Even after students are briefly informed about satellite campuses, questions about satellite campus still remain: what makes satellite campuses so special compared to other student exchange programs? What kind of advantages can we get through the programs at Ewha’s satellite campuses?
“Whether the school is prestigious or not was the main determinant that mattered most. So, I chose Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey,” said Cho Lyee-jin (International Studies, 2) who is going to attend Rutgers University as an exchange student for one year. Firstly, Satellite campuses generally consist of well-renowned universities, compared to universities in the student exchange program. “Since the level of education is higher in prestigious universities, we mainly focus on opening satellite campuses in as many prestigious universities as possible,” said Suh Young-ju, the staff member who is in charge of opening satellite campuses at the Office of Global Affairs (OGA). Ewha set a goal of expanding satellite campus from 10 to 20 so that 60 percent of 2010 freshmen can be sent abroad.
Besides the relative prestige of the universities, there are other advantages as well. The idea of a satellite campus is a comprehensive concept because it involves various student exchange programs compared to a classic student exchange program. Students are able to not only attend a traditional one semester abroad through the exchange program but are also able to attend brief visiting programs for four to six weeks. “As the longest exchange program in satellite campuses system, one-semester student exchange programs are conducted at universties such as State University of New York at Stony Brook or American University and the programs provide a certain amount of scholarships,” said Suh.
One semester programs include State University of New York at Stony Brook, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Pacific University, American University, University of London (SOAS) and Peking University.
Beyond the term of study, one of the major concerns among the students is the tuition fees for the exchange program. “It is easy if you consider this process as paying 20 percent of tuition fees to Ewha and then getting a certain percentage discount on the tuition fees of the satellite university that you are accepted to. Discount levels vary depending on what school students are going to attend,” said Suh.
On average, 50 students per semester are able to participate in the satellite campus program. “We try to spread students into as many universities as possible. Our goal is to reduce the number of students to 20 per school,” said Suh.
Other programs Nottingham Study Abroad Program and Wilson College and Waynesburg College Study Abroad Programs are also available. “You can spend at most a year at these exchange schools,” said Suh.
Yet, different from other exchange programs at Ewha, all tuition fees for this opportunity will be at students’ own expense. To study as an exchange student at The University of Nottingham, students should pay 2500 GBP per semester and the students’ Grade Point Average (GPA) should be above 3.0 out of 4.0. Regarding the prerequisite GPA, the same rules are applied to Wilson College and Waynesburg College. Also, the tuition fees are 16,300 USD (7,500 USD discounted) and 8,000 USD (50 percent discounted from original tuition fees) per year respectively.
Other study abroad options also exist. An international exchange program called Short Term Study Abroad Program at Harvard, UCLA and UC Berkeley Summer Session provides students with opportunities to take courses with local students. The Harvard Summer Program also have an option of taking the Intensive English Course which enables students to learn English for eight weeks.
Like the case of Harvard, students can also take language programs at satellite campus. The Fudan University offers a summer language program for about a month. Also, University of Queensland in Australia provides a five-week language course which costs about AU $ 1,625 for its tuition fees.
Beyond the opportunity to experience other countries as exchange students, more chances are await students who get accepted to satellite campuses. Students going to satellite campuses can also receive special extra care from a professor that has been sent from Ewha.
“We sent one professor from Ewha to New York satellite campus so that he can provide academic advice and counseling for Ewha students who study there,” said Suh. The OGA is also planning to offer internship opportunities abroad for Ewha students sent to satellite campuses.
caption: * For all universities stated above, students have to pay 20 percent of tuition fees for Ewha in addition to the tuition fees mentioned in the table.
* The tuition fees are for 2008 fall semester and subjected to change.