SNU opens international student admissions for spring 2025

Seoul National University has opened admissions for international students for spring 2025.

Students and families attend Seoul National University's matriculation ceremony in February. [YONHAP]

Seoul National University (SNU) opened international undergraduate and graduate student admissions for the spring 2025 semester.

The university will accept applications to both undergraduate and graduate programs between Monday and Thursday. Recommendation letters, required to apply for both programs, are accepted until Friday.

Both applicants and their parents must hold foreign citizenship in order to enroll in undergraduate and graduate programs as international students.

Applicants must prove language proficiency in either Korean or English. Students can submit language proficiency certificates — showing either Topik level 3 or above, a certificate of completion of level 4 at a Korean university's language center, TOEFL iBT 80 or above, International English Language Testing System 6.0 or above or TEPS 269 or above — or documents proving that all courses in the applicant's previous educational institution were conducted in Korean or English.

Some graduate school programs require a higher level of Korean proficiency.

Those applying to the graduate school's business administration and interdisciplinary program in art management must have Topik level 6. Those applying for the graduate school's visual communication design, industrial design and design majors need Topik level 5 or 6.

International students do not count towards SNU's admissions quota, and the university doesn't disclose how many students it plans to accept.

SNU states international student admissions are “based on a comprehensive evaluation of academic ability, student aptitude, language skills, academic activities and extracurricular activities.”

Undergraduate programs under the College of Education are among the few departments that do have a set quota. According to Ministry of Education regulations for teacher training institutions, international students admitted to the College of Education can't exceed 10 percent of the college's quota.

The College of Education has a quota of 312 students this year, which means there will be no more than 31 seats for international students.

Scholarships are important for students, and the university's graduate school allows prospective students to apply for two scholarships during the application process.

One is the Graduate Scholarship for Foreign Students, which waives a recipient's full tuition for four semesters. Master's program applicants will get monthly stipend of 500,000 won ($360) per year, and Ph.D. applicants can get the same stipend for two years.

The scholarship has a set number of slots for each college. A total of 20 scholars will be selected from the spring 2025 semester's class, including two from the College of Social Sciences, two from the College of Natural Sciences and three from the College of Engineering. Further information about available slots can be found on the university's Office of International Affairs website.

Another scholarship available for graduate school applicants is the SNU President Fellowship Program, awarded to Ph.D. program applicants who worked as teaching or instructional staff during previous degree programs.

Selected scholars receive full tuition for six semesters, a monthly stipend of 1.5 to 2 million won for three to four years and round-trip airfare. Korean language training, national health insurance and child care are available as well.

Both scholarships prioritize applicants from developing countries, defined as those that aren't included on the International Monetary Fund's list of advanced economies.

Other Seoul universities are also set to open admissions for the spring 2025 semester.

Korea University will open international student admissions for its undergraduate program between August 5 and September 2. Yonsei University will open undergraduate admissions between September 2 and 13. Its graduate school admissions will open between October 8 and 16.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]