- 건국대학교

	The Introduction of 'Self-Designed Major System' for Individualized Major and Dual Degree
	관리자		1005		2020.07.20

The Introduction of 'Self-Designed Major System' for Individualized Major and Dual Degree  In order to foster convergent talents in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Konkuk University implements ‘Self-Designed Major System’. Under this system, students are allowed to design their own convergence-type major in addition to their primary major following the expected career paths, and set it as a formal curriculum to acquire both credits and dual degree.<br style="text-align: left; color: #505050; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: 굴림, Gulim, 돋음, Dotum, AppleGothic, sans-serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: #ffffff; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><br style="text-align: left; color: #505050; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: 굴림, Gulim, 돋음, Dotum, AppleGothic, sans-serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: #ffffff; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" /><img width="519" height="512" style="border: 0px currentColor; text-align: left; color: #505050; text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: 굴림, Gulim, 돋음, Dotum, AppleGothic, sans-serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; word-spacing: 0px; display: block; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background-color: #ffffff; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" alt="" src="ArticleFile.do?id=11793078" />
 
The Self-Designed Major System, which Konkuk University is driving as one of the projects to promote university innovation, is receiving applicants for the contest from an individual or a team (up to three students with a same major) among currently enrolled in the second to eighth semester as of Fall 2020. Once the evaluation is processed by professors and professionals, the major will be opened up as an official curriculum from Spring 2021 and students will earn the degree after taking the relevant courses.
As an example of a student who wants to take a self-designed major in the field of cognitive science, the student can simply decide the name of a major as ‘Cognitive Science’ and compose relevant courses such as Psychology, Philosophy, and Life Science in its curriculum. Likewise, a student may get a degree of ‘Data Science’ if he or she takes a self-designed curriculum with Business Management, Applied Statistics, Computer Engineering, and Mathematics. The curriculum should be designed to take at least 60 credits (up to 72 credits). If a student is elected through a contest and progresses the actual curriculum, the student will be awarded a degree by taking at least 40 credits. The Self-Designed Major System is held in the form of a contest to attract students to actively participate like in the previous semester. A highest ranking team and two following teams are given the qualification to complete the self-designed major from the upcoming semester with a small amount of prize money. Students who want to participate can freely name the major on their own and submit applications as well as plans by organizing at least three major courses including one’s own major. In the previous contest, Dasom Ahn, Hyowon Kwon, and Seoyoung Kim from the Departement of Systems Biotechnology of Konkuk Institute of Science and Technology(KIT) and Minseok Kim from the Department of Geography have received scholarships for designing the major of ‘Bioinformatics’ and ‘Future Convergence Law’, respectively. The Department of Future Convergence Law designed by Minseok Kim is a major consists of Geography (9 credits), Interdisciplinary Studies (19 credits), Philosophy (23 credits), Human ICT Convergence (10 credits), and Political Science (9 credits), learning law on the basis of philosophical knowledge. This major also analyzes and evaluates critical social issues (virtual and augmented reality, computer, artificial intelligence, big data, urban problems) in the future era from a legal perspective. Kim said “It is important to understand the system of law based on philosophical awareness and consideration in order to solve issues that may occur in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution.” He also stated that “Unlike Interdisciplinary Studies, this department focuses on combining philosophical knowledge and major issues in the future era.” The Department of Bioinformatics, designed by the team of Dasom Ahn, consists of the following departments; Systems Biotechnology, Biomedical Science and Engineering, and Smart ICT Convergence. With the support of computer technology including mathematical analysis, computational algorithms, and statistics, this study accurately interprets and applies biological information. Ahn said “As bioinformatics is becoming important more than ever, we wanted to design the one and only major combining biotechnology and computer engineering that has never existed before.” Then, she added that “We are expecting to provide more opportunities for students to focus on and explore bioinformatics in depth while learning courses required for each field.” Jongpil Won, the head of University Education Innovation Center, stated that “Konkuk University is preparing for a cornerstone for students to grow as convergent talents by introducing the Self-Designed Major System and destructing the system for existing majors, curriculums, and semesters.” Then, he said that “We will expand the Self-Designed Major System to blur the lines among different departments and make an effort to cultivate active and creative talents who will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Inquiry: Office of Academic Affairs 02-450-3692 / hhb000@konkuk.ac.kr


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