My Free Education Guide

Seoul National University (SNU) is a national research university in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in August 1946, the university is the first national university of South Korea. SNU has been recognized for its leading role in South Korean academia and served as a model for the many other national and public universities established later in this country.

Throughout its 60-year history, SNU has been regarded as the most eminent of all post-secondary educational institutions in South Korea. It is regarded as the most renowned university by the general public and recruits top-notch high school students.

Today SNU comprises 16 colleges and 6 professional schools, with a student body of about 30,000. It has two campuses in Seoul: the main campus in Gwanak, and the medical campus (named Yeongeon Campus after its neighbourhood) in Jongno. SNU is notable for its “fleet-style” system, offering diplomas for virtually every academic field, from the liberal arts to nursing.

Seoul National University honors the ideals of liberal education and aims to teach students a lifelong love of learning that will form the basis for continuous personal growth. At the same time it is committed to preparing students to work and live in an increasingly competitive global environment.

As South Korea’s first national university, Seoul National University has a tradition of standing up for democracy and peace on the Korean peninsula.

Graduates have long served as public servants in key positions of the Korean government. In teaching, research, and public service, Seoul National University continues to set the standard of excellence.
The mission of Seoul National University in the twenty-first century is to create a vibrant intellectual community where students and scholars join together in building the future.

As Korea’s leading research university, Seoul National University is committed to diversifying its student body and faculty, fostering global exchange, and promoting path-breaking research in all fields of knowledge.

General Information (as of April 1, 2007)
Founded in 1946 as the first national university of Korea
192.366km2 campus in Seoul, Korea
16 Colleges, 1 Graduate School and 6 Professional Schools
2,499 full-time equivalent faculty members
14,047 undergraduate students and 9,194 graduate students
Schools (as of April 1, 2007)
16 Colleges with 84 departments for undergraduates
: Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Nursing, Business Administration, Engineering,
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Fine Arts, Law, Education, Human Ecology, Veterinary Medicine,
Pharmacy, Music, Medicine, Dentistry
1 Graduate School with 98 departments
6 Professional Schools
: Public Health, Public Administration, Environmental Studies, International Studies, Dentistry, Business Administration

Faculty (as of April 1, 2007)
Number of Faculty : 5,011

full-time Faculty 1,955

Professors : 1,111

Associate Professors : 384

Assistant Professors : 460

Full-time Equivalent Faculty 544

Full-time Instructors : 413

BK Research Professors : 65

Research Professors : 33

Full-time contracted lecturers : 33
Others

Adjunct & Visiting Professors : 43

Lecturers : 1,863

* Lecturers at the College of Medicine and Dental School: 642

Professors Emeritus : 606

Faculty Description
95.6% of full-time faculty members have doctoral degrees
Number of International Faculty : 67 (As of July 1, 2007)
Number of faculty contributing to teaching and research at overseas universities : 120 (Mar.2006 ~ Feb.2007)
Students

Legal Number of Students (as of April 1, 2007)
Undergraduate : 14,047
Graduate : 9,194
* Some students at SNU spend more than 4 or 2 years as part timers. As of 2007, the registered number of undergraduate students including part timers is 19,209 and 10,086 students in graduate programs.

Student Body (as of April 1, 2007)
Number of international students at SNU : 1,524

Undergraduate Students : 911

Graduate Students : 613
Number of international students studied at SNU : 1,044 (March 2006 ~ Feb. 2007)
39% of students are female
47.3% of students receive scholarships
Degrees conferred in 2006
Bachelor’s degrees conferred : 4,161
Master’s degrees conferred : 2,484
Doctoral degrees conferred : 974
Bachelor’s degrees conferred since 1947 : 197,756
Honorary Doctoral degrees conferred since 1947: 102
Courses (as of 2007 spring semester)
Total number of courses offered in 2007 spring semester : 4,758
Number of courses offered in English : 471
Undergraduate core courses offered in English : 84
Liberal arts courses offered in English : 127
Graduate courses offered in English : 260

Seoul National University ranked 51st in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking