Korea University Graduate School of Policy Studies

Graduate Admissions Guidelines for International Students - Fall 2017

1. Eligibility

• A. An applicant holding foreign citizenship whose parents are foreign citizens (not Koreancitizens) Korean citizens who hold dual citizenship are not eligible to apply as international students.
• B. An applicant who completed the entire 16-year education from elementary school to university in foreign countries(not Korea)
• ※ An applicant who’ like to apply for the admission application for foreign students must satisfy one of the requirements above. An applicant who satisfies all of them considers his/her case as the eligibility A. The different requirements will demand the different documents to verify eligibility. Please refer to 9. Documents for proving eligibility.

2. Language Proficiency Requirements

• A. TOPIK level 3 or above
• B. TOEFL PBT 550, CBT 210, iBT 80, IELTS 5.5 or TEPS 600 or above
• C. Applicants who meet one of the following condition below
  • 1) English native speakers
  • 2) Applicants who have complete their degree program (Bachelor's or higher) in English speaking countries.
  • 3) Applicants whose major is Korean Language in foreign countries.
  • 4) Applicants who have obtain a degree (Bachelor's or higher) in Korea
  • ※ Applicants must meet one condition(A,B or C) from above. Language Proficiency test score should be taken within two years from the application deadline. (Valid test date: starting from April. 1, 2015). Institutional Testing Program(ITP) TOEFL is not acceptable.

3. Graduate Programs

• A. The Night-Time Graduate School
• B. Only Master's Degree

4. Application Deadline

• A. Please send your application documents by express mail or visit our office.
• B. The office address is the following:
  College of Political Science and Economics Building (Room 616, 6th floor),
  Graduate School of Policy Studies, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea,
  Phone: +82-2-3290-1381
• C. Application Deadline: April. 25(Tue.), 2017
• ※ It takes approximately a month or more to prepare all required documents.
• We encourage you to start preparing them as early as possible

5. Notification of the Admission Decision

• A. Notification Date: Jun. 7(Wed.), 2017
• B. The admission decision will be notified by e-mail individually.
  ※ The schedule may change depending on circumstances.
• C. Admitted students should join in medical insurance from the beginning of semester.
• D. Admitted students should submit certificate of vaccination(MMR vaccine) and the result of chest X-ray (Tuberculosis) during the first week of semester.

6. Screening Method

• Foreign applicants will be selected by through the document screening or interview. Please keep in mind that all submitted documents will be scrutinized by members of the screening committee.

7. Required Documents

• - Only the original copies will be acceptable.
• - Photocopied, scanned or faxed documents will not be permitted.
• - If the documents are not written in English, please submit the notarized documents(within 3 months) translated in English.

• A. Admission application form(attach a color photo)
• B. Recommendation letter from the professors of one’ previous(last) institute(No specific form)
• C. Certificate of bachelor’ degree(or certificate of expected graduation).
  • - In case of no statement about total average GPA of the applicant and the maximum score or grading system on the transcript, please submit Proof Letter about these factors from the College he/she graduated.
• D. Study plan (no specific form)
• E. Resume / Curriculum Vitae (no specific form)
• F. TOEFL, IELTS, TEPS or TOPIK.
• * Institutional Testing Program(ITP) TOEFL is not valid.
• H. Financial resources statement
  • 1) Bank statement(a minimum balance of USD20,000 (metropolitan area) / USD18,000 (nonmetropolitanarea) or the same amount of applicants’country’ currency) issued within 3 months
    • - We recommend you to freeze your bank account with a minimum balance of applicant's country by Aug. 31, 2017.
    • - Chinese applicants : Please see "8. Additional required documents for Chinese applicants"
  • 2) Financial support form by the tutor professor at Korea University Graduate School (with the tutor professor’ certificate of employment): If you don’ have the bank statement with a minimum balance above, it can be substituted to the financial support form with your tutor professor's certificate of employment.
  • * But, when you apply for your visa in Korean Consulate, Embassy or Immigration, Bank statement must be acquired. (Financial support form will not be acceptable.)
• I. Release of information form(Please fill it out in English.)
• J. Application fee USD $120 or KWD 120,000, cash or a check payable to ‘orea University Graduate School’e
  Please enclose the application fee with the required application documents.
• K. A photocopy of your passport (Copy of alien registration card - resident in Korea only)

8. Additional Required Documents for Chinese Applicants

• A. Chinese applicants who graduated from Chinese University must submit the certificate of degree issued by China Degrees & Graduation Education information(http://www.cdgdc.edu.cn), In that case, a copy of degree and a copy of certificate of graduation should be submitted additionally. Applicants who are expected to graduate should submit the Certificate of Expected Graduation, or Certificate of Education Background & Academic Records issued by China Degrees & Graduation Education information(http://www.cdgdc.edu.cn)
• B. Chinese applicants who will apply for a D-2(student visa) visa in China must additionally submit one more copy of the certificate of a bachelor’ degree issued by China Degrees & Graduation Education Information (http://www.cdgdc.edu.cn) and two copies of degree and certificate of graduation.
• C. If the official transcript is written in Chinese, please hand in the notarized document translated in English.
• D. (Chinese student in Korea) If you submit the bank statement issued by a bank in China, we recommend you to freeze your bank account with a minimum balance of RMB130,000 (metropolitan area) / RMB100,000 (non-metropolitan area), until Aug. 31, 2017.
  (Chinese student in China) Chinese applicants who will apply for a D-2(student visa) visa in China : We recommend you to freeze the bank account with a minimum balance above until Feb. 28, 2018.

