doctorate programs. 22% of Its freshmen belong to the top 1% of those who take the National Entrance Examination which is similar to American SAT. At SNU, one out of five students study on until they get doctoral degrees. In the result, 27% of all the tenure-equivalent professors in Korean universities are SNU alumni. (last counted in 2002)
Best Education with Moderate Expense For a Select Few
SNU keeps its class size as small as 15 to 30, but still costs 1/8 of American private universities and 1/2 of Korean private universities with sustainable help from the Korean government.
Cutting-edge Research
The achievements of the Korean people in semiconductors, automobiles, IT, and Bio technology are drawing the worldÂ’s attention. Research efforts of Seoul National University has been at the forefront of them. Inter-university semi-conductor research center supported by Samsung and Automotive research center supported by Hyundai are representing SNU-industry relations.
Powerful Alumni
The founders' vision of the role of an educated public has come to fruition. The half of the lawmakers in current National Assembly of Korea are SNU alumni. Judges in the high court and Supreme court are mostly from SNU, which is 88% of all. More than half of cabinet members in the present ministry are also SNU alumni. 55% of CEOs of top 500 companies in Korea are SNU graduates.
Internationalization
Since the foundation, SNU has been the academic pinnacle in Korea. But resting on our laurels is not our style, and the globalized flow of people and ideas has opened up new possibilities. SNU has focused on internationalize its members and curricula, and now it has 2,000 international students and the acceptace rate of international admission is 20%. Of all the courses, 460 courses are conducted in English.
Vibrant Campus Life
SNU offers a wealth of invaluable academic and cultural resources. Public lecturer and forums are daily events and visits from renowned international speakers are common. SNU is famous as a high technology campus, with its free wireless networks for all students, a high-speed gigabyte backbone network for general operations, and a Super Computer facility for research.
Korean people have always maintained their faith in the power of education, even through colonial occupation and war during the tumultuous first half of the 20th century. Thus in 1946, just months after Korea regained its independence, Seoul National University was established as the first piece of the educational foundation for the new nation.
After a few short years, the campus had to be abandoned at the start of the Korean war in 1950, as civilians fled south to escape the frontlines. But the passion of the professors and students sustained the school through the war, with classes held outside refugee camps.
Comprehensive Research University
Thanks to this 'education fever', Seoul National University has grown remarkably in the past six decades. Now comprising 16 colleges and associated graduate schools, 6 professional graduate schools, and 65 research institutes, the SNU community has expanded to nearly 23,000 students and 2,500 faculty members. It has moved to Gwanak campus which has 192.366km2 of campus and 300 of buildings for education and research. SNU is in building new campuses outside of Gwanak such as 'Bio information technology port at Cheongna(0.6km2, by 2017), Advanced institute of convergence technology (0.1km2, by 2008) and Greenbio research complex (by 2010).
A Tradition of Academic Excellence
SNU trains the most outstanding students in Korea in a wide array of areas in the undergraduate, masters and doctorate programs. 22% of Its freshmen belong to the top 1% of those who take the National Entrance Examination which is similar to American SAT. At SNU, one out of five students study on until they get doctoral degrees. In the result, 27% of all the tenure-equivalent professors in Korean universities are SNU alumni. (last counted in 2002)
Best Education with Moderate Expense For a Select Few
SNU keeps its class size as small as 15 to 30, but still costs 1/8 of American private universities and 1/2 of Korean private universities with sustainable help from the Korean government.
Cutting-edge Research
The achievements of the Korean people in semiconductors, automobiles, IT, and Bio technology are drawing the worldÂ’s attention. Research efforts of Seoul National University has been at the forefront of them. Inter-university semi-conductor research center supported by Samsung and Automotive research center supported by Hyundai are representing SNU-industry relations.
Powerful Alumni
The founders' vision of the role of an educated public has come to fruition. The half of the lawmakers in current National Assembly of Korea are SNU alumni. Judges in the high court and Supreme court are mostly from SNU, which is 88% of all. More than half of cabinet members in the present ministry are also SNU alumni. 55% of CEOs of top 500 companies in Korea are SNU graduates.
