< Admission Guidelines for International Students, 2020 Spring >

 

 

1. About the Graduate School of Korean Studies
   The Graduate School of Korean Studies is an affiliated institution of the Academy of Korean Studies(“AKS”), which operates under the Korean Ministry of Education. It was established in 1980 to nurture scholars contributing to the development and globalization of Korean studies, through a liaison between the AKS’ research capacity and graduate
education.
   As a research-oriented institution in the fields of humanities and social sciences pertinent to Korea, the Graduate School of Korean Studies has maintained its commitment to the highest quality teaching and research through eminent professors’ close mentoring of students for the past 40 years. Our graduates are playing pivotal role in the various educational and research organizations of Korean studies around the world with their academic excellence. The statistics show that 61.1% of our 95 international graduates with a doctorate are working as professors/full-time instructors.
   Currently, approximately 300 students, including around 150 international students from 40 different countries, are enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at the Graduate School of Korean Studies.

 

<Scholarship>
 ◦ Tuition fees are fully waived for all international students.
 ◦  65.2% of international students ◦ benefit from the Government Grant.
   - Monthly stipend of 500,000KRW (for master’s degree students) or 750,000KRW (for doctoral degree students) is provided for a year, renewable upon evaluation.
 ◦ Opportunities for division assistants, dormitory assistants and research assistants are available.

2. Programs Offered
 A. Master's or Doctoral Degree
  ◦ Humanities : Korean History, Diplomatics and Bibliography, Philosophy, Korean Linguistics·Korean Literature
  ◦ Culture and Arts : Anthropology·Folklore, Religious Studies, Musicology, Art History, Cultural Informatics·Human Geography
  ◦ Social Sciences : Political Science, Sociology, Education

  ◦ Global Korean Studies :  Korean Culture and Society (only available for master's degree program), Korean Classics and Blobal Communication (an interdisciplinary program)
 B. Research (Non-degree Program) : 4 divisions and 14 majors(MA), 13 Majors(PhD) (same as those provided for Degree Program)

    * For detailed information on the curriculum of each major, please see the Graduate School of Korean Studies(“GSKS”)’ website (www.aks.ac.kr/univ)

 

3. Eligibility
 <Nationality>
   Applicants must meet one of the following conditions:

  a. Both the applicant and his/her parents are foreign nationals.
  b. The applicant, either a foreign national whose parents are Korean national or a Korean national residing overseas, has completed education outside of Korea which is compatible with Korea′s elementary, middle, high school and college education.

 

 <Educational Background>
  ◦ In order to be qualified for master’s degree program:

    - Applicants who satisfy the above qualification in relation to their nationality must hold a bachelor's degree (or
equivalent) conferred by a Korean or an overseas university at the start of the desired semester.
    - Applicants who satisfy the above qualification in relation to their nationality must hold a bachelor's degree (or
equivalent) conferred by an overseas university at the start of the desired semester.
    - It is acceptable that applicants apply for a major which is not directly related to their undergraduate major.
  ◦ In order to be qualified for doctoral degree program, applicants must hold a master’s degree (or equivalent) at the
start of the desired semester.
     - In principle, applicants are requested to apply for a major which is the same as or closely related to their master's
degree major. However, any graduate majors are acceptable for some doctoral degree program majors. For more details, please see the Attachment 1.
  ◦ In order to be qualified for a research(non-degree) program:
    - Applicants who satisfy the above qualification in relation to their nationality must hold a bachelor's degree (or
equivalent) conferred by Korean or an overseas universities at the start of the desired semester.
    - Applicants who satisfy the above qualification in relation to their nationality must hold a bachelor's degree (or
equivalent) conferred by an overseas university at the start of the desired semester.

 

<Korean Language Proficiency>
  ◦ Applicants must meet one of the following conditions:

    a. Applicants provide a TOPIK score certificate of level 4 or above, which is valid as of the application deadline.
    b. Without an avoe TOPIK certificate, applicants take a phone interview and are considered to have Korean language proficiency equivalent to or higher than TOPIK level 4.

    * Applicants of TOPIK level 5 or 6 are given preference in the selection process.

4. Selection Process

 

A. 1st Process (If applicable) : Korean Language Proficiency Test
  ◦ If applicants do not submit a valid* TOPIK score certificate of level 4 or above, the GSKS Korean language teachers conduct a phone interview to test their Korean language proficiency.
   * The TOPIK certificate should be valid as of the application deadline.

 

B. 2nd Process : Document Screening
  ◦ For those who passed the 1st process or have submitted a valid TOPIK score, a document screening is held.
  ◦ Overall evaluation of applicants' research plan, academic ability, language proficiency, and academic background (shown in personal statement and a recommendation letter) takes place.

 

C. 3rd Process : Face-to-Face or Skype Interview
  ◦ A face-to-face interview or a Skype interview is held to those who have passed the 2nd Process.
  ◦ Interview schedule will be informed individually. Applicants who do not participate in the interview are automatically disqualified.

