Introduction and Institution History

Sejong University located in 98 Gunja-Dong, Gwangjin-gu, which is in the eastern part of Seoul north of the Han River, the capital of South Korea is a private university which was founded in the year 1940. At its inception, the institution was known as the Kyung Sung Humanities. A few decades later, the academic institution changed its name to present day Sejong University. This name change was in honour of King number four of the Chosun Dynasty who doubled up as the overseer of the Hangeul which is a Korean alphabet. He was known as Sejong the Great. In its earlier years, the institution was purely offering humanities studies and in 1947 it metamorphosed to become the Seoul’s Women Teachers’ Institute. A year later, it transformed into a junior college.

The Sejong University transformation agenda did not stop there as in 1954 it became Soodo Women Teachers’ College. An important milestone was in 1979 where it had a further name change to Sejong College. In the same year, the first ever bunch of male undergraduates were admitted. The radical change into Sejong University happened in October of 1987 where a total of five colleges existed and an initial student population of 6,000. From this moment, the institution experienced exponential growth with the addition of graduate schools and foundation of new colleges. Its official website is http://eng.sejong.ac.kr/ from where important information on programs and current news are regularly updated.

Sejong University Ranking

Sejong University has continued to be a centre of academic excellence over the years. Evidently, the 2015-2016 Times Higher Education ranked the institution at position 601-800 in the World University Rankings. Additionally, the 2016 QS University Rankings ranked Sejong University position 93 among the universities located in Asia. Similarly, the institution was ranked number 4 in South Korea and number 18 in Asia among all the small and medium-sized universities lacking a medical school by Chosun Ilbo-QS 2015.

Sejong University’s Business Administration Department became the fourth Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB) accredited school in the country. Its student population is roughly at 16,121. These are spread across all the departments and colleges offered by the institution. Sejong University’s number of international students has risen from a paltry 537 to a present day 1,311.

Faculties and Disciplines Offered

Ideally, the faculties offered at Sejong University cuts across nine of the offered undergraduate colleges and Faculty of major. The College of Liberal Arts has the Departments of Japanese Language and Literature, English Language and Literature, Korean Language and Literature, History, and Education. The College of Business Administration habits the Department of Business Administration. The College of Social Sciences is home to the departments of, Public Administration, Economics and Trade, Chinese Trade & Commerce, and Communication Art.

The departments under the College of Hospitality & Tourism Management are Hospitality Management, Food Service Management, and Tourism Management. Those under the College of Natural Sciences are Chemistry, Mathematics, Applied Statistics, Environment & Energy, and Astronomy & Space Science. Similarly, the departments under the College of Life Sciences are Bio-resource Engineering, Bio-integrated Science & Technology, and Molecular Biology.

Further, the departments in the College of Electronics& Information Engineering are Electronics Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Information & Communication Engineering, Digital Contents, and Data Protection. The College of Engineering harbours the departments of Nuclear Energy Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Energy and Mineral Resource Engineering, Civil& Environmental Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Nano Technology and Advanced Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Geoformation Engineering, and Architecture. Finally, the College of Arts and Physical Education has the departments of Film Art, Dance, Music, Industrial Design, Cartoon & Animation, Physical Education, Fashion Design, and Painting.

University’s Research Advancements

Fundamentally, Sejong University has undertaken to enhance research within itself across the faculties. In fact, the Ministry of Science and Technology in the year 2002 got to name Sejong University’s Astrophysical Research Center for the Structure & Evolution of the Cosmos (ARCSEC) as the very best of the New Research Institute. To go along with the recognition, the university was awarded a 9 billion research grant. Notable too was a published paper in 2009 from Dr Jaewoo from the Department of Astronomy and Space Science Enrichment by supernovae in globular clusters with multiple populations. This specific paper explains the process of globular clusters formation.

Additionally, Sejong University received another recognition in the year 2010 when the Ministry of Knowledge Economy named it a Resource Development Specialization University. This was part of the initiative undertaken by the government in a bid to develop a number of specialists in diverse fields in the overseas development of the resources. Sejong University also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Syngenta AG which is a renowned global Swiss company in the agribusiness field to develop newer more innovative breeds as well as research talents.

Currently, plans are underway for the institution to build research complex which will be home to the Plant Engineering Research Institute (PERI) and the Green Energy Research Institute (GERI). This will be located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. The University has a number of affiliated institutions which include the Sejong University Library, the Continuing Education Center, Information Services & Technology Center, and The Sejong International Language Institute

Sejong University’s Extra-curricular Activities

Sejong University has an Academic staff of about 418 faculty members thus assuring a good faculty-student ratio. Students at the university have different facilities to enjoy including a 2,800 seater multi-purpose hall used for performances. Additionally, there is a main athletic field where various track events are experienced. A sports complex and tennis court are also present for students to utilise during their stay at Sejong University. To commemorate the University’s birthday, a university-wide festival is held every fourth week of May each year. This festival is known as the Dae Dong Je. Students too are at will to join any of the 45 student clubs available at the institution.

Opportunities For International Students

In conclusion, there are a myriad of opportunities for international students who join Sejong University. First and foremost, the academic levels are guaranteed while gaining an in-depth opportunity to experience diverse cultures and traditions. In fact, this may lead to the learning of a new language. The platform to interact with individuals from around the world also gives an advantaged position in forming new and cohesive social and career contacts. Various contract and job opportunities are also available as well as internships and volunteering activities. Primarily, the wide range of selection of different faculties at Sejong University guarantees that an individual pursues whatever they are most drawn to. As such, there is no particular singled out program which is recommended but solely based on each student’s own preference and abilities.

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