To provide foreign students opportunities to learn and research Korean history and culture, and experience taking classes at a Korean University, Ewha established the Ewha International Co-Ed Summer College (EICSC), and will continue the program this summer. EICSC was founded in 1971, being the oldest international co-ed summer program in the country. As a contribution to academic excellence, cultural immersion and uniqueness of this program, the Office of International Affairs (OIA) creates opportunities for Ewha students to take classes taught by talented professors from top universities abroad while only paying the summer semester tuition fee, and facilitates international cultural exchange with foreign students.
EICSC displays excellence in learning
Ewha has held the EICSC program for 44 years, and recently made some changes in the course selections, offering many new courses that were previously not available. Courses are offered in various studies, including Academic Writing, Business & Economy, East Asian Studies, Korean Studies, Music, Art & Design, Natural Sciences, North Korean Studies, Social Sciences and Women’s Studies. EICSC has also been successful in recruiting many professors from prestigious schools both locally and abroad for the program in 2014.
The EICSC program is divided into two sessions. The Session I program is an academic four-week-long program offering courses in the following three categories: academic courses taught in English, Korean language courses and academic courses taught in Korean. Session II is a two-week-long program only open to foreign students, which focuses more on learning traditional and contemporary Korean culture. This session features Korean language courses, special lectures, half-day field trips and special cultural excursions. Students take a Korean language class in the morning, and then either go on a field trip to learn more of the Korean culture or attend a special lecture about the history of Korea in the afternoon. In 2013, a total of 240 foreign students from 20 different countries and 88 different schools, and 165 students from Ewha took part in the EISCS programs. Despite its long history and distinguished curriculum, many students are unaware of the EISCS program.
According to an official from the OIA, the Office is making efforts to improve students’ recognition of EICSC by developing and creating new programs.
“EICSC currently remains as the country’s oldest program, but OIA hopes it will develop into the biggest and greatest program,” said Kim San-young, an official at the OIA. “The development of the program is critical, as it will publicize Ewha and act as a platform for the improvement of international exchange at Ewha. However, along with OIA putting in effort for the improvements, Ewha students’ active support and participation must be accompanied.