2011
Graduate School of Korean Studies
Admission Guide for International Students
The Academy of Korean Studies
1. About the Graduate School of Korean Studies
The Graduate School of Korean Studies (GSKS) is dedicated to research related to humanities and social sciences in the field of Korean Studies. The Graduate School's mission is to explore the essence of Korean culture and its impact on the future of Korea by nurturing excellent scholars who will contribute to the development and globalization of Korean Studies.
Since its establishment in March, 1980, GSKS has provided research-oriented education via mentoring system. As a result, graduates of GSKS are recognized for their academic excellence, playing pivotal roles among educational and research institutions of Korean Studies around the world today. Currently, approximately 240 students, including about 110 students from 29 foreign countries, study at GSKS.
As the world's leading graduate school of Korean Studies, the Graduate School of Korean Studies has raised the global profile and reputation of Korean Studies by leading the way in the promotion of Korean Studies both nationally and internationally.
2. Key Attributes
▣ The only research-oriented graduate school specializing in Korean Studies in the world
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▣ elective student body with a 4:1 student-faculty ratio
▣ Collaborative lectures to promote interdisciplinary research
▣ One-to-one, learning between students and professors
▣ Publishing an article in an accredited academic journal or participation in research projects may count as credits for their course works.
▣ Fieldwork courses: Great opportunity for understanding Korean society
▣ The Program of International Korean Studies offers lectures in English.
▣ Intensive Korean language courses are available for international students
▣ Student exchange programs with overseas universities
▣ Affordable tuition and various financial aids
▣ On-campus housing for every international student
3. Program Overview
The Graduate School of Korean Studies offers 15 majors for M.A. and 14 majors for Ph.D. programs.
Number of years required to complete coursework
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(1) M.A. Program: 2 years (2) Ph.D. Program: 3 years
Each year consists of two semesters.
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(1) First (Spring) semester: March 1 to August 31
(2) Second (Fall) semester: September 1 to the last day of February of the following year.
Each semester is 15 weeks long.
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Most lectures are conducted in Korean, but several lectures a semester are
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offered in English.
M.A. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation must be written in Korean. In special cases,
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the Graduate School Committee may allow writing them in English.
In order to improve their reserch skills in Korean Studies, international
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students are expected to imporve their Korean language proficiency. All newly admitted foreign students must take the Korean language test on the scheduled date, and according to its results, they may have to take different numbers of Korean language classes offered by GSKS, in order to complete their
coursework.
4. Financial Aid
Full Tuition Waiver: All international students are provided with a full tuition
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waiver. However, violation of the university code will cause withdrawal of this tuition waiver.
Government Grant: The Government Grant provides selected students with a
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monthly stipend of KRW 750,000 and Settlement Fund(amount of round air-fare).
After enrollment the grant recipient must maintain average grade point of
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3.7/4.3. (For the first two semesters, the recipient must maintain GPA of 3.3/4.3 instead of 3.7/4.3.) Failure in doing so will result in the withdrawal of the
grant.
Korean Government Scholarship Program(Fall semester only) : As the Graduate
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School of Korean Studies is an applicable institute, KGSP provides selected students with a monthly stipend KRW 900,000, research expenses, settlement support fund, one round-trip airfare, etc. Selected students are available to enter the graduate school after either language course(one year) or getting TOPIK level 5 or 6 during the language course.
Subject of Korean language course : TOPIK level under 5 certificate holder
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Exemption of Korean language course : TOPIK level 5 or 6 certificate holder
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Please refer to 'KGSP guideline of the Year 2010' for more details about
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eligibility.
Both Government Grant and KGSP can be applied at the same time.
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Other financial aid opportunities: Limited number of RA/TA positions is available.
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5. Faculties and Departments
＊ Planning to establish a doctorate program in Cultural Informatics(applying
Programs Divisions Majors
Master's programs
Humanities Korean History, Paleography, Philosophy, Korean Language․Korean Literature
Culture and Arts Anthropology․Folklore, Religious Studies, Musicology, Art History, Cultural Informatics
Social Sciences Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Ethics, Education
International
Korean Studies Korean Culture and History
Total 4 divisions 15 departments
Doctoral programs
Humanities Korean History, Paleography, Philosophy, Korean Language․Korean Literature
Culture and Arts Anthropology․Folklore, Religious Studies, Musicology, Art History, ＊Cultural Informatics
Social Sciences Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Ethics, Education
Total 3 divisions 14 departments
after consultation is recommended.)
6. Number of Students Admitted
Number of international students to be admitted each semester is not fixed.
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7. Eligibility
All applicants must meet one of the two conditions below.
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1. Neither the applicant nor his or her parents possess Korean nationality.
2. The applicant has completed more than 16 years of education outside of Korea that is compatible with Korea's elementary, middle, high school and college education.
Master's Program
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Applicants for the Master's program must have a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) or be expected to receive a Bachelor's degree before enrolling at GSKS.
An applicant's undergraduate major does not necessarily have to be related to the
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major that he or she is applying for at GSKS.
Doctoral Program
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Applicants for the Doctoral program must have an M.A. degree (or equivalent) or to be expected to receive an M.A. degree before enrolling at GSKS.
An applicant's major in M.A. degree must be the same or closely related to
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the major that he or she is applying for at GSKS.
The applicant cannot apply for the doctoral program in a similar field if the
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applicant already holds a doctoral degree.
8. Selection Process
Applicants who have submitted all required documents could have a phone
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interview if necessary(but not everyone), and the phone interview result will be
considered at the application documents review.
At the application documents review, the Graduate Admission Committee will
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evaluate the application form, statement of purpose, personal statement,
recommendation letters, language proficiency, previous academic achievements, future academic plan and so on.
