Department of Physics
Admissions Guide
For 2015 Spring and Fall
Department of Physics, Korea University
145 Anam-ro Seongbuk-gu Seoul 136-713, Korea
http://physics.korea.ac.kr Email: physics.ku@korea.ac.kr
Since its establishment in 1952 during the Korean War, the Department of
Physics at Korea University, has led the community of basic science in Korea.
In addition, its faculty, currently consisting of 24 prominent members, is playing
a foremost role in multiple science collaborations worldwide. Its educational
programs have upheld a long tradition of higher education, and have produced
many eminent and influential graduates, both in Korea and beyond. In particular,
its graduate school program demonstrates an optimal combination of education
and research collaborations between the faculty members and the students, and
is enjoying a top-ranked reputation worldwide (see figure below) for its research
performance.
The Physics Department’s Initiative for Creative and Independent Scientists has
recently been approved as a government-based BK21Plus Project. Through this
Initiative, the department can provide its graduate students with stable financial
support, and further improve its infrastructure for creating a high quality education
and research environment.
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Department of Physics
Founded in 1905 at the center of the old downtown of Seoul, Korea University
is one of the oldest, largest, and top-ranked universities in Korea. Its high
reputation is based on excellence in teaching, research, and service to the
Korean and international science communities. Eminent faculty, outstanding
students, and internationally recognized research programs all contribute to its
academic fame. As a major comprehensive university, Korea University offers a
rich variety of courses in the liberal arts and sciences, as well as in a multitude of
professional fields including law, medicine, and business administration.
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Research Fields
Our faculty members are all very active in research, and take leading roles in their research areas,
many of them recognized internationally. According to their main research interests, they can roughly
be classified into the following four groups:
Biological Physics Group,
consisting of four
Condensed-Matter Physics Group, consisting
faculty members, applies various experimental and theoretical
methods to understand complex phenomena in biological
systems, covering an extremely diverse selection of research
topics with time and length scales ranging from femtoseconds
and nanometers to decades and huge ecological systems.
They are particularly interested in nonlinear dynamics of neural
networks, cell motility and tissue dynamics, single molecule
biophysics of nucleic acids, deep-tissue optical bio-imaging,
and statistical physics of complex networks and biological
systems applications of network theory.
of nine members, studies a variety of systems including
semiconductors, superconductors, ferroelectrics, conductive
polymers, and magnetic materials, as well as various
nanostructures like nanotubes, nanowires, quantum dots, and
quantum wells. Research methods include NMR spectroscopy,
optical spectroscopy, electrical transport, SPM microscopy,
many-body theories, and numerical renormalization group
methods. While research subjects cover diverse phenomena
and materials, they are commonly focused on nanoscale
quantum phenomena. Several members in this group are also
interested in Quantum Information Science.
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Group, consisting of three experimentalists and one
theorist, is focused on atomic physics in the areas of cooling
and trapping, atomic coherence, optical frequency standards,
precision measurement in fundamental symmetry violations,
and optical metrology using frequency combs. It enjoys a
balanced mix of application and fundamental research and of
experiment and theory, and yet seeks to expand by recruiting
more members in near future.
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Department of Physics Korea University
High Energy Physics Group.
Since 1952,
the department has had an initiative in high-energy physics,
playing a major role in Korea. Currently, the group consists of
six faculty members. Its experimental program involves two
collider experiments, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) and
Belle. An intensive R&D program for the CMS muon trigger
detectors and resistive plate chambers has been in progress
since 1997. Theoretical efforts include collider phenomenology,
with the main focus on understanding the effects of the strong
interaction. With the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN
currently running, both experimental and theoretical activities
will focus on LHC physics and the heavy-ion collisions at RAON
being built in Korea.
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Graduate School Program
There are three different tracks in the departments graduate school program:
• Master Course (2 years)
• Doctoral Course (4+ years) for those who have Master's degrees.
• Unified Doctoral Course (5+ years). No Master's degree is required.
Each student should choose the track when he/she applies for an admission.
A student in the Unified Doctoral Course can acquire his/her PhD directly without having to write a Master's
thesis, and the department strongly encourages applicants to follow this track.
Here is a summary of the requirements for students in the
Unified Doctoral Course to achieve their PhD (for other
tracks, see the department Homepage):
1. Basic Requirements (Total 15 credits).
- Classical Mechanics (3 credits)
- Electromagnetism I (3)
- Electromagnetism II (3)
- Quantum Mechanics I (3)
- Quantum Mechanics II (3)
2. Theory / Experiment Requirements (Total 3 credits).
- Mathematical Physics (3) for students working on theoretical physics
- Experimental Physics (3) for students working on experimental physics
3. Specialty and Breadth Requirements (Total 12 credits).
- One can choose subjects from the following list
- Particle Physics I, II (3,3)
- Nuclear Physics I, II (3,3)
- Solid State Physics I, II (3,3)
- Quantum Optics I, II (3,3)
- Applied Optics I, II (3,3)
- Statistical Physics I, II (3,3)
- Nonlinear Dynamics I, II (3,3)
- Biological Physics I, II (3,3)
4. Additional Requirements (Total 24 credits).
- Colloquiums/Seminars (up to 12 credits), etc.
