Underwood International College

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Underwood International College (UIC) is a college of Yonsei University, a private university based in Seoul, South Korea. UIC is the newest undergraduate college at Yonsei University, and is the only program at the university to conduct classes exclusively in English. It aims to provide a liberal arts program rivaling the top liberal arts colleges in the world, and is the first program of its kind in Korea. The first class was admitted in the spring semester of 2006.

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[edit] Mission

From the official UIC website:

Our educational goals are to bring together students from diverse, multinational, multiethnic backgrounds, and to provide them with a world-class education that will emphasize the following qualities:

  • Creative Thinking
    • Independent and empathetic understanding based on critical reasoning
    • Problem-solving abilities
    • Effective communication skills
  • Democratic Citizenship
    • Dedication to public service
    • Tolerance, civility, and respect for diversity
    • Responsible civic participation
  • Global Leadership
    • Informed and balanced understanding of international affairs
    • Regional and global engagement on the basis of cosmopolitan values
    • Capacity for building ties between East Asian and other cultural traditions

[edit] Majors

UIC majors include Comparative Literature and Culture; Economics; International Studies; Life Science and Technology; and Political Science and International Relations. In addition to these five majors, UIC also offers minors in Korean Studies and Creative Writing.

In the future, more majors will be available to students.

[edit] Student and Faculty Body

UIC currently has approximately 350 registered students. The students of UIC are made up of mainly Korean students with experience living and studyng abroad, but increasing numbers of non-Korean students have been admitted. UIC is the only English-based four-year degree program in Korea that has successfully attracted large numbers of non-Korean students to create a truly international and multi-cultural student body.

The faculty is composed of both fulltime foreign professors and English-speaking Korean professors from the rest of Yonsei University. There are currently six foreign professors within the UIC common curriulum who teach World History, World Literature, Critical Reasoning and Creative Writing. Yonsei University plans to hire more than twenty non-Korean professors to assist in the operation of both the UIC common curriculum and the UIC majors. The Dean of UIC is Professor Jongryn Mo.

Distinguished Visiting Faculty seminars are held regularly. Many notable Nobel Prize winning professors have held intensive two-week courses at UIC, including Kurt Wüthrich.

[edit] Extracurricular Activities

As an upstart program, there are not many clubs or extracurricular groups established yet. However, there is a college newspaper, the Scribe. It is a newspaper published on a semesteral basis, first published in June 2006. There is also a dormant debate club, Underwood Union, and an ensemble named Underwood Vision Ensemble.

[edit] Clubs

There are two sports clubs that exist at UIC. The basketball team called INSUFF, and the football (soccer) team called Underwood United.

A band known as NODAJI (formerly known as, No Dodge) is part of the extracurricular activities, which debuted in May 11th, 2007, and the band focuses on primarily rock music. However, they occasionally perform ballad songs. There are around 20 members, but not all perform at the same time. The band plays songs by other famous bands like Muse, Yellowcard, and Cherryfilter (Korean rock band).

[edit] External links