Masters degree in Linguistics at Seoul National University

[PNWtoSK]

I'm an English teacher at an academy in Korea, and I recently had the idea of getting a linguistics degree to both further my resume in my ability to see the world while teaching English, and to have something more substantial than just a few years at a hagwon to settle down with when I decide to settle down.

 

I did a little research on linguistics masters programs, and was surprised to find that Seoul National University is ranked around the 37th best in the world (and for a very cheap cost even before scholarships to international students), but I haven't been able to find anything on its reputation or any specializations. Does anyone know what the university is known for?

 

I'm especially interested as there seems to be a scholarship available here in Korea where they pay for you to study Korean for a year and then pay for 2 years of your degree. Although that would make any Korean content manageable, I hear the classes are in English anyway. The idea of getting more out of my time here (or in any other country I live in) than just a few years teaching experience--say, a fluency or near-fluency in the native language, and/or a reputable graduate degree--is one that is very attractive to me.

 

I have a BA in Political Science from a tier 1 University, will have at least 2 years of EFL experience by the time I apply anywhere, and a CELTA. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

You might want to look into true linguistics degrees versus other degrees such as foreign languages and TESOL. Many people think linguistics is nothing but studying and teaching languages but that's not really the case at all. You should really know exactly what linguistics is before jumping into a career in it.

[fuzzylogician]

I did a little research on linguistics masters programs, and was surprised to find that Seoul National University is ranked around the 37th best in the world (and for a very cheap cost even before scholarships to international students), but I haven't been able to find anything on its reputation or any specializations. Does anyone know what the university is known for?

 

I can think of good scholars who've graduated from Seoul National University in pretty much all the major sub-fields of linguistics. That's good news, because you should really choose your area of specialization (and more generally, your field: whether (theoretical) linguistics, as opposed to applied degrees such as TESOL or translation, are more suited for your needs) based on your interests and your future goals - that is, what kind of career you'd like to have one you've obtained the PhD. Even if the goal is just to take advantage of an opportunity and not to become a career linguist (a fine choice, either way), you want to choose a subfield that you're interested in and not just one that's considered strong at your university, because you'll be spending a good 4-5 years working in this subfield. A PhD is hard enough even when you're very excited about your research, and even more so if you're not terribly excited to begin with. 

[PNWtoSK]

Thanks for the advice! I don't think I'll be going down the route of getting a PhD, although at this point, before getting into graduate linguistics, I guess anything's possible. I definitely will go for a sub-field that interests me. On that note, is there any literature or any websites that you recommend where I can familiarize myself with the different areas of linguistics to figure out what they entail and which one would be right for me? From what it seems like, Second-Language Acquisition or Natural Language Processing are areas I might be interested in. I'm definitely interested in learning languages myself, so studying how that process happens sounds intriguing. Also, it seems like the job prospects for NLP should only get better and better in the future. Am I right in hearing that NLP is where the most demand is right now for linguistics jobs? 

 

On another note, I posted this on reddit in the r/korea and r/linguistics subreddits, and most of the response that I got was that as soon as I try to find work outside of Korea, the value of that SNU master's in linguistics would plummet. Does this sound true to you?

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

If you want to just learn the basics of the "core" branches of linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) I would recommend getting an introductory linguistics textbook. My intro to linguistics book was called Language Files and was published by Ohio State University. Those six branches, however, are very theoretical and academic in nature. I mean it's hard to read/study those and immediately realize how to apply them to the real world.

 

Branches like Second Language Acquisition aren't actually linguistics. They're somewhat related because they both deal with human language, and SLA programs are usually located within linguistics departments at universities because SLA is too small a field to have its own department, but SLA and linguistics are two different fields. SLA itself is split in two parts: the pedagogy and research. Some people think the purpose of SLA should be to learn about language learning in order to adopt these practices into TESOL, and some people think SLA should be its own independent field of research and should not be obligated to assist pedagogy. Then, of course, you have practical education fields like TESOL that may find research in SLA helpful, but most TESOL students I know of have very little knowledge of SLA. 

 

Also, you mentioned Natural Language Processing. That's actually what I'm going for. You're right that it's probably the most sought after subfield of linguistics and that there are many non-academic opportunities for NLP people. However, the majority of people working in NLP, at least up until recently, are computer scientists. To even begin a NLP (the term computational linguistics is often used interchangably with NLP) you need a strong background in math and computer science. You need multiple calculus classes and upper division probability and statistics classes. You also need discrete math and many programs recommend taking some mathematical/symbolic/Boolean logic. As far as computer science goes, you need to have expertise in a major langauge (C, C++, Java, Perl, Pyhton), be comfortable with unix/linux systems and know their commands, and have taken classes in data structures and algorithms, formal languages, automata theory, and more. NLP is not something someone with casual interest can partake in. It takes a lot of work just to be able to start learning about it. 

