Korean Job Discussion Forums

[camp0400]

Hello all

This is my first post on Daves's and appreciate any feedback! ^^

I'm considering Yonsei's Program in International Cooperation (PIC) master's degree at their Graduate School of International Studies.

I'm wondering if any of you have any info on the quality of education. All of the profs seems to be educated in the US or England. I've attended a handful of lectures in English by Koreans before and they were very boring and lacking in engagement. Hope that's not the case there.

I'm very eager to talk to someone who is or has been enrolled in the program. Please, any info would be very helpful.

Thanks!

[coralreefer_1]

While I have not been enrolled at the GSIS at any university in Korea, I have also considered the idea of attending graduate school here. Some of what I have found out may be of interest to you.

Like most other threads here concerning graduate work in Korea, you are likely to get the same answers, which will go something like this:

- Unless you plan a life in Korea, your degree won't carry must weight back home (depending on your country)

The degrees from any GSIS in Korea does not carry any accreditation outside of Korea that I was able to find. When I was doing my own research about attending graduate school here, I was interested in this sort of program because the classes were taught fully in English, and quite affordable. However, while Yonsei, and Korea U are top notch private universities, the IC programs are not highly regarded, as they are mainly geared to attract foreigners to the university, rather than pump out highly educated individuals. Most of the students in those programs come from other less developed Asian countries, who very well may go back home and show their degree from Yonsei and be treated with great respect. For those of us from western countries however, that is not likely to be the case.

I made my choice to do graduate work at Korea university anyway, after confirming that the Graduate school of Business there does in fact have AACSB accreditation. Yonsei business does as well, but at both universities, those are in the Business colleges, which means that while some classes are taught in English, at least 50% or more of the classes would be taught in Korean. Even business related programs in the GSIS such as the International Trade and Finance programs are not covered under Yonsei's AACSB accreditation specifically because those programs are in the GSIS, and not in the Graduate School of Business..which was a bummer to me because my field is International Trade and it would have been great to study in only English and still get the accreditation.

In short, making the decision really depends on what your end goals are, and what you can make of the experience. It would certainly be better to attend an AACSB accredited course back in the states, however since my field is International Trade, and specifically wanting to get a job with the International Trade Administration dealing with US/Korean trade, my time spent here learning the language, customs, and making connections fit quite nicely alongside the AACSB accreditation available at several business colleges here in Korea.

Good luck with your choice, and let us know what you decide.

[PRagic]

I'll address a couple of points raised by the second poster here based on personal knowledge and experience:

1. Yonsei's GSIS grads have gone on to professional careers with top foreign companies and international organizations in Korea, and to do Ph.D.s at some of the best institutions in the world. Fact of the matter is, you get a good graduate education there, but, like anywhere else, you get out of it what you put into it. Agreed, and that was a good point.

In general, the GSIS programs are widely recognized as supperior to the standard departmental programs offered at most Korean universities in terms of depth, difficulty, and quality.

2. I went to Yonsei's GSIS some years ago, and I studied with exchange students from Tokyo, London School of Business, University of Chicago, University of Toronto, Helsinki School of Economics, and some of the bigger named state schools from the US. Yonsei GSIS has connections with some of the most prestigious schools in the world. "Less developed Asian countries?' Please.

Likewise, the PIC program and the Asian Studies programs have put people into several international organizations, or prepped them for doctorates at some of the best schools in Europe and the US. Before you dismiss the degree, take a look at alumni activities. Call the office for alumni affairs as they're always quite happy to send out information on grad activities and accomplishments.

3. All credits tranfer no questions asked. I got a great graduate education, and had absolutely no problem moving my creidits over to a top-10 Ph.D. program in my chosen dicipline. Accredidation? Call the school and ask. Never bothered asking, myself. Nobody I know has had any problem getting credit for work done at Yonsei GSIS. Nobdoy I know had a problem getting a job. That's not the same, we all know, but it counts.

4. I agree: it depends on the individual and the individual's goals. Don't forget that you need to pass a foreign language exam, a series of grad exams, and, depending on your field, write a thesis if you attend a GSIS. If you want to be here, have an interesting time of it, and if you want a good degree, go for it. Not sure? Seeking debt? Shoot for the best MA program you can find in your home country. To each their own. All I know is that it has gotten more and more competitive so even getting into a GSIS program is not a foregone conclusion!

