Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dongjak]

[PRagic]

Basically went the same route as Cedar; did my Master's at Yonsei's GSIS, then my Ph.D. back in the U.S. I worked my way through my Master's here in Korea, graduated debt free with coin in the bank, and then received full funding for my Ph.D. in a top-5 U.S. Ph.D. program in my dicipline. Also like Cedar, I took the thesis track and that helped a lot.

Another poster said that they're thinking of doing their Ph.D. in Korea because they plan on studing something to do with Korea. I'd suggest otherwise. My Ph.D. research concentrated on Korea. I did my course work and sat for my exams in the U.S., but they freed me up to work here at a university while I wrote my dissertation (I was ABD by then).

In the end, a doctorate from a decent N. American or European university is going to do a lot more for you than a Ph.D. from a Korean university. I have two friends currently wrapping up their Ph.D.s in N. America, one in Canada and one in the U.S. It is doable.

[derp]

[derp]

[PRagic]

Taught nights for a year, wrote (you name it), and finally ended up in a decent paid internship position in trade and foreign direct investment. Honestly, looking back, I don't know how I pulled those hours, did well in the course work, passed the langauge exam, and wrote a thesis that was quoted in a major work on Korea.

Horn toot. Woohoo.

[Slowmotion]

Which programs are you guys doing that are offered in English?

I thought the linguistics program at SNU would be in English, but only the computational linguistics class it seems.

[PRagic]

Graduate School of International Studies (G.S.I.S.) at Yonsei, Korea U., SNU, Ewha, or Sogang U. There is also a joint MBA program at Sejong U. in conjunction with Syracuse. The current Dean there is a senior marketing prof out of Syracuse U.

I know from alumni meetings and the grapevine that Yonsei's GSIS in particular has been pretty successful at placing grads into top doctoral programs in N. America and Europe, and several grads I've met over the years have high falutin positions at banks, NGOs, and investment houses.

No matter the program you enter, you're only going to get out of if what you put into it.

[bruindke]

Hello all... A question for Thiuda, Cedar, PRagic, and anyone else who has had experience attending a GSIS in Korea.

I'm trying to decide between Yonsei GSIS and SNU GSIS. Anyone know how either of their International Cooperation programs are?

While the knee jerk reaction might be to attend SNU given its reputation, it seems like Yonsei may have an incredibly strong international program going for them. But I'd like more feedback from the people that actually go there or have some sort of knowledge about either school.

Is the quality of faculties top notch at either schools? Do they care about the students? What about career prospects? Networking? How difficult is it to publish a paper and/or write a thesis at either school?

I'm a Korean American who is pretty darn fluent in Korean.

Thanks for any help!

[nate1983]

[Cedar]

Don't have the time to read all the responses. so maybe all this info is out there.

I did an MA at Yonsei. It was great but it had a lot to do with who was teaching at the time and two out of three of the people who made the program I did worth it aren't there now. But the Yonsei GSIS has 5 programs and there are plenty of students still enjoying class at Yonsei, so I don't think the absence of two professors I loved is going to ruin the experience. That said, however, professors and how they teach or inspire or what they demand of you, the kind of support they give you or opportunities they steer you towards make or break a graduate program. Don't consider going (no matter your GPA in undergrad) before you're sure you found a professor you want to work with.

When I was at Yonsei GSIS there were always several foreign students who were non-degree but attending classes, usually because they didn't get into the degree program and were going to attend classes (on their own dime) and prove they were ready for grad work, then apply again. You could do that if you don't just get in. You certainly can't just walk right in if your undergrad grades were lousy and esp. if you don't have good letters of rec. Letters of rec from past professors who think you're ready for graduate school are SUPER important.

Also SNU Korean Studies requires you to have Korean of a level to take around half your classes in Korean. And at Yonsei you need to test at a competent level to graduate if you're in Korean Studies (a lot of people I know had their graduation delayed by one or more semesters while they worked on that). If you're going to study a different major, I'm not sure about Korean language requirements.

Finally, because probably someone expressed doubt the degree means anything, I got my Yonsei MA and was accepted to 5 out of 8 Ph.D. programs in the US I applied for, and I only applied to well-known A-list universities.

[Cedar]

Yonsei has a ton more class selection in their GSIS than SNU. That's important to me, too.

I find it funny that I had already replied in this thread however long ago and have repeated myself above...

[bruindke]

Thanks so much for your input, Cedar. I actually... read your responses in this, and other threads. Sorry! I didn't mean to make you repeat yourself!

With that said, class selection is actually pretty important to me, too. It is understandable that although SNU has its reputation, Yonsei certainly seems to care about their GSIS a bit more.

Currently, I'm an NIIED KGSP scholarship awardee. And I have applications going to both SNU and Yonsei GSIS. I have a phone interview coming up with SNU on the 17th, so I'm kind of preparing for that.

I know I'm being a bit optimistic, but I have to decide which school to attend (assuming that I'm accepted to both). And the factors you listed are certainly important to me. I have to assume a bit because I have very little time between hearing about my admission results and notifying the government about which school I would like to attend.

Thanks for your patience!!

[PRagic]

Of course I'm bias, but I'd go for Yonsei. The facilities, the people (profs and other students), the international connections, the neighborhood...it'll make for a great experience.

Plus, as another poster mentioned, they have a great track record in both job placement and in placement to top N. American and European Ph.D. programs.

[rickpidero]

What is your email? I will send you the course schedule for the GSISs from this semester. That will give you an idea of classes.

[bruindke]

my email is [email protected]

thank you so much everybody. you all are much too helpful!!!