Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kyle Wilson]

I am an American citizen with a BA who has worked at a Korean hagwon. However, I am seriously considering graduate school to advance my own education and enhance my qualifications, though I am yet undecided on a field of study - though likely something in the arts or social sciences. I have, naturally, considered graduate schools within the US, but it has only recently come to my attention that I could apply to graduate schools in Korea.

I am reluctant to pursue this, however. I am not sure which career I would seek after completing my masters, but I expect to be working in the US at some point and I've been told that US employers don't usually recognize foreign degrees (the fact that so many Korean students attend American universities may say more about which country's schools have the greater reputation).

But I notice that tuition for Korean grad schools is much cheaper than it is here, and money plays an important role in my decision.

Has any non-Korean here completed a masters degree at a Korean university, and if so, may I ask in which field and to what end? Do the schools that offer enrollment to foreigners have enough courses taught in English, or is fluency in Korean required? Which fields are the most attractive or seem most worthwhile to foreigners? I am considering International Relations, which seems an appropriate choice for studying in a foreign country.

I appreciate any suggestions anyone can give.

[gruegoo]

Looooooooong (and sometimes angry) MBA thread here:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=69329

I think there were a few Masters threads as well. Somewhere...

[Kyle Wilson]

Thanks for the link!

[Zulu]

If you want to meet local people who could help you do business in Korea, absolutely. However, if you want your degree to carry weight internationally, I'd avoid Korean universities like the plague.

US employers recognize plenty of foreign degrees, but SNU or Yonsei wouldn't exactly sit at the top of the pile.

[JZer]

How much is the tuition at Korea University or SNU?

[Ozabout7or8]

Don't get too discouraged by the MBA thread, alot of it was a bunch of crap and not necessarily relevant to a pure Masters degree.

An MBA is comprised mostly of taught classes, and these, plus the quality of your classmates, were what the posted on that thread were using to compare USA MBA's to Korean ones.

A pure masters degree that includes a decent amount of research on your own and possibly a thesis should be fine in Korea as you have access to the same journals and other research materials as people at other Universities.

If you are intending to look for a job in a particular industry such as consulting, accounting or the financial services afterwards then you should be fine in my opinion and a Korean Masters would have raised your qualifications, especially one in international relations. For industries such as financial services or accounting they have their own credentials you might need such as the CFA or CPA courses and if you are looking at working in an international company I would lean more towards the MBA.

An MA is still good though and will improve your employability. I am currently studying my MA in Applied Linguistics in NZ and hope to return to Korea in a few years time. I may not spend all my career in ESL and my MA or eventual PhD will still mean I am highly qualified if I want to change careers. (My undergraduate degree was finance and I have 3 years banking/accounting experience).

When I do do a PhD though I will do it in NZ or another country whilst working in Korea and travel to that University overseas one or two times per year to visit my PhD supervisor.