Engineers expand study abroad program

By Michelle Hagopian

Published Nov. 9, 2007

Beginning next fall, MU engineering students can travel to one of Columbia's sister cities in South Korea as part of the College of Engineering's study abroad program.

The College of Engineering is working together with South Korea's Sunchon National University, an institution that specializes in engineering education, to create a new exchange program.

"About 12,000 students are enrolled in SNU, and 8,000 of them are engineering students," civil and environmental engineering professor John Bowders said. "It's a much different experience than here at MU."

SNU operates exchange programs with universities in 13 other countries, according to a news release.

Columbia and the city of Sunchon have been sister cities since 1991, and a partnership agreement between MU and SNU quickly followed.

SNU President ManChai Chang visited MU in September to confirm the exchange program with College of Engineering Dean James Thompson.

"We are very excited about this new international program," Thompson said.

Thompson said the goal of the program was for MU engineering students to be immersed in a new culture and learn, both academically and socially, in another country.

"South Korea is a very technologically advanced country, so we are looking forward to having our students learn in an industrial setting while obtaining perspectives of a new society," Thompson said.

Bowders said he anticipates that experiencing South Korean culture will be the primary objective of the program while research will be secondary.

SNU students would come to MU to study for as little as one semester and up to two years, Bowders said.

"I'd expect more SNU students would come to MU next fall than we'd send to South Korea," Bowders said.

The Korean exchange students who study at MU can choose between a one- or two-year program in MU engineering. All exchange students can apply for graduate school, and those who study for two years will probably receive an MU degree, the release stated.

"We'd like our students to learn the language as much as possible prior to studying abroad," Thompson said. "It also would help if the Korean students who plan on studying here did the same."

MU senior Philip Steed traveled to South Korea in the summer of 2006. The summer tour study of South Korea earned him three credit hours and provided a new cultural experience.

"I already knew a lot about Korean culture prior to visiting the country," Steed said. "When I got there, the people were so friendly, and I loved the food."

Steed said he took the course through MU, but not through the College of Engineering.

Steed, who will graduate in December with a civil engineering degree, said he took a Korean civilization course at MU and quickly became interested in South Korean culture. He then went to study abroad for three weeks with three other MU students and a professor.

The group stayed in the city of Gwangiu for two weeks before traveling to Pyeongtaek and Seoul during the last week of the tour. They visited various schools and temples during their stay in South Korea, he said.

Steed said the Korean people share many similarities with American culture and seeing a new culture made him reflect on his own.

"I think what struck me most about South Korea is how quickly the history changes," Steed said. "They've been through so much in the past century — World War II, the Korean War, dictatorships — and it truly is reflected in the culture there."

Details of the program, including tuition and housing, are still being finalized, but students will probably pay the same amount as if they had stayed at MU, the release stated. The engineering program already offers exchange programs in Brazil and China.