9. Admission and Orientation
10. Required Documents
Application Form (Download)
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Personal Statement (Over A4 or Letter 3 pages, explain in detail)
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Study Plan (Over A4 or Letter 3 pages, explain in detail)
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Two copies of original Degree Certificate & Graduation Certificate of
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Bachelor's and/or M.A. Degree
Applicants for the doctoral program must submit certificates of both M.A. and
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B.A. degree.
Applicants who have graduated from universities in the People's Republic of
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China must also submit an English academic degree certificate accreditation from the China Academic Degree & Graduate Education Development Center
Spring semester Fall semester Remarks
Application Deadline Oct. 31 Apr. 30 Applications are accepted year round.
Notification Dec. 15 Jun. 15 Notification on the GSKS web site and via mail
Orientation and
registration Feb. 13 Aug. 13
Please refer to the notification letter for detailed schedule.
Korean language
proficiency test Feb. 15 Aug. 15
Semester begins Mar. 1 Sept. 1
(http://www.cdgdc.edu.cn/).
Two copies of original official Transcripts of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies
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Applicants for Doctoral program must attach the abstract of their M.A. thesis.
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Two Letters of Recommendations (Download)
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One of the letters should be written by an academic adviser or the dean of
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the department in the applicant's undergraduate/graduate school.
Recommendation letters must be sent directly by the person recommending
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the applicant.
▣ Certificate of Korean Language Proficiency (Download)
Applicants for the International Korean Studies are exempt.
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Korean (S-TOPIK) and English (TOEFL, IELTS or TEPS) language
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proficiency test transcript, if available
Applicants for the International Korean Studies whose first language is not
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English are required to submit English language proficiency test transcript.
A copy of the passport and three passport-sized photos
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Application Fee: US $50 or KRW 50,000
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*KRW: account no. 270937-04-000487 (Kookmin Bank)
*USD: account no. 270968-08-100314 (Kookmin Bank) (Account holder: Academy of Korean Studies)
Kookmin Bank swift code: CZNBKRSEXXX
Additional documents for applicants of Korean Government Scholarship Program
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Application Form(Attachment #1)
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Study Plan(Attachment #2)
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Self Introduction(Attachment #3)
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Pledge(Attachment #5)
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Personal Medical Assessment(Attachment #6)
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Korean (S-TOPIK) and English (TOFEL, IELTS) language proficiency test
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transcript in original, if available (Certificate holders will be given preference) Published paper, if available (submit 1 or 2 publications)
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Award, if available (submit copy of award)
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11. Important Notes for Applicants
Application form, letters of recommendation, certificate of Korean language
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proficiency must be in a format downloadable at GSKS website.
Application form, personal statement, and statement of purpose may be
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submitted by online applications at GSKS application website
(http://www.aks.ac.kr/admission). Other required documents must be submitted by registered mail.
Personal statement, statement of purpose must be written in Korean.
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(Applicants for the International Korean Studies may write them in English.) Any certificates that are not written in Korean or English must be translated
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in into Korean or English before being submitted.
Applications with any missing document would not be accepted and reviewed.
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Submitted documents and the application fee will not be returned.
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All statements in the application must be real information. If any false
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statement in the documents are discovered, admission may be revoked.
Transcript should include grade point average (G.P.A) or percentage grade.
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if the grade is difficult to convert to percentage, official explanatory
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documents from the attended university is required.
Language test scores must be less than 4 years old on the date of application.
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Applicants for KGSP should submit the applications of KGSP to GSKS.
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You are not considered for KGSP if you:
are not a citizen of the applicable country
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are over 40 years old as of September 1, 2010
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are enrolling or have enrolled in the same academic program in Korea
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(as the one the applicant is applying for)
score under 80% grade point average from the previous attended institution
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12. Research (Non-Degree) Program A. Eligibility
The applicant must possess a Bachelor's Degree, or equivalent.
B. Program Overview
▣ Researchers must pay the tuition, and the research period can not be longer than a year.
▣ Research program certificate will be issued to the researchers who have
successfully completed the program.
▣ Researchers must register for at least one course each semester and research under the guidance of an academic adviser at GSKS.
▣ Researchers have access to GSKS facilities including library and dormitory.
C. Application Procedure and Required Documents
Application timetable, Required documents, and ways of application for the Research (Non-degree) program are same as those for the Degree Program.
13. Facilities
▣ Graduate School building
GSKS building has lecture rooms, graduate students study rooms (open 24
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hours), an Internet PC room, and a language lab.
▣ Jangseogak Library
Janseogak library, specialized in Korean Studies, has some 350,000 books and
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rare materials related to Korean Studies, antiquarian books (some 100,000 books and 500,000 antique documents), and the Master's theses and doctoral dissertations.
▣ Siseupjae
Siseupjae includes the Guesthouse for Korean Studies scholars (from home
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and abroad) and a dormitory for graduate students. The dormitary has only double rooms (2 students in a room), and the residential fee is KRW 463,500 per semester.) Siseupjae also has meeting rooms, a communal kitchen, a laundry room, and a fitness center.
▣ Others
Cafeteria, convenient store, soccer field, and a table tennis room are available
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to students.
Contact Information
Address : THE ACADEMY OF KOREAN STUDIES The Graduate School of Korean Studies
110 Haogogaegil(Unjung-dong), Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-791, Republic of Korea
Tel : +82-31-709-8111(Ex 212 214), +82-31-708-5310, +82-31-709-4169～ Fax : +82-31-709-9946
E-mail : gradaks@aks.ac.kr