Good luck to you OP. If you're in Korea, you'd be better served by just going up to a few schools and talking to some of the students currently enrolled.

[roadwork]

[djsmnc]

In my Master's program we read a research article that had been recently published by Yonsei. Two weeks later our professor apologized because the article was withdrawn for plagiarizing previous research.

[Binch Lover]

[PRagic]

Ok, roadwork, you have your homework cut out for you, then.

1) As I wrote, "Call the office for alumni affairs as they're always quite happy to send out information on grad activities and accomplishments."

Let us know what you find out.

2) Write a grad or Ph.D. program in N. America or Europe and ask if credits from Yonsei's, Korea's, SNU's, Ehwa's (or any other, for that matter) will transfer. You will find out that they do, but, hey, if you smell bs...

Right on, Binch Lover.

[jkelly80]

[roadwork]

[Cedar]

I went to a different GSIS major, not PIC, but at Yonsei. The PIC students were quite happy with their education, the classes I took in PIC were good, the professors at Yonsei GSIS in general are better at TEACING than my professors at UCLA where I started a PhD with my MA from Yonsei GSIS counting --very much-- in their decision to accept me and give me major funding. Here at UCLA they hire based on research and paper output and don't seem to care if the professor's are self-centered mean, lazy, socially clueless, inarticulate or any combination of the above. Now finishing my second year at UCLA I've found good professors but still, my Yonsei education was excellent and I can only remember one class where the professor really wasn't up to the par.

[roadwork]

So far, I haven't found anything on the internet stating that the credits from a Korean university will count for anything.

Like a poster said on another forum post, it would only be beneficial if you were studying something related to Korea (language, arts, history)

[coralreefer_1]

[StAxX SOuL]

Sorry, to hijack the thread�

But I was wondering why you chose Yonsei or Seoul National University� SNU seems to be higher in world rankings and similar in price�

I just ask because I'm looking at a Masters within this GSIS as a means to a one year Visa without having to teach...

[CGully]

I'm a 2nd semester PIC student at Yonsei GSIS about to go into exams week. As other posters have said, it all depends on what your goals are. The biggest benefit by FAR in studying an IR degree overseas is that you will have students in your classes from all the regions of the world you're studying. In the classes I'm taking this semester, I have classmates from China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Czech Republic, USA, Canada, UK, Russia, Uzbekistan, Khazakstan, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Australia, Mongolia, Brazil, Spain, and of course Korea. I may be forgetting some too. If you don't see that as a major factor in choosing an overseas degree, then that's your perspective, but it's a major selling point for me.

The quality of the professors obviously varies like in any university. However most of them have been educated overseas so they do not subscribe to the regurgitating-answers-no-discussion philosophy of many Korean undergrad programs. There are also some great visiting professors, such as Rajiv Narayan, on sabbatical from Amnesty International, teaching a course in Human Rights. Also TJ Pempel is visiting from UC Berkeley co-teaching Asian Regionalism.

One more point, someone in a post above asked why not choose SNU. I chose Yonsei because I have always lived in the area since I came to Korea, I like the campus, and it has the highest percentage of foreign students in its GSIS. However SNU definitely has a higher ranking worldwide, so if you're worried about that kind of thing you should seriously consider it. That said, Yonsei students are free to take classes from any of the other GSIS schools in the city (Including Ewha, Sogang, SNU, Korea). So if you're particularly interested in development, then you can take a few classes at Ewha, for example.

So, with all that said, I suggest you talk to current students face to face, or arrange a meeting with the current dean Chungmin Lee, if you want to get a true sense of the place. Not everyone loves it, but I know I made the right choice given my ability to get into grad school back home, my budget, and my desire to study overseas. If you want more specific info, feel free to send me a PM.

- CGully

[camp0400]

what about a Korean language proficency exam?

Is it required to enter the program? It doesn't seem to say on the website but other schools I'v found list it on their admissions page.

Thanks for everyones input. It's really a big help.