Korean Job Discussion Forums

[AtmaWeapon]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=199535&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I already read through the thread above, but still have some unanswered questions:

1) My community college GPA was 3.2, and my university GPA a less-than-stellar 2.78 (University of California, Davis if it matters), which is an overall GPA of ~3.0. Does my low GPA disqualify from any scholarship?

2) I'm still somewhat confused at how the university system works - are ALL classes taught in English, and that's how foreigners are able to attend Korean universities? Or only foreigner-specific programs?

3) If I was to get a master's in history or political science (is it even possible to get an MA in those?) in Korea, would my degree allow me to teach at the community college level in the US? Or do US employers not really care about MA degrees from Korean universities?

4) I read in the thread above the general cost is 5.5 mil per semester - is that semester in the traditional sense of 2 semesters per year? And that's not including housing? How does that compare to the cost of getting a master's in the US?

Sorry my questions are so broad, but I wasn't able to find anything on the subject other than the thread above (thanks Dave's search!). If anyone else has any relevant info please post.

[ThingsComeAround]

Q1: Are you working here? Public school?
If you answered yes, I believe that government employees are eligible for a subsidized rate on their MA. This is what I heard, but if you were interested you could look up the uni you wanted, find your program, then send an email to their admissions office.

Korean or English- depends on the university and program within it. I've heard some schools (KAIST, Yonsei, SNU) here have an English program for certain majors.

Last, most US employers don't recognize degrees from Korean unis. If you wanted to teach Korean history, you'd better get an Asian studies degree from the US first then come here for additional schooling

[nathanrutledge]

1) Scholarships are not all GPA based, so it depends.

2) Universities have English programs and Korean programs. Some professors who teach Korean students like to teach in English. You can do programs entirely in English, no problem.

3) Korean degrees are worth as much as US degrees are - you go to a good school, it's worthwhile. You get what you pay for. I had numerous Korean professors who had their some of their degrees from Korean universities when I was in college (UNL - Big 10 school). There are lots of other factors that play into getting a teaching job, but as long as you go to a decent school, that wouldn't be a problem.

4)Korean schools use the semester system, yes. March-June is first semester, September-December is second semester. 5.5 mil is kind of vague. Upper tier universities, that would probably be without housing. Lower tier universities could include housing in that price - just depends on the program.

My question is why would you do political science or history in Korea? If you're looking to study East Asian history, okay, but political science? This just doesn't seem like the place to study PS, but maybe I'm biased by the political system here...

[herminator]

For those that have complete an MA in Korean studies, were you able to meet the language requirement in time to graduate? I'm wondering whether I am better off taking a year off to study Korean full time.

[hagwonnewbie]

LOL this thread

[coralreefer_1]

Most of the above is accurate, but there are a few points that I would like to expand on.

1. At most universities, scholarships are blanket for foreigners. However at the better schools like Korea University, Yonsei..etc...scholarships are in face based on GPA. There may be some cases where a foreign student will get a scholarship the first semester, but to maintain that scholarship they would need to maintain a certain GPA. 3.0 GPA is the bare minimum for scholarships, but that is based on a 4.5GPA scale usually, so you should be ok. Also it should be mentioned that National Universities do not give usually foreign students blanket scholarships like most other universities.

2. Most classes (this considering all classes in every university in the country) are taught in Korean. With the exception of KAIST,)an all English campus supposedly) the only other options would be a GSIS program. (for a 100% English program) Considering your subject the chances of finding an entire program in English are pretty slim. You might get close with a GSIS program focused on International Relations, but otherwise some, if not most of your courses would be in Korean if you went for the political science or history departments. Most foreign students studying in Korean universities spent time learning Korean first, and take the bulk of their classes in Korean. There are supposed to be a few American universities opening campuses here (as I recall NCSU was supposed to open a veterinary science campus up in Incheon) but I am not sure about where they are. Even some programs (like the all English GSIS programs I mentioned) require a certain level of Korean proficiency to graduate.

