Why study at KU DIS?
Korea University’s Division of International Studies (KU DIS) is a leading academic institution in nurturing and educating young experts specialized in international affairs. Since its establishment in 2002, KUDIS has been preparing students to play leadership roles in governments, international organizations, multinational firms, international financial institutions and NGOs. KU DIS students learn in a truly multicultural environment. Our students bring their own experiences from all corners of the world, given that about one third of KU DIS students are internationals.
KU DIS allows students to specialize in International Commerce, International Development & Cooperation, International Peace & Security, Area Studies, or Korean Studies. Within the field of international studies, KU DIS is ranked among the best undergraduate programs in Korea and the whole of Asia. According to the 2019 QS World University Rankings, Korea University is not only ranked among the top-100 universities worldwide, but it is also one of the top-100 places to study Politics & International Studies and Development Studies.
Students at KU DIS engage an all-English curriculum that offers a mixture of theoretical frameworks for defining the pressing issues facing firms, governments, and the global community and the practical tools required to formulate policies and strategies to address those issues. The curriculum is bolstered by an array of special programs and extracurricular activities providing students a vibrant college experience.
KU DIS students can apply for a double-major with many other KU departments and thus further strengthen their profile. Students are highly encouraged to gain first on-the-job experience by engaging in internships in international companies and organizations. Students further benefit from our mentoring program, in which they are assigned a KU DIS faculty member as their personal mentor. KU DIS is regularly hosting Model United Nations events and features an award-winning debate club.
KU DIS students benefit from the activities of a number of directly attached policy and research centers like the EU Centre, the International Human Rights Center, the Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance, the East Asia Research Center, and the UNDP Seoul Policy Center. This gives them the weekly opportunity to listen to world-renowned speakers and international experts.
KU DIS’ curriculum is taught by an international faculty educated at some of the world’s finest universities. Many of our faculty members are active shapers of international and domestic policy through their roles as consultants to and officials in the Korean government, international institutions, firms, and NGOs. This offers our students a wealth of concrete experiences, insights, and access into the inner workings of such organizations. Students can further benefit from professors’ active research agendas.
As part of Korea University, one of Korea’s oldest and highest ranking universities, KU DIS students have access to an immense range of resources throughout the university. This includes the university’s vast global network of 744 partner universities in 78 countries, including University 21, a network of 18 leading universities in nine countries that promotes international student exchange programs.
Our program is further enriched through its location in one of the world’s most economically and socially dynamic countries. Situated at the geographical heart of East Asia, Korea represents one of the prime examples of rapid economic development in the late 20th century and is now looking to apply its experience and knowledge to the developing world today. In the process of growth, its firms have become some of the world’s most powerful and its social organization has undergone a compressed and extensive transformation into modernity and perhaps beyond.
After combining their own abilities with KU DIS’s demanding curriculum, about half of KU DIS graduates enter the job market while the other half continues with further postgraduate studies, often at top U.S. or European universities. Eventually, most of our students have gone on to employment in government agencies, international organizations, multinational companies in finance, trading, and manufacturing, and NGOs.