Internationalization
Since the foundation, SNU has been the academic pinnacle in Korea. But resting on our laurels is not our style, and the globalized flow of people and ideas has opened up new possibilities. SNU has focused on internationalize its members and curricula, and now it has 2,000 international students and the acceptace rate of international admission is 20%. Of all the courses, 460 courses are conducted in English.
Vibrant Campus Life
SNU offers a wealth of invaluable academic and cultural resources. Public lecturer and forums are daily events and visits from renowned international speakers are common. SNU is famous as a high technology campus, with its free wireless networks for all students, a high-speed gigabyte backbone network for general operations, and a Super Computer facility for research.
Faculty
| Number of Faculty Staff | Headcount: 6,039 FTE: 4,143 |  |
| Total number of academic faculty staff who are responsible for planning, directing and undertaking teaching only, research only or both teaching and research. Please include: vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, principals, professors, heads of school, associate professors, principal lecturers, tutors or postdoctoral researchers. Please exclude research assistants*, PhD students who contribute to teaching, hospital residents and exchange scholars or visiting faculty staff who are members of another university. * The important distinction for us is that staff counted as 'research only' should be academically involved in that research and should be likely to publish research outputs. A research assistant, in our understanding, is any individual who is not doing own research and is therefore not likely to publish own research outputs. Said individual is (only) involved in research in terms of operation execution , such as lab technician or equipment operator. | ||
| Number of International Faculty Staff | Headcount: 342 FTE: 281 | |
| Number of academic faculty staff who are of foreign nationality. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even if from another EU state. In Hong Kong, this includes professors from Mainland China. Inclusion and exclusion mirrors those for academic faculty staff. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. | ||
| Number of Inbound Visiting Faculty Staff | Headcount: 400 FTE: 199 | |
| Number of academic faculty staff contributing to teaching or research at your university in the last 12 months who are visiting from an overseas institution for a minimum period of at least 3 months. | ||
| Number of Outbound Visiting Faculty Staff | Headcount: 141 FTE: 141 | |
| Number of academic faculty staff employed by your institution contributing to teaching or research at an overseas institution in the last 12 months for a minimum period of at least 3 months. | ||
Undergraduate Information
| Number of Undergraduate Students | Headcount: 16,512 FTE: 16,512 | |
| Number of students pursuing a Bachelorâs level or equivalent degree. This excludes certificates/diplomas and associateâs degrees. | ||
| Number of International Undergraduate Students | Headcount: 1,805 FTE: 1,050 | |
| Number of undergraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if the language students take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'undergraduate degree program' they should be included under 'international undergraduate students' . Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'. | ||
| Number of Inbound Exchange Undergraduate Students | Headcount: 175 FTE: 175 | |
| Number of undergraduate students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months. | ||
| Number of Outbound Exchange Undergraduate Students | Headcount: 158 FTE: 158 | |
| Number of undergraduate students registered at your institution who have attended another institution abroad for at least 1 semester on an exchange program in the last 12 months. | ||
| Average International Undergraduate Fees | $ USD 3,730 | |
| Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with âprogramâ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees? | ||
| Average Domestic Undergraduate Fees | $ USD 3,730 | |
| Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with âprogramâ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees? | ||
| Average Undergraduate Class Size | 33 | |
| The average size of class across all undergraduate programs. The term âclassâ refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars. | ||
Graduate / Postgraduate Information
| Number of Graduate / Postgraduate Students | Headcount: 9,439 FTE: 9,439 | |
| Students pursuing a higher-level degree (Master and Doctorate), including both taught and research postgraduates (e.g. PhD students) | ||
| Number of International Graduate/Postgraduate Students | Headcount: 821 FTE: 710 | |
