Students Directly 'Design' Their Majors
Including Courses from Other Universities and MOOCs
National Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-su) is expanding the "Student-Designed Major," which allows students to create a double major by designing it themselves.
Since starting the Student-Designed Major program in 2022, Pukyong National University is offering a total of 39 majors in the first semester of this year.
The Student-Designed Major differs from the typical double major, where students select and complete existing majors. Instead, students design a new major by integrating curricula from two or more majors, creating entirely new fields of study that did not previously exist.
For example, a student majoring in New Materials Systems Engineering can design and complete a double major called "Biomedical Engineering Student-Designed Major" by integrating courses from Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, and Microbiology.
Notably, this year, students have gone beyond integrating curricula within the university, incorporating courses from other universities as well as online open courses (MOOCs) to design and establish new majors.
A student majoring in Japanese Language and Literature designed a "Global Animation Convergence Student-Designed Major" by including courses from the university’s Japanese Studies and English Language and Literature majors, as well as animation courses from Dongseo University. A student from the Glocal Autonomous Major Division (Business Administration) designed a "Foreign Affairs Administration Student-Designed Major" by integrating courses from the university’s Law, International Studies, International Development Cooperation, and Political Science and Diplomacy departments, along with German Language and Literature courses from Pusan National University.
While it is not uncommon to take courses at other universities during seasonal semesters, organizing and completing them as part of a major is unusual. Pukyong National University expects this case of creating majors by combining the specialized strengths of various universities to have a synergistic effect on projects such as the Glocal University 30 initiative.
Additionally, a Korean Language and Literature student designed a "Realistic Content Planning Student-Designed Major" by integrating courses from the university’s Human ICT Convergence Major, Media and Communication Major, and courses from Coursera, one of the online open course platforms. This is an example where online open courses are recognized as major credits.
Following last year’s Student-Designed Major contest, Pukyong National University plans to further expand the program by considering allowing students to complete their Student-Designed Major as their primary major. This expansion aims to enhance students’ self-directed learning abilities, guarantee their right to choose majors, and increase their participation in curriculum management.
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