- More subjects from the list in section 3 above.
5. Pre-Research Requirements (Total 16 credits)
Interaction with his/her supervisor not associated with lecture based course work.
6. Qualifying Exam (within 5 semesters after entrance)
7. The Second Foreign Language
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Department of Physics Korea University
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Scholarships
How to Join Us
International Student Scholarship A
Benefits
- 100% of the entrance fee
- 100% of the tuition fee
- GPA from the previous (latest) school 4.0 or above (out of 4.5), 3.83 or above (out of 4.3), 3.57 or above (out of 4.0),
or 90 or above (out of 100)
Requirements - T OEFL (PBT) 577 or above, TOEFL (CBT) 233 or above, TOEFL (iBT) 90 or above, TEPS 700 or above, IELTS 7.0 or
above, or S-TOPIK level 6 or above
- R ecommendation from the department and permission from the dean of graduate school
International Student Scholarship C
Benefits
- 75% of the tuition fee
Requirements - Recommendation from the department (determined through interview)
BK21 Plus Scholarship (from the Department)
Benefits
- 25% of the tuition fee (supplement to International Student Scholarship C)
- Further support for local expenses
Requirements - Recommendation from the department (determined through interview)
Other scholarships
The department has several other scholarships to support students who have talents and enthusiasm in physics but suffer from financial
difficulties. Students who want to acquire one of these awards should consult the department chair.
1. Apply to the department for an interview
(deadline May 31, 2014).
At this stage we require only the following three documents:
a. Undergraduate Transcript
b. Recommendation letters (one or more)
c. A statement of research interests
http://physics.korea.ac.kr/graduate/applications/apply
2. Interview with the department (June 2014).
interview will be held either at the country of the applicants or
The
via Internet (Skype talk, etc.). Through the interview, the department will
determine whether to recommend the applicant for admission or
decline the application. With the department's recommendation, the
applicant can have financial support from the department (via BK21
Plus) and the university (International Student Scholarship C).
3. Apply to the Admission Office with all required
documents (Sep 2014 / Mar 2015).
A pplicants who acquired the department's recommendation can
proceed to apply formally to the Admission Office. At this stage, the
applicant should submit all required documents. The Admission Office
may offer further scholarships (International Student Scholarship A or B)
depending on the academic records of the applicant.
http://www.korea.edu/
4. Prepare for the start.
A s an international student, you may need several other things to adjust
yourself smoothly and successfully at Korea University.
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Department of Physics Korea University
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After Finishing Your Degree
The graduates of the Physics Department have made outstanding contributions nationwide and worldwide in various fields. A
significant fraction of students who complete their undergraduate studies in our department continue to pursuit Ph.D. in Korea as
well as abroad. A survey (see figure) shows the trends of the jobs occupied by the Physics Department graduates.
The largest group, (about 49%) of our graduates, find jobs in industry. The second largest group (about 21%) pursues jobs in
research institutions, both in Korea and abroad. Including the graduates who became professors in the university (18%), a total of
39% of all alumni continue research after they have finished their B.S. degrees in our department.
Among our numerous graduates, the following list shows some internationally
recognized research fellows and enterprisers:
Young-Kee Kim
Deputy director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) and Louis Block Professor at the University of Chicago. Working on
high-energy physics experiments.
Sun-Kee Kim
Director of the Rare Isotope Project (RISP) at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and professor at Seoul National University. Working on
high-energy physics experiment.
Seung-Hun Lee
Professor of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. Working on condensed-matter physics experiment.
Yunchul Chung
Professor at Busan National University. Working on quantum transport in nanostructures.
Bae-Yeun Ha
Physics Center for International Affairs
The Department of Physics is dedicated to providing international students,
researchers, and faculty members with the resources they need for a
comfortable living experience while residing in Korea. The department hosts
the Physics Center for International Affairs, that provides both long-term and
short-term visitors with pertinent information on a variety of topics necessary
for living in and navigating their way around Seoul.
In addition, the department offers several online resources for our
international visitors. A Google map containing details of the Anam area
surrounding Korea University, as well as the locations of many important
offices, such immigration services, and attractions for visitors can be found
on the department's website. Moreover, an in-depth guide covering all of
the basic living information such as setting up housing, finding restaurants,
grocery stores, etc., is also available electronically and in print.
Furthermore, students can interact with international pupils from other
departments, and get information about academic policies, at the Korea
University International Affairs Office, located on the main Anam campus.
Finally, students also have the opportunity to take Korean language classes
at the Korea University Institute of Foreign Language, ranked as one of the
top Korean language learning centers in the country.
Professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Working on soft condensed-matter physics.
Tae-Won Choi
CEO of SK Cooperation
Jeong-hoon Lee
CEO of Seoul Semiconductor, Co.
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Department of Physics Korea University
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