3. Having a Korean degree and getting employment in the US can be hit or miss. As was said it really depends on too many factors to go into great detail about. With that said most schools in Korea are accredited by the Korean Ministry of Education, which is recognized by the US Dept. of Education...so at the very least it is an accredited degree. However the difference in getting a job based on the level of the university would be the same as if one applicant went to Columbia U, and the other got their degree from the University of Pheonix. As far as teaching at a community college, the choice to hire you with a Korean degree would really be up to the hiring director and what they consider qualifications for the position.

4. 5.5 million per semester sounds pretty expensive, so my guess is that would include housing. Most Universities are running between 3.5 - 4.4 million per semester (this is full tuition) National Universities tend to be around 2.7 - 3.2 million. The only programs that I can think of that would be more expensive per semester than that would be MBA/GMBA programs, or otherwise dual-degree programs with universities in other countries. Alot of university websites quote tuition with ALL possible expenses included (housing, books, living expense..etc)

I will give my own case as an example. I'm currently doing a MA/PhD combined program. The full tuition was 3.6 million per semester. However I get 50% scholarship for simply being foreign (and/or passing the Korean Language tests) and then another 25% because my native language is English (not really because its my native language as all foreign students who have a certain level of English ability will get scholarship) so I pay only about 860,000 per semester. This university is not one of the elite schools like up in Seoul, so my scholarship is not based on GPA, although I did enter the program with a 3.92.

[AtmaWeapon]

Excellent information! Thank you. A couple other questions I forgot to ask:

1) In order to teach ESL at the university level, do you have to have an MA in TESOL, or can it be something totally unrelated?

2) At the university level, can foreigners teach anything aside from ESL? If so, what are some examples of other subjects foreigners teach?

3) coralreefer_1 mentioned getting his scholarship at least in part due to passing the Korean language tests - is this the KLPT? How difficult is this test and about how long to do you have to study Korean for to be able to ace it?

[Malislamusrex]

If you have a MBA and accounting experience you can teach accounting.... etc etc.

[coralreefer_1]

[Wildbore]

Is the entrance to an MA program in Korea very competitive?

Is a 3.2-3.3 GPA from a Canadian university and good interview good enough to get an acceptance. I'm looking at International Trade Masters.

[coralreefer_1]

[AtmaWeapon]

Thanks again for the info coralreefer_1. Is the best way to apply (assuming one wants to live in Seoul) just to go through the Wikipedia list of all the universities in Seoul and apply to each one of them through their websites? If so, how difficult is this process and how much time does it take? And I'm assuming you have to be in Korea while doing this because you would have interviews, tests, and that sort of thing?

[coralreefer_1]

Well I highly recommend you select a handful of universities that have a department that interests you rather than applying to random and bulk schools. The application process can be a real pain is the behind, particularly because there are so many documents a foreign student must submit. Most of these school require "original and certified" documents, and while all schools vary slightly, getting documents such as bank records, birth certificates for yourself as well as both parents, sealed transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc etc

You do not have to be in Korea if you are applying from outside. They may want to do a phone interview, but otherwise being out of the country isn't really an issue. What will be more of an issue is you Korean Language ability.

Aside from the Korean, some schools demand to see a GRE score (if you don't have one, I highly recommend it). Even if the school does not require it for the admission, having the school will help with securing more scholarship money.

At the best schools in the nation, the application deadline tends to be 6 months or so before the start of the semester..while the average schools tend to accept application 3-4 months before the new semester. It is probably already too late to be doing anything any earlier than next fall. The issue is that because you out of the country, you would have to apply, get accepted..then have your "letter of admission", and "letter of visa issuance" mailed to you, which is what you need to process the visa. Then mail all of that off to the consulate, wait for more until that comes back..and then finally you would be good to go.

My suggestion would be as follows.

1. Do some research on the schools with your interest, and check their websites for procedures/required documents and deadlines for application, tuition, scholarship options..etc.

2. After doing all of that, come to a conclusion about whether or not you truly want to study in Korea.

3. Contact the schools international office for info (you will likely have to do this at step 1 because many schools do not keep updated info, or even detailed info on their English-version pages.)

Good Luck

[AtmaWeapon]

[coralreefer_1]