| Number of graduate / postgraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if they take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'postgraduate degree program', they should be included under 'international postgraduate students'. Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'. | ||
| Number of Inbound Exchange Graduate/Postgraduate Students | Headcount: 86 FTE: 86 | |
| Number of graduate / postgraduate students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months. | ||
| Number of Outbound Exchange Graduate/Postgraduate Students | Headcount: 8 FTE: 8 | |
| Number of postgraduate students registered at your institution who have attended another institution on an exchange program for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months. | ||
| Average International Graduate / Postgraduate Fees | $ USD 4,893 | |
| Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with âprogramâ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees? | ||
| Average Domestic Graduate / Postgraduate Fees | $ USD 4,893 | |
| Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with âprogramâ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees? | ||
| Average Taught Graduate / Postgraduate Class Size | 10 | |
| The average size of class across all taught graduate / postgraduate programs. The term âclassâ refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars. | ||
Students
| Total Students | Headcount: 25,951 FTE: 25,951 | |
| Total number of students. This includes ALL students, not only undergraduate and graduate/postgraduate students. | ||
| Total International Students | Headcount: 2,626 FTE: 1,759 | |
| Number of students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. | ||
| Total Outbound Exchange Students | Headcount: 166 FTE: 166 | |
| Total number of students registered at your institution who have attended another institution on an exchange program for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months. | ||
| Total Inbound Exchange Students | Headcount: 261 FTE: 261 | |
| Total number of students attending your university on international exchange programs for at least 1 semester in the last 12 months. | ||
| Average International Student Fees | $ USD 4,311 | |
| Average tuition fees per year that an international student would be expected to pay for any course | ||
| Average Domestic Student Fees | $ USD 4,311 | |
| Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for any program, with âprogramâ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees? | ||
| Average Class Size | 22 | |
| The average size of class across all programs. The term âclassâ refers to an unit of instruction or taught session in which a teacher has pre-defined material to cover. It does exclude tutorial seminars. | ||
| Number of Male Students | Headcount: 15,617 | |
| Number of students who are male out of the total number of students studying at your university | ||
| Number of Female Students | Headcount: 10,233 | |
| Number of students who are female out of the total number of students studying at your university | ||
Graduate Output
| Proportion of Graduates Pursuing Further Study | 29% | |
| Proportion of graduates from undergraduate programs pursuing further study at your own institution or any other within 6 months after graduation. | ||
| Proportion of Graduates Employed | 73% | |
| Proportion of graduates (excluding those opting to pursue further study) in permanent employment within 6 months of graduation | ||
| Number of PhDs Awarded | 1,015 | |
| Total number of PhDs awarded in the last 12 months | ||
Entry Requirements
| Avg Entry Requirements | 4 | |
| Please express the average academic achievement entry requirements for your institution. Please convert your domestic requirements to the US Grade Point Average system. The five-point numerical scale is typically correlated with the A-F/A-E quality index. (A=4.0, B=3.0, C=2.0, D=1.0, E or F = 0.0) In our context, a value of 0 will imply to us that your institution has an "open access" admissions policy and will in no way count against your institution in any future table built upon this data. You can use World Education Services (WES) Toolkit as guidline: http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp (copy and paste) | ||
Range of Fees
5,200 ~ 10,000 USD a year, excluding boarding fee
Basic TOEFL/IELTS requirements
No basic requirement.
Language Support
More than 10% of courses are offered in English. It is about 500 courses. Graduate School of International Studies offer all the courses in English. English written papers and reporters are generally accepted.
Non-English Language Requirements
More than elementary level of Korean language is needed to be admitted to College of Humanities, Social Scienes and Law.
