The Korean Flagship Program at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa (UHM) aims to prepare American students to be able to function in Korean as professionals in their chosen academic or occupational fields.
The Korean Flagship MA Program is a two-year program. During the first year, students receive intensive, task-based Korean language instruction at UHM, along with individualized domain-specific tutoring. They also benefit from the substantial Korean heritage population and cultural activities in Honolulu as well as on campus. This is followed by a second year of intensive immersion (Korean Flagship Overseas Program, KFOP) at Korea University in Seoul, Korea, where students take university courses, participate in individualized professional internships, and receive Korean peer tutoring.
The applicants must be U.S. citizens and have a BA or equivalent undergraduate degree. A minimum level of Korean language proficiency equivalent to the ACTFL advanced-low (ILR Level 2) is required. Applicants’ majors bear no relation to acceptance even though the content of the program mainly focuses on US-ROK political and business relations.
Successful completion of the program (i.e., non-thesis, minimum of 34 credit hours) and the demonstration of the ability to use Korean at the professional level (ILR 3, ACTFL “superior”) are awarded with a Master of Arts in Korean for Professions, from the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures.
Many graduates of the program serve in government departments, such as the State Department, Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, NSA, and Open Source Network among many others. Some graduates pursue advanced degrees in the field of international relations or politics. Others work in the private sector where they can fully utilize their abilities as Korean specialists.
Various kinds of financial aids are available in addition to The Language Flagship Fellowships which require an additional application. Once admitted, students are qualified for UHM Korean Flagship Program Stipends - no separate application is needed - and there are further scholarship opportunities to apply for both on and off campus.
For more information, please visit the official website of the Korean Flagship Center at http://www2.hawaii.edu/~flagship/.
(Summer Intensive Program)
The University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) offers two undergraduate Korean Flagship programs dedicated to cultivating Korea specialists with a superior language proficiency in Korean: 1) B.A. in Korean for Professions and 2) Certificate in Korean for Professions. The two Flagship programs are designed for providing intensive professional-level language training in Korean, especially in one’s specific area of specialization. The B.A. program includes three years of undergraduate work (38 credit hours) followed by a one-year abroad at Korea University. The Certificate program (to be launched in the summer of 2010) consists of an intensive eight-week summer program on the UHM campus (fifteen credit hours) followed by a one-year program at Korea University.
These undergraduate Korean Flagship programs admit only students who already have Advanced-level Korean language proficiency in order to train them to attain Superior-level (ILR 3) proficiency through content-based and task-based teaching. The intensive advanced-level language-through-content training is designed to meet student needs in preparing for professional usage of Korean, and is thus meant for “high-advanced” learners whose facility in Korean exceeds the aims of the existing non-Flagship undergraduate Korean program.
The basic admission requirement for both the BA and Certificate programs is that applicants must be U.S. citizens and have an ACTFL Advanced (-Low, -Mid, or –High; or ILR Level 2 or 2+) proficiency level in Korean (as tested by Flagship faculty) for the B.A. program and Advanced-Mid or –High (ILR Level 2+) for the summer Certificate program. Native speakers of Korean are ineligible for either of these programs. Applicants who wish to apply for the undergraduate Flagship Programs should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The B.A. program accepts qualified students of any academic standing below senior (freshman through junior). The Certificate program accepts students who are currently attending or are admitted to any U.S. college or university.
Once admitted to the programs, students are eligible for UHM Korean Flagship Program Scholarships. There are other scholarship opportunities to apply for both on and off campus.
It is not required but highly recommended for students’ practical benefit that they enroll in the Korean B.A. program for a double or concurrent major along with another disciplinary degree either in arts and sciences areas such as political science, economics, sociology, history, and psychology (for a double major) or in professional areas such as business, law, medicine, nursing, social work, and engineering (for a concurrent major). The Certificate in Korean for Professions is an academic credential noted on students’ transcripts and in a separate letter of recognition issued by the Korean Flagship Center.
Graduates of the programs are expected to serve in various government departments or agencies and business or private sectors, where they can fully utilize their abilities as Korea specialists. Some graduates may want to pursue advanced degrees in their chosen fields.
For more information, please visit the official website of the Korean Flagship Center at http://www2.hawaii.edu/~flagship/.
Contact: Dr. Jinhwa Lee at jinhwa@hawaii.edu
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~flagship/