SNU Office of Student Affairs is working toward establishing an alumni association of foreign graduates.
The University has collected contact, employment information and other basic details about foreign graduates over the last six months.

``We have not taken care of our international alumni so far, but they are a very important resource for our university. As they are valuable assets for our school, and we will help them build an alumni association,'' said Chang Jae-sung, Dean of Student Affairs.

Both foreign graduates and students reacted positively to the announcement.

``The association could inspire pride in many foreign graduates,'' said Pham Thi Thu Hien, a Vietnamese graduate who majored in Korean language education.

Yavuz Selim Kacar, president of the SNU International Students Association, said an international alumni group could help globalize the university.

According to the University, a total of 1,054 foreign students graduated from the school between 2004 and this year. Among them, 190 obtained bachelor degrees, 676 received master's degrees and the remaining 188 received doctorates.

The number of graduates stood at 221 last year, compared with 156 in 2004. The number is expected to rise further this year, with 129 foreign students having already graduated last February.

By nationality, China topped the list with 600 between 2004 and February 2009, accounting for 56 percent of the total. Japan came next with 91, accounting for 8.6 percent, followed by the U.S. with 61, Vietnam with 35 and Russia with 33.

Overall, SNU has had graduates from 55 countries, most of which are from Asian countries and very few from European countries.

By major, 187 graduates studied engineering, accounting for 18 percent of the total, 141 graduates majored in business administration, accounting for 13 percent. The college of humanities had 113 graduates and international studies had 105. The college of education, social science and agriculture & life science also had 98, 80 and 67 graduates, respectively.

Currently, about 936 international students from 65 countries are enrolled in the university, which has 27,000 students total as of April.

July 2, 2009
SNU PR Office