- department of Aesthetics
- department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
- department of Anthropology
- department of Applied Biology and Chemistry
- department of Archaeology and Art History
- department of Architecture
- department of Asian History
- department of Astronomy
- department of Biological Sciences
- department of Biology Education
- department of Biosystems & Biomaterials Science and Engineering
- department of Business Administration
- department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
- department of Chemistry
- department of Chemistry Education
- department of Chinese Language and Literature
- department of Civil, Urban and Geosystem Engineering
- department of Clothing and Textiles
- department of Communication
- department of Composition
- department of Computer Science and Engineering
- department of Consumer and Child Studies
- department of Crafts and Design
- department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- department of Earth Science Education
- department of Economics
- department of Education
- department of Electrical Engineering
- department of English Education
- department of English Language and Literature
- department of Food and Animal Biotechnology
- department of Food and Nutrition
- department of Forest Sciences
- department of French Language and Literature
- department of French Language Education
- department of Geography
- department of Geography Education
- department of German Language and Literature
- department of German Language Education
- department of Hispanic Language and Literature
- department of History Education
- department of Industrial Engineering
- department of Instrumental Music
- department of International Relations
- department of Korean History
- department of Korean Language and Literature
- department of Korean Language Education
- department of Korean Music
- department of Landscape Architecture and Rural System Engineering
- department of Law
- department of Linguistics
- department of Manufacturing Pharmacy
- department of Material Science and Engineering
- department of Mathematical Sciences
- department of Mathematics Education
- department of Mechanical Aerospace Engineering
- department of Medicine
- department of National Ethics Education
- department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
- department of Nuclear Engineering
- department of Nursing
- department of Oriental Painting
- department of Painting
- department of Pharmacy
- department of Philosophy
- department of Physical Education
- department of Physics
- department of Physics Education
- department of Plant Science
- department of Political Science
- department of Psychology
- Department of Public Relations
- department of Religious Studies
- department of Russian Language and Literature
- department of Sculpture
- department of Social Studies Education
- department of Social Welfare
- department of Sociology
- department of Statistics
- department of Veterinary Medicine
- department of Vocal Music
- department of Western History
- Graduate School of Business
- Library Liaison Research Services
- Office of Admissions
- Office of International Affairs
- Office of the President
- Pre-Med Program
- Pre-Veterinary Medicine Program
- Administration
- Business Administration - Full Time
- Public Administration & Social Welfare - Full Time
- Agriculture
- Agricultural Economics - Full Time
- Forest Science - Full Time
- Architecture
- Architecture & Urban Engineering - Full Time
- Landscape Architecture - Full Time
- Biological Sciences
- Animal Resources & Biotechnology - Full Time
- Biological Resources Science - Full Time
- Biological Science - Full Time
- Bionics & Bioinformatics - Full Time
- Bioresource Systems Engineering - Full Time
- Biotechnology - Full Time
- Business/Management
- Business Administration - Full Time
- Chemical Engineering
- Environmental & Chemical Engineering - Full Time
- Civil/Structural Engineering
- Civil Engineering - Full Time
- Communications/Media
- Mass Communications & Psychology - Full Time
- Creative/Performing Arts
- Dance - Full Time
- Fine Arts - Full Time
- Korean Traditional Music - Full Time
- Music - Full Time
- Dentistry
- Dentistry - Full Time
- Design
- Industrial Design - Full Time
- Economics
- Agricultural Economics - Full Time
- Economics - Full Time
- Education/Training
- Education - Full Time
- English Education - Full Time
- Ethics Education - Full Time
- German Education - Full Time
- Korean Education - Full Time
- Mathematics Education - Full Time
- Physical Education - Full Time
- Science Education - Full Time
- Social Studies Education - Full Time
- Electronic/Electrical Engineering
- Electronics & Information Engineering - Full Time
- General Engineering/Other Engineering
- Advanced Materials Engineering - Full Time
- Architecture & Urban Engineering - Full Time