• E. Additional documents for Chinese applicants
  • 1) Two color photos taken within 3 months(3.5cm X 4.5cm)
  • 2) A photocopy of the resident registration card(居民證)

9. Required Documents Regarding Eligibility

Please prepare the documents regarding your own eligibility, ‘’or ‘’

• A. An applicant holding foreign citizenship whose parents are foreign citizens(not Korean citizens)
  • 1) A certificate of both an applicant and his/her parent’ nationality
  • 2) A certificate of family relations
• ※ You can hand in the family register(戶口簿 for Chinese and 戶籍 for Japanese), the birth certificate, or the certificate of vital record to verify the eligibility A.
• ※ Chinese applicants should submit the family register(戶口簿) of your parents and yourself in place of certificate of nationality.
  (If your family register is bound with your parents, please submit 1 set of hardcopy notarized in English. In case of your family register is separated from your parents', please submit yours and all your parents' one, 1 sets of each, respectively. Also you must submit the certificate of family relations. All documents shall be notarized in English.)
  • - In case of followings, please submit the document below:
    One of your parents passed away(or Divorce): Death(or Divorce) Certificate One of your parents is naturalized citizen: photo copy of her/his ID(registration) card.

• B. An applicant who completed the whole 16-year education from elementary school to university in foreign countries(not Korea)
  • 1) Please submit in the graduation certificates and the official transcripts from elementary school, middle school to high school

10. Important Notice

• A. You can fill out the application form in either Korean or English.
• B. The spelling of your name and the birth date must be match those shown in your passport or other official documents in your country.
• C. Please refer to the website, http://graduate2.korea.ac.kr/gradeng/department/major.do, when you fill out the degree, department, and major of your application form.
• D. Changes of the admission information (ex. degree, department and etc.) will be prohibited after submission.
• E. None of the submitted records and documents are returnable, also the application fee is non refundable.
• F. Important notice will be announced by e-mail. Please indicate email address 1 and email address 2 accurately. They should have the different email account each other.(YAHOO, HOTMAIL, GMAIL, and etc.)
• G. Any false or misleading statement may disqualify your application.
• H. Late arrival of the application documents after the deadline(Sep. 30, 2015 for Spring semester) will cause a failure of admission application.
• I. Student's application can be canceled due to insufficient of documents.
• J. We have two campuses in Seoul (Anam Campus) and Sejong (Sejong Campus) of Korea University. All classes by Sejong Campus are conducted in Sejong City. It takes about two hours by car from Seoul to Sejong Campus.
• K. Applicants for the department of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Science must get tutor professor candidates' permission before his/her application.
• L. Applicants who have completed in major of medicine or dentistry are only qualified to apply for the department of Medicine.
• M. Leave in absence for the first semester after admission is not allowed for freshman. (In case of disease, joining the army, giving birth –it can be allowed with verification.)
• N. There is no fall admission for the major of Marketing, Finance and Accounting in the department of Business Administration.

11. Contact Information for Further Inquiries

• 1) E-mail: gre005@korea.ac.kr
• 2) Phone: +82-2-3290-1381(English)

12. Dormitory Information for Foreign Students (Seoul)

• 1) Website: http://reslife.korea.ac.kr
• 2) E-mail: reslife@korea.ac.kr
• 3) Phone: +82-2-3290-1554
• 4) Tentative on-line application schedule for dorms: Jun. 2017.

Appendix 1 : APOSTILLE Requirements For Newly Admitted Students

☞ Apostille certificates are to be submitted at Korea University within two weeks of an admission decision.

☞ For information regarding how to get an Apostille, please refer to the website:
http://www.hcch.net –Apostille Section.

A. Newly admitted students from countries which are signatories to the convention must meet the following requirements:

• ※ Please refer to the list of signatory countries on Apostille certificates in Appendix 2.
• 1. Official certificates (transcripts, diplomas, etc.) from public schools or institutions should be submitted with the attachment of “postille”
• 2. Official certificates (transcripts, diplomas, etc.) from private schools or institutions, however, should be officially notarized by a notary, agency or any other authority competent under the law of the country of origin of the certificates, and then, should be submitted with the attachment of “postille”
  N.B. All documents should be in English. If it’ in any other language, you must submit a notarized/certified translation in English completed by a public notary in the country in which the document was originally produced.

B. Admitted students from countries which are NOT signatories to the convention and do not recognize the Apostille must meet the following requirements:

• 1. Official certificates (transcripts, diplomas, etc.) must be legalized by a Korean consular officer in the country which issued the certificates.
• 2. Applicants from these countries should submit the official certificates with the attachment of an Authentication (ex. Certificate of Authentication or Certificate of Overseas Educational Institutions) issued by the Korean Embassy or Consulate.
  N.B. All documents should be in English. If it’ in any other language, you must submit a notarized/certified translation in English completed by a public notary in the country in which the document was originally produced.

C. Admitted Chinese students

• The certificate of degree(or expected degree) should be issued by China Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Information (http://www.cdgdc.edu.cn).

Appendix 2 : The list of countries for Apostille certificates

In which countries does the Apostille Convention apply?

Click (http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41) to see the updated list of the countries where Apostille Convention applies.

※ If your public document was issued in a country where the Apostille Convention does not apply, you should submit a Certificate of Authentication issued by the Korean Embassy or Consulate in your country.

Where do I get an Apostille?

Each country that is a party to the Convention must designate one or several authorities that are entitled to issue Apostilles. These authorities are called Competent Authorities –only they are permitted to issue Apostilles.
Click (http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41) to see the list of all Competent Authorities designated by each country that has joined the Apostille Convention.

How much does an Apostille cost?

Many Competent Authorities do charge for Apostilles. The price among Competent Authorities varies greatly. For practical information of the prices that individual countries charge, see the information available (http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41).
For further details, please see the website of the Hague Conference at .The Hague Conference is the Organization that developed the Apostille Convention. All relevant and updated information about the Apostille Convention is available in the ‘postille Section’of the Hague Conference website.