Seoul National University MA International Studies

What is Seoul National University MA International Studies?

At Seoul National University, MA International Studies provides a full-time two years route through international commerce, cooperation, development, area studies and Korean studies. The published graduate load is 45 credits. Students select a major after the first semester from five published fields and complete qualifying and language requirements.

This is not a general invitation to study the subject from the beginning. Within a prepared academic base, international commerce can frame the problem, cooperation can shape the method, and development can guide analysis alongside area studies or Korean studies.

How much does SNU MA International Studies cost for an Indian student?

The two years planning total is KRW 51,575,000, approximately INR 36.57 lakh. It combines current programme tuition, the KRW 169,000 admission fee where separately charged, the latest KRW 90,000 application fee and a conservative KRW 1,620,000 monthly living allowance. Flights, deposits and visa charges remain outside it.

The D-2 visa charge, document legalisation, translations, flights and a housing deposit are excluded because the payable amounts depend on the route and service used. Korean won items use KRW 1 = INR 0.0709, the 29 September 2026 market close used for this planning calculation. Tuition is held constant for every planned semester and can change.

Upon payment of the application fee (KRW 90,000), an application number will be assigned and the online application will be considered complete.SNU Spring 2027 international graduate admissions guide

For MA International Studies, the current tuition basis is KRW 3,109,000. Academic two-year programmes multiply the semester tuition by four and add the one-time admission fee. The Full-Time MBA uses the school’s separately published total tuition instead. The current basis isn’t a price guarantee for a later intake.

The living allowance is deliberately conservative. It combines the upper end of SNU’s off-campus housing range with food, local transport, health cover, phone and personal spending. On-campus housing could lower the result, while a private deposit, premium rent or frequent travel could raise it materially.

SNU’s Graduate Scholarship for Excellent Foreign Students can cover full tuition for up to four semesters and at least KRW 500,000 per month for eligible recipients. The Global Korea Scholarship has a different selection route. Neither award is assumed in the total because funding is competitive and not an entitlement attached to admission.

What are the entry requirements for SNU MA International Studies?

For MA International Studies, the practical entry base is a recognised bachelor’s degree with a strong international, social-science or related academic case. SNU then adds international eligibility, degree completion before enrolment, the published Korean or English route, two recommendations and a programme-specific study plan.

The department publishes no universal GPA cutoff for MA International Studies. Review can therefore distinguish a transcript rich in international commerce from one that only uses a related degree title. Course descriptions can make that distinction visible without pretending that a central subject-credit formula exists.

A certificate in cooperation may add context, but it can’t replace missing academic foundations when graduate work depends on development. The study plan has to show how existing preparation supports the proposed use of area studies and why Korean studies belongs in the same research direction.

The language threshold answers eligibility, not the complete classroom question. The published korean or english route can open the admissions route. It doesn’t promise that every MA International Studies class, laboratory exchange or supervision discussion will be available only in English.

What the minimum does not settle

1. Admission language and teaching language differ

   Documents proving proficiency in Korean or English, including one or more of the following: the undermentioned Korean or English language proficiency scores.

   The SNU admissions guide states the evidence route. The university-wide minimum does not guarantee an English-only timetable.

2. Only one programme can be selected

   Check the appropriate box and indicate your desired program of study. You may apply to only one program.

   The SNU application form makes this restriction explicit, so programme fit has to be settled before payment.

3. Minimum eligibility is not an admission promise

   Meeting every stated minimum does not create a right to admission under holistic review.

How do you apply for SNU MA International Studies?

The application is submitted through SNU’s international graduate route during the published window. The latest Spring 2027 round closed on 9 July 2026. Fall 2027 dates were not published at the research cutoff, so the sequence below is actionable but no future closing date is claimed.

One online application goes to one SNU programme. Payment creates the application number, two recommendations arrive online, and legalised originals follow only after preliminary admission.

The allowances are preparation estimates, not deadlines or processing times published by Seoul National University. Start dates remain unconfirmed.