- Industrial & Information System Engineering - Full Time
- Mineral Resources & Energy Engineering - Full Time
- Textile Engineering - Full Time
- Health/Para-medical Studies
- Food Science & Human Nutrition - Full Time
- Nursing - Full Time
- Humanities
- Clothing & Textiles - Full Time
- Humanities - Full Time
- Library & Information Science - Full Time
- International Relations/Studies/Affairs
- International Trade - Full Time
- Languages
- Chinese Language & Literature - Full Time
- English Education - Full Time
- English Language & Literature - Full Time
- French Language & Literature - Full Time
- German Education - Full Time
- German Language & Literature - Full Time
- Japanese Language & Literature - Full Time
- Korean Education - Full Time
- Korean Language & Literature - Full Time
- Spanish-Latin American Language & Literature - Full Time
- Law/Legal Studies
- Law - Full Time
- Literature
- Chinese Language & Literature - Full Time
- English Language & Literature - Full Time
- French Language & Literature - Full Time
- German Language & Literature - Full Time
- Japanese Language & Literature - Full Time
- Korean Language & Literature - Full Time
- Spanish-Latin American Language & Literature - Full Time
- Mathematics
- Mathematics & Statistical Informatics - Full Time
- Mathematics Education - Full Time
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mechanical & Aero System Engineering - Full Time
- Medicine/Medical Sciences
- Pre-Medical Studies - Full Time
- Physical Sciences
- Science & Technology - Full Time
- Science Education - Full Time
- Semiconductor Science & Technology - Full Time
- Sport Science - Full Time
- Politics
- Political Science & Sociology - Full Time
- Psychology
- Mass Communications & Psychology - Full Time
- Sociology/Social Studies
- Child Studies & Housing Environment - Full Time
- Political Science & Sociology - Full Time
- Science Studies - Full Time
- Social Studies Education - Full Time
- Veterinary Science
- Pre-Veterinary Studies - Full Time
- Veterinary Medicine - Full Time
Domestic Scholarship for Students from Developing Nations (Glo-harmony). 10 available @ USD 25,000
Newly admitted undergraduate students for spring semester 2008 who are citizens of OECD/DAC recipient country. Full Tuition Fee is provided by SNU from Spring Semester 2008 till Graduation (Maximum 8 semesters)
Partial living and academic expenses, and air fare are provided by The Samsung Equal Opportunity Scholarship Foundation’ s Glo-harmony. Further details will be available upon the confirmation.
Specialisation
All
Application URL
http://oia.snu.ac.kr
Deadline
14th September 2007
Graduate Scholarship for Excellent Foreign Students. 120 available @ USD 36,000
Only students in or from the designated universities are eligible to apply. : Tribhuvan university in Nepal, University of Malaya in Malaysia, National University of Mongolia in Mongolia etc.
Specialisation
created to help graduate students in the 3rd countries to study at SNU
Application Process
Application form, recommendation, study plan & personal statement, transcripts, graduate certificates, degree certificates, test scores(option), Korean proficiency test score(option) should be submitted to SNU office of international affairs before the deadline. Decision announcement is June 22.
Application URL
http://oia.snu.ac.kr
Deadline
20th April 2008
Samsung Global Scholarship Program at SNU. 4 available @ USD 15,000
To support international students to study and complete 2 years of master courses at the school of EECE in SNU with financial aid by Samsung Electronics company.
To cover full tuition, dormitory housing, medical insurance, monthly living expenses(750USD/month), two round trip airplane tickets, internship at Samsung during vacation.
After the completing MS degree, the applicant should work at Samsung Electronics company in Korea for 2 years.
Specialisation
Electronics Engineering
Application URL
http://ee.snu.ac.kr/english
Deadline
1st January 2010
University Scholarship. 300 available @ USD 2,500
University scholarship grant is provided to students with an excellent academic record. SNU spare some portion of university scholarship only for international students. Studetns should apply every semester. 40% of international students receive University Scholarships.
Specialisation
All
Application Process
Application Period
First Semester : end of November
Second Semester : mid June
The application period is announced in the academic calendar each year and in the catalogue made available to freshmen.
Students can apply at the administrative office of their respective college.
Application URL
http://oia.snu.ac.kr
Deadline
1st January 1970
School Information
- Country
- Korea, South
- Address
- 599 Gwanak-ro Gwanak-gu Seoul Gwanak 151-742
- Website
- Switchboard
- 82 2 8808636
- Fax
- 82 2 883 8632
- snuoia@snu.ac.kr