Deans of Humanities Colleges Nationwide: "'Non-Major Admission' Should Be Stopped... Popular Majors Will Face Increased Concentration"

Concerns Over the Collapse of Basic Academic Disciplines

The Council of Deans of Humanities Colleges at National and Public Universities (Gukin-hyeop) and the Council of Deans of Humanities Colleges at Private Universities (Sain-hyeop) criticized the Ministry of Education's initiative to recruit students without a declared major, stating that it "will deepen the concentration on a few popular departments and collapse basic academic disciplines."

On the 24th, Kang Chang-woo, Dean of the College of Humanities at Seoul National University, at a press conference held at Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, said, "The Ministry of Education is promoting recruitment without a declared major so that students can find and choose a major that suits their aptitude and interests," but "in the current situation where there is an extreme concentration of students choosing a few popular majors, the majority of students are very likely to follow the trend and choose popular majors, making it difficult to realize the Ministry of Education's original intention."

He continued, "Academic diversity is a prerequisite for academic development and the cornerstone of national development, yet the academic ecosystem in our country is deteriorating," and added, "if the recruitment without a declared major system is introduced without proper measures, it is clear that the already unhealthy academic ecosystem in our country will collapse even further."

Kang Chang-woo, Dean of the College of Humanities at Seoul National University (first from the right), along with professors from the National Institute of Korean Studies and the Korean Association of Sign Language, are attending the press conference held on the 24th at Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Lee Seo-hee]

He also pointed out shortcomings in the process of implementing the system. Professor Kang said, "If there are areas to improve in the student recruitment system, first, in-depth discussions and collection of opinions on this, as well as the establishment of countermeasures for anticipated side effects, must be conducted, and the establishment of systems and infrastructure for students recruited without a declared major should precede," adding, "However, as of late January, the Ministry of Education has yet to present any concrete implementation plans or countermeasures for side effects. Universities must soon announce admission guidelines including recruitment without a declared major, so how can such an important change be implemented without at least a year of proper preparation?"

There was also criticism that the Ministry of Education is infringing on university autonomy. He said, "According to the draft revision of the University Innovation Support Project, the project aims to promote quality university education and nurture future talents through autonomous innovation plans established by universities," and "since university autonomy is guaranteed by the Constitution, it is natural that universities autonomously establish and implement innovation plans tailored to their educational philosophy and characteristics."

He added, "The Ministry of Education's plan to uniformly set the ratio of recruitment without a declared major without considering the characteristics of each university is also very inappropriate educationally," and "the Ministry of Education should immediately halt the ongoing recruitment without a declared major plan and leave the establishment and operation of academic systems, including recruitment units, to university autonomy."

At the event, Dean Kang was joined by Yoo Sung-ho, Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences at Hanyang University, and Mok Jeong-su, Dean of the College of Humanities at the University of Seoul, among others.

According to a recent draft prepared by the Ministry of Education, metropolitan universities and key national universities must expand recruitment without a declared major starting from the 2025 academic year to receive incentive project funds from the government. Major universities in Seoul such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Hanyang University plan to recruit freshmen as 'undeclared majors' or 'liberal majors' starting from the 2025 academic year.