Podcasts | Top Universities

47=	33	Arts & Humanities	28	Natural Sciences
27	Engineering & IT	30	Social Sciences
World Rankings	24	Life Sciences & Biomedicine

50=	76	Arts & Humanities	31	Natural Sciences
43	Engineering & IT	33	Social Sciences
World Rankings	40	Life Sciences & Biomedicine

51=	91	Arts & Humanities	38	Natural Sciences
56	Engineering & IT	57	Social Sciences
World Rankings	46	Life Sciences & Biomedicine

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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 worldâs 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, 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 Bachelor’s level or equivalent degree. This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate’s 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 ‘program’ 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 ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Undergraduate Class Size	Headcount: 33	The average size of class across all undergraduate programs. The term ‘class’ 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 ‘program’ 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 ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Taught Graduate / Postgraduate Class Size	Headcount: 10	The average size of class across all taught graduate / postgraduate programs. The term ‘class’ 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.
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 ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Class Size	Headcount: 22	The average size of class across all programs. The term ‘class’ 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	Headcount: 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	Headcount: 73 %	Proportion of graduates (excluding those opting to pursue further study) in permanent employment within 6 months of graduation
Number of PhDs Awarded	Headcount: 1,015	Total number of PhDs awarded in the last 12 months

Entry Requirements

Avg Entry Requirements

Headcount: 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 Foundationâ€™ s Glo-harmony. Further details will be available upon the confirmation.
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.
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.
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.

Seoul National University