Pukyong National University Establishes Dedicated Unit for 'Major Freedom' Liberal Arts Department

Participation of All Department (Major) Professors and Seniors, Establishing an All-Round Support System

National Pukyong University (President Bae Sang-hoon) has begun full-scale preparations, including establishing a dedicated organization to manage the newly established Division of Liberal Studies starting next year.

The Division of Liberal Studies is a department where freshmen enter the university without a major and can choose their major from the second year. While universities nationwide are preparing to establish this division next year, National Pukyong University is taking a proactive approach.

The Division of Liberal Studies is divided into ‘Type 1,’ which allows students to choose from all majors within the university (excluding departments with fixed quotas), and ‘Type 2,’ which allows students to select majors within each college. National Pukyong University will admit a total of 915 freshmen into the Division of Liberal Studies next year, with 332 in Type 1 and 583 in Type 2.

Since the division will admit about 30% of the freshmen, National Pukyong University anticipates issues such as major concentration and difficulties adapting to university life, and thus plans to establish and operate a dedicated organization called the ‘Liberal Studies Guidance Center’ starting next month.

This center will be staffed with dedicated personnel, including the head of the Division of Liberal Studies, administrative staff, and teaching assistants, to fully support the operation of the division. Additionally, five dedicated academic guidance professors will be newly hired.

To address the issue of major concentration, detailed criteria for entering majors, such as minimum credit requirements, will be established, and academic systems will be flexibly innovated by expanding class sections and increasing enrollment capacity. The criteria for allowing major changes will be broadened, and double majors will be encouraged.

Professors and students from 76 majors have also stepped forward. Seventy-six professors will serve as ‘Major Guidance Professors,’ and 152 senior students will participate as the ‘Major Exploration Mentoring Group’ to provide Division of Liberal Studies students with detailed information and appeal of each major.

A dedicated open lounge of about 100 pyeong (approximately 330 square meters) will be created on the second floor of the Academic Information Center exclusively for freshmen in the Division of Liberal Studies. These freshmen will be able to study, relax, interact with peers, and receive ongoing mentoring from senior students of each major in this space.

In particular, National Pukyong University will operate a triple curriculum (△ College Life and Career Planning △ Major Exploration and Career Planning △ Major Understanding Courses by Department) to help students choose the major that suits them through diverse experiences in their first year, and will expand extracurricular programs such as major fairs and major explanation sessions.

Additionally, the university plans to support adaptation by running major exploration clubs that encourage students to proactively explore majors, and by expanding orientation, teamwork, and bonding programs to enhance a sense of belonging through exchange and communication events.

National Pukyong University Daeyeon Campus.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.