Academic Support
Dissertation Proposal Presentation
The Dissertation Proposal Presentation (dissertation pre-screening) for master’s / doctorate degrees operates within the Department of Political Science & International Relations and functions as a place for students with upcoming dissertations (within the semester) to present their dissertation proposal in front of professors as well as their peers within the department. It provides an important opportunity for students to walk through their proposal and get in-depth advices regarding the direction and content of their research from professors and students alike. At the Department of Political Science & International, Dissertation Proposal Presentations are scheduled twice every year: during the spring semester they are held on the second Friday of March, and during the fall semester they are held on the second Friday of September. Students who wish to request for dissertation must present their dissertation proposal through the Dissertation Proposal Presentation at the start of the semester. For that to happen, students should complete and hand in their proposal to the department office a full week before (that is, by Friday of the week before) the Presentation. Students who missed the deadline will not be able to participate in the proposal presentation. As for the presentation itself, each student would have 10 minutes to present with the help of Power Point slides. Lastly, students who went through the presentation (pre-screening) but got delayed due to their failure to pass the main-screening would not be required to present again given that the title and topic of research remained the same.
Reading Room
To ensure that students are able to concentrate on their research and dissertation, he Department of Political Science & International Relations has a reading room that is exclusively open to graduate students. Specifics of this facility are listed below. Purpose: to offer personal space for graduate students who need to concentrate on their studies
Location: College of Political Science and Economics Building, room 603B
Maximum number of students: 18
Time of operation: Monday to Sunday 9 am to 10:30 pm. Closed on public holidays
Term of usage: 6 months until renewal
Qualifying criteria:
1. Graduate students who finished presenting their proposal at the Dissertation Proposal Presentation last semester are prioritized.
2. Third year or above graduate students who passed the comprehensive exam (종합시험) and are planning to attend the Dissertation Proposal Presentation of the current semester can also apply.
3. When more than 18 students have applied, selections are based on grades.
Application timeline: announced through department office’s homepage and email every 6 months.
Scholarship
In 2012, the Department of Political Science & International Relations at Korea University established the Woodang Scholarship (Samgu Political Science and International Relations Department Scholarship) for graduate students who entered the school with excellent grades. The establishment and operation of this scholarship fund owe much thanks to President Park Jong-gu of Samgu Inc., who is an alumnus of the department. Aside from this scholarship which is only intended for students in the department, there are also regular scholarship (일반장학금), need-based bursary (후생복지장학금), and BK21+ scholarship, etc.. In particular, BK21+ is the only scholarship in the country intended for scholars in political science, and offers various kinds of research funding.