 

5. Admission Timeline
  ◦ Online Application : By 17:00 October 4th, (www.aks.ac.kr/admission)
  ◦ Documents Submission and Application Fee Payment : By 17:00 October 11th
  ◦ Phone Interview to Test Korean Language Proficiency : 21 October ~ 23 October
    * Only applicable for thosewho do not submit a valid TOPIK certificate of level 4 or above
  ◦ Announcement of the Interviewees List : 18:00 November 6th, (intl.aks.ac.kr/english)
  ◦ A Face-to-face or a Skype Interview : November 12th ~ November 14th
  ◦ Announcement of the Final Selection Result : 18:00 December 4th, (intl.aks.ac.kr/english)
  ◦ Beginning of a Semester : March 2nd, 2020
  ※The above schedule may change under the unforeseen circumstances.

 

6. Required Documents

 A. Online Application Form
  ◦ Applicant’s information and his/her ID photo should be saved/uploaded at www.aks.ac.kr/admission. The completed online application form should be printed out, signed at the bottom and submitted with other required documents via postal service or in person.
  ◦ Accurate information (a full name shown in the passport, contact number, email address, etc.) should be provided.

 

 B. Personal Statement
  ◦ A prescribed form (Attachment 2) should be completed in Korean including self-introduction(applicants’ backgrounds, academic life, social activities, view of life, strengths and weaknesses, etc.) and study plan(reasons of application, academic goals, areas of academic interest, future plan after obtaining a degree, etc.).

 

 C. Research Plan
  ◦ A prescribed form (Attachment 3) should be completed in Korean including a research topic, reasons of choosing the topic, review of the previous research, research details (research method, distinct feature of the research, etc.) and bibliography.
  ◦ A sample is attached for reference in the Guide (Attachment 4).

 

 D. A Graduation (or an Expected Graduation) Certificate(s) for All Previous Degree(s)
  ◦ Documents must be original copies written in Korean or in English.
  ◦ If documents are written in a language other than Korean or English,they must be translated into either in Korean or in English and notarized.
  ◦ If applicants cannot submit the expected graduation certificate due to the schools’ timeline, certificate of enrollment and official transcript which shows their latest grades should be submitted. The graduation certificate and final transcript should be submitted at the orientation.

 

 E. Official Transcript(s) for All the Previous Degree(s)
  ◦ Documents must be original copies written in Korean or in English.

  ◦ If documents are written in a language other than Korean or English, they must be translated into either in Korean or in English and notarized.
  ◦The official transcript must show one of the following information for the whole period of study:
   ① CGPA(Cumulative Grade Point Average) and a scale (e.g. 3.7/4.0)
   ② Score percentile (e.g. 83/100)
   ③ A rank at the school (e.g. 5th among 50 students)
  ◦ If an applicant holds a transcript that does not include such information or is unable to convert his/her grades into any one of the GPA criteria mentioned above, he/she must submit an official document issued by the university describing the university’s grade system.

 

 F. An abstract of the master's degree thesis written in Korean (only applicable to applicants for a doctoral degree program)

 

 G. A Letter of Recommendation
  ◦ Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation written by either their academic advisor or the dean of the department of their undergraduate/graduate school.
  * A letter written by a teacher from a language ※ school does not count.
  ◦ A recommender must fill in the prescribed form (Attachment 5) in Korean or in English, and seal the envelope and sign across the envelope seal.
  ◦ It can be either sent directly from a recommender to the Director of Academic and Student Affairs at the GSKS or included in the application package sent by the applicant.

 

 H. Score Certificate of TOPIK (If applicable)
  ◦ Only a valid score certificate of TOPIK level 4 or above as of the application deadline is acceptable.
  ◦ A TOPIK score certificate should be either an original copy issued by the holding institution or a copy printed at the TOPIK website (http://www.topik.go.kr/).
  ◦ Applicants who do not submit a valid TOPIK score certificate should take a phone interview held by the GSKS to test their Korean language proficiency. 

 

 I. A copy of the first two pages of the applicant's passport

 

 J. Verification of Deposit
  ◦ This is a requirement to receive a D-2 visa.
  ◦ A bank statement or a letter from a bank indicating that an applicant or his/her family member maintains an account with a minimum of 8,000USD, an estimated amount of living expenses for a year.
  ◦ It should be current (produced within a month as of documents submission).
  ◦ If a bank statement is issued to the applicant’s family member, a letter of sponsorship [Attachment 6] and a certificate of family relations should be submitted.

 

 K. Payment receipt for the application fee

 

 L. A master's degree thesis (only applicable to interviewees for a doctoral degree program)

 

 M. Apostille
  ◦ Apostille is a way of legalization of a document according to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (“Apostille Convention”). It ensures that public documents issued in one signatory country will be considered as valid in another signatory country. For more information about
apostille, please refer to https://www.hcch.net.
  ◦ Successful applicants are required to submit apostilles or verifying documents for their final degree and official transcript by Friday 31 January 2020, failure of which will lead to cancellation of acceptance.
  ◦ Apostilles or verifying documents must be written in English, otherwise a notarized translation should be submitted.
  ◦ A list of signatory countries of the Apostille Convention can be found at https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/specialised-sections/apostille.

7. Announcement of the Final Selection Result
A. When : 18:00(KST) Wednesday 4 December 2019
B. Where : AKS website (intl.aks.ac.kr/english - Notice)

8. Contact Information

 

  A. Inquiries for admissions
  ◦  Tel : +82-31-730-8183
  ◦  E-mail : nylee@aks.ac.kr

 

  B. Inquiries for technical problems of online application
  ◦ Tel : +82-31-779-2796
  ◦ Email : eunjonge@aks.ac.kr

 

 

<Attachment>

Admission Guidelines_2020 Spring.pdf