Seoul National University is one of the most internationalized universities in Asia. As of May 2007 SNU has signed 478 academic exchange agreements with universities/colleges in 40 different countries around the world.

It has also made student exchange agreements with 184 of them, which gives 300 students the chance to study overseas at partner universities every year.

SNU has made great efforts for years to attract brilliant international students and faculty. Now in 2007, on the campuses of SNU, over 2,200 international students are studying, and 41 faculty members from 15 countries are teaching.

SNU offers 471 courses conducted in English, which include 127 liberal arts courses, 84 undergraduate core courses, and 260 graduate courses. In 2010, 15% of all lectures given will be in English.

SNU ranked 63rd in the World University Ranking of The Times Higher Education Supplement 2006. As Korea’s leading university, SNU is committed to internationalized higher education and to soar ever higher to be a global intellectual pioneer.

Internationalization Index

- International Partnerships & Collaboration
SNU has gained a reputation as an international institution by building partnerships with world’s renowned universities. It has made academic exchange agreements with University of Sydney(1989), University of Tokyo(1990), University of Oxford(1994), Freie Universitaet Berlin(1994), Harvard Medical School(2001), Yale University(2004), Ecole Polytechnique(2005), and Princeton University(2006), among others.

- Student Body
As of 2007 (spring semester), 1234 international students have enrolled at SNU. 596 of them are in undergraduate programs and 638 in graduate programs. In addition to those students in degree programs, 900 foreigners in Korean language courses and 100 exchange/visiting students bring even more diversification to the campus.

- Curriculum
SNU has taken effective steps to internationalize its curriculum. 471 of all 4,725 courses are offered in English or in another non-Korean language. The College of Business Administration and College of Engineering conduct 20% of their courses in English. The Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) conduct all its lectures in English except for those in the Korean Studies Program.

- Evaluations
SNU ranked 4th in Asia in Asia’s Best Universities 2000 compiled by Asiaweek, 63rd in the World University Ranking of The Times Higher Education 2006, and 75th in World’s Research Competitiveness 2007 of the Research Center for China’s Science Evaluation.

- Outbound Internationalization
The 2006 Survey of Earned Doctorates of the National Opinion Research Center shows that SNU is second in major earners of US doctorates.
According to the report, during 1999-2003, US universities conferred a total number of 135,960 doctoral degrees to US students and the other 50,908 doctoral degrees to foreign students in the fields of the natural sciences, social sciences, and engineering.
Among them all, UC Berkeley graduates were the most numerous recipients totalling 2,175.
SNU graduates received 1,655 degrees, which made SNU the number one recipient among foreign universities and number two in the world.

Internationalization Plan

By 2010, SNU will make further internationalization efforts as follows:

- 10% of SNU students will have the chance to study abroad as exchange students
- International students will amount to 10% of the entire student body
- Full-time international faculty will be recruited in greater numbers (up to 100)
-15% of all courses will be taught in English
- A one-stop service ceter for international students will be established
- International branches for administrative service will be established over 3 continents
-'Global Excellence Initiative' fund will support international students from the developing countries.

May 28, 2007
SNU PR Office