Information About Sogang University Introduction of Sogang University Sogang University is located in downtown Seoul, a metropolis of 11 million people. It was established in 1960 by American Jesuits. Because of the American-style education system and strong financial support from the American Jesuit Community, it quickly became one of the top universities in Korea. In 1970, then-president Park chose Sogang for his daughter, although at that time he had a power to send her to any university in Korea. This reflects the high reputation Sogang enjoyed just 10 years after it opened. Now the university leadership (president) is secular (lay), but the university keeps its Jesuit tradition of high academic standards and emphasis on good citizenship. Sogang is a comprehensive university with 8,000 undergraduates and 4,000 graduates. In the undergraduate program, we have Schools of Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Economics, Business Administration, Communication, and Law. The incoming undergraduate students typically belong to the top 99-95 percentile, depending on the majors, among the graduating high school students. In terms of the incoming students national test scores, Sogang is ranked 4 th among 200 4-year universities in Korea. In the graduate program we offer master and doctoral degrees, including professional degrees such as MBA and law. As a part of our internationalization effort, we are also working very hard to attract foreign exchange students to our campus. The rationale is that the presence of a foreign student in a classroom or a dormitory is far more effective in exposing more of our students to foreign cultures than sending some students abroad for a semester or two. We do send many of our students out indeed, but our emphasis has shifted to increasing the inbound students. In this effort, we have created or improved our international programs. (1) Exchange Students (http://goabroad.sogang.ac.kr) With many courses now taught in English, exchange students can find enough courses
they can take. This semester, about 20% of the courses are taught in English. In some disciplines, such as economics or business, the percentage is about 30%. As the new requirement for our students is phased in, this percentage should go up to about 35% in the next two or three years. Korean language proficiency is not needed; many of our incoming exchange students arrive with absolutely no knowledge of Korean. We house them in our dormitory unless they prefer to stay with Korean families. All exchange students can take a Korean language course at our Korean Language Education Center free of charge, which normally costs $1,500 for a 10-week course. A typical exchange student takes the Korean language course and several courses in their subjects (taught in English). (2) Study and Work Experience at Sogang (http://swes.sogang.ac.kr) Our School of Economics and School of Business Administration combined their resources to create this program that combines an exchange study with an internship. This is a competitive program like a fellowship. An interested student should apply for this program when she/he applies for an exchange study. After a semester of exchange study, the two Schools would arrange for an internship with one of the major Korean companies, such as Samsung, LG, or Hyundai during the following vacation period. In addition, the student will get a $2,000 scholarship which can be used for travel or living expenses. The only requirement is that the student must take at least one course each in Economics and Business while she/he is studying at Sogang. This is a first of its kind in Korea, and has been very popular with our exchange partners. (3) Summer School for Korean Studies (http://summer.sogang.ac.kr) For those students who do not want to spend a whole semester in Korea, we offer a summer school designed for American students. This is a 6-week program, conducted 100% in English, starting in late June. Students take 2 courses in Korean Studies and 1 course in Korean language for a total of 9 credits. For Korean studies, students can choose from Korean politics, economy, culture, history, society, etc. These are regular courses in our summer session, and our own students take the courses with the international students. When the international students are in the Korean language classes, our students take intensive English courses. Each week, the participating students, Korean and international, go on a field trip together. We even buddy them up in the dorm, pairing one Korean student with one international student. Although our summer school is relatively small, it has been quite successful, with very good reviews from the students. Some students who first came to the summer school return as
exchange students. (4) Korean Language Education Center (http://klec.sogang.ac.kr/) Our Korean Language Education Center is one of the best in the business. It developed the first new generation textbooks that emphasize communication skills rather than grammars. Several universities in the States (e.g. Penn State) use our textbook in their Korean language courses. Exchange students can enroll in a Korean Language class free of charge as I explained above. For students who are serious about learning the Korean language, there are four 10-week modules each year. (5) Graduate School of International Studies (http://gsis.sogang.ac.kr) At GSIS, master and Ph. D. degrees in four areas are offered: international finance, international trade, international relation, and East Asian studies. Here, 100% of the courses are taught in English, and half of the students are international. These students come from all over the world, from every continent. In addition to these student exchange programs, we also have a program for faculty exchanges. Faculty members of partner universities who are on sabbatical leave are invited to come to Sogang and teach one course. We will provide financial support for their stay in Seoul, including housing arrangements. Your faculty members can use this opportunity to do research on Korean economy, politics, society, etc. and to develop collaborative research interest with our faculty members.
Dear Friends and Colleagues, Greetings from the Office of International Affairs at Sogang University! I trust that all is well with you. I am delighted to let you know that our Sogang Business School has received the AACSB International Accreditation. Now Sogang stands as one of the seven institutions to receive this accreditation out of the two hundred 4-year institutions in Korea. We hope that this will encourage more students to look into the opportunity of study abroad at Sogang. For more information, please check the following. I have also attached a file which includes information about our programs. We thank you for your continuous support for our institution and programs and look forward to working with you in the future as well. Best regards, David Cho Office of International Affairs Sogang University SBS Earns AACSB International Accreditation AACSB International announced on Sept. 23 that Sogang University has earned accreditation for Sogang Business School (SBS), its business unit. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. "AACSB congratulates Sogang University and SBS Dean Kyung-Kyu Park on earning initial accreditation and welcomes them into the AACSB family of internationally accredited business schools," said John J. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International. "AACSB accreditation represents the highest achievement for an educational institution that awards business degrees. Dean Park and the faculty, directors, and administrative staff of Sogang University are to be commended for their role in earning initial accreditation." AACSB accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education, and has been earned by less than five percent of the world's business schools. Today, there are 570 business schools in 33
countries that maintain AACSB accreditation. Similarly, 171 institutions maintain an additional specialized AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs. Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation, and adjustment and can take several years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet the 21 AACSB standards requiring a high quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement, and curricula responsive to the needs of business. As required by AACSB standards, all accredited schools must go through a peer review process every five years in order to maintain their accreditation. "It takes a great deal of self evaluation and determination to earn AACSB accreditation, and I commend Sogang University for its dedication to management education," said Jerry Trapnell, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. "Schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculties and staffs must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver high quality education to students." About AACSB International AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), founded in 1916, is a membership association of almost 1,200 educational institutions, businesses and other organizations in 74 countries and territories. AACSB';s mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership. AACSB accreditation is the mark of quality distinction most widely sought after by business schools - less than 5% worldwide have earned the achievement. As the premier membership and accreditation body for institutions offering undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, the association also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programs at locations throughout the world. AACSB';s global headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida, USA and its Asia headquarters is located in Singapore. For more information, please visit http://www.aacsb.edu/ 2009. 9. 24. International Affairs