The latest round opened at 10:00 on 6 July and closed at 17:00 Korean time on 9 July 2026. Payment of KRW 90,000 generated the application number. After payment, the admissions type, degree course and selected programme could not be changed, although personal statements and uploads could still be edited before closing.

Two recommenders received automated invitations after payment and had until 10 July in the latest cycle. Academic documents were uploaded first. Original overseas degree documents with apostille or Korean consular authentication became due only after preliminary admission, which separated the early application file from later legalisation work.

The route contains no published APS requirement for India and no central GRE or GMAT rule. A department may interview or test applicants as part of holistic evaluation. The safest working calendar starts language testing about two months before a window and document mapping about one month before it.

What can SNU MA International Studies lead to?

The credible MA International Studies outcome is preparation for international organisations, trade, policy, development, research and global business, supported by visible work that joins area studies to Korean studies and the Korean graduate job-seeking route. SNU doesn’t publish a course-level employment percentage, so the thesis or project carries the direct evidence.

These MA International Studies directions describe preparation, not a promise of employment in international organisations, trade, policy, development, research and global business.

A international organisations application can foreground international commerce, while a trade application may foreground cooperation. Work connected to policy could need stronger development. The final MA International Studies research should make the chosen relationship explicit rather than treating every listed direction as equally supported.

An eligible D-2 graduate may seek D-10 job-seeking status in six-month extensions up to the published maximum. For a MA International Studies graduate pursuing development, immigration permission remains separate from employer demand, Korean ability and proof of skill in area studies.

Institutional reputation can create visibility, but the portable evidence is narrower. A reader of the thesis or project can inspect the problem, method and limitation in Korean studies. That record is more useful than an unsupported salary estimate for MA International Studies.

How is Seoul National University ranked?

Two current global tables place SNU among the world's leading research universities. QS ranks it 38th for 2027, while Times Higher Education places it equal 58th for 2026. These institution-wide measures do not establish a programme acceptance rate, job outcome, teaching-language guarantee or individual return on cost.

Who is a good fit for SNU MA International Studies?

A strong MA International Studies fit brings demonstrated work in international commerce and cooperation, a question narrowed through development, and funding for two years. A weak fit depends on SNU's brand while leaving area studies or the language reality unresolved. That combination keeps MA International Studies a programme choice rather than a brand choice.

One suitable profile reaches MA International Studies through international commerce and then deepens cooperation. Another can arrive through development when the transcript already contains the required method. Both profiles still need a specific reason to work with area studies rather than a generic interest in the degree title.

A borderline profile understands Korean studies but lacks an adjacent foundation. SNU doesn’t advertise a remedial term inside MA International Studies, so the statement cannot simply promise to learn every prerequisite after arrival. Existing assessed evidence remains more persuasive than enthusiasm alone.

The planning total is INR 36.57 lakh without a scholarship. Academic fit also requires sustained work across international commerce, development and the research use of Korean studies. Someone unable to accept the financial case and that subject commitment should remove MA International Studies from the shortlist.

Should an Indian student shortlist SNU MA International Studies?

MA International Studies suits an applicant whose record connects development with Korean studies, whose goals require a defined use of area studies, and whose unassisted budget reaches INR 36.57 lakh. The decision should follow that combination rather than SNU’s name by itself.

A sound shortlist reason is the link between international commerce, cooperation and international organisations. The assessed output can then show a method, an argument and a limitation grounded in MA International Studies through development.

A sound rejection reason follows from the programme boundary. The major is not fixed at entry and the 45-credit load is heavier than SNU's standard 24-credit academic master's minimum. The route should be removed when foundations in international commerce and cooperation cannot be demonstrated or when area studies is only a passing interest.

Decision checks cost model · entry evidence · outcome limits

Sources

These sources support the programme, admission, cost, experience and immigration information used on this page.

Sources checked on September 29, 2026. The next intake covered here is Fall 2027; application dates not yet published.