 

Anyway, there is a lot more to linguistics than most people realize. I've been studying it for years and there's still a lot of stuff I have no idea about. 

[PNWtoSK]

Thanks for all the help! I think Applied Linguistics might be fore me, but I guess I have a lot more to read about.

 

One of the factors I have been considering when looking at masters programs is the location. I am absolutely in love with the idea of living abroad right now, so schools outside of North America are especially appealing especially for the fact that for a lot of them the program is only a year long. The University of Edinburgh, along with Oxford and Cambridge seem to be right up that alley. How do all of them stack up against American schools? Is there a resource I can use to find out more about a school's reputation?

[PNWtoSK]

Or the University of Amsterdam's General Linguistics program for that matter...

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Another comment is there are a lot of terminal MA degrees for applied linguistics. Theoretical linguistics, on the other hand, is pretty much an academic degree. You'd almost have to get the PhD. Unless you do computational linguistics and Natural Language Processing. You can get jobs starting at $50-100k a year with a master's. But, like I said, there are a lot of math and computer science requirements so you have to be dedicated.

[sarakeet]

Hey, I can't speak as to the reputation of SNU's degrees or anything, but I'm probably about to start a linguistics-related master's degree at Korea University (on a "foreigner" scholarship) in the fall, so if you have any questions about that, maybe I could answer them... I've also studied Korean at SNU in the past, so if you have any questions about that program, I could probably answer them. Just as anecdotal evidence about language of instruction, there was a Turkish girl in my (Level 2, i.e., still beginner level) Korean class who was getting her master's in economics at SNU... She said all her lectures were in Korean but apparently she was still able to take the class and do the reading and stuff in English, she was just really bored in the lectures. I know at KU they say about 30 percent or so of graduate-level classes are in English, but I don't really know how this is divided over the different degree programs. 

 

Also, if you're interested in TESOL-type programs, I have a friend who did the part-time program at Sookmyeong Women's University (all in English) and seemed to enjoy it.

 

Anyway I found out a lot of information about the program by e-mailing the professor who is in charge of it, since detailed information about programs is not always as forthcoming on the websites of Korean universities (in my experience) as I'm used to it being at American ones.

 

I have to admit that I was kind of worried about the reputation thing too... This is a second master's for me, so I don't really mind that much, but it's good to hear that SNU has a good reputation, I hope KU does as well!

[sulphur]

I didn't graduate from SNU or KU but I have friends who did their Masters in linguistics there. The universities' websites are not helpful so forget about getting any useful info or trying to sort out useful info out of them anyway. I agree with Sarakeet, you should just email the professors of the subfield you're interested in. Or if you specify a list of professors you'd like to take classes from or to work with, google their names in English and take a look at their publications. That will give you more idea which school or program you'd like to study in. 

 

I know the linguistics courses at SNU are all in English, but I heard many students (including foreigners) are able to understand Korean. SNU has great reputation in linguistics and has great professors and research environment although it's a bit relative depending on the subfields. Many grad students at these universities are pursuing PhD in linguistics not only at SNU but other universities in NA, Europe, or other places. I feel there is not much for me to say unless you decide which part of linguistics you're most interested and plan to study. Like what JoeyBoy said, there's a lot to linguistics and you'd have to specify/elaborate to get a more concrete answer. Seoul is my hometown and I did my undergrad and Masters in the city, so if any of you has a question about the city in general or about studying in a Korean grad school, feel free to send me a message. 

[Teajessie]

I didn't graduate from SNU or KU but I have friends who did their Masters in linguistics there. The universities' websites are not helpful so forget about getting any useful info or trying to sort out useful info out of them anyway. I agree with Sarakeet, you should just email the professors of the subfield you're interested in. Or if you specify a list of professors you'd like to take classes from or to work with, google their names in English and take a look at their publications. That will give you more idea which school or program you'd like to study in. 

 

I know the linguistics courses at SNU are all in English, but I heard many students (including foreigners) are able to understand Korean. SNU has great reputation in linguistics and has great professors and research environment although it's a bit relative depending on the subfields. Many grad students at these universities are pursuing PhD in linguistics not only at SNU but other universities in NA, Europe, or other places. I feel there is not much for me to say unless you decide which part of linguistics you're most interested and plan to study. Like what JoeyBoy said, there's a lot to linguistics and you'd have to specify/elaborate to get a more concrete answer. Seoul is my hometown and I did my undergrad and Masters in the city, so if any of you has a question about the city in general or about studying in a Korean grad school, feel free to send me a message. 

 

Hello,

 

I realise that you posted this quite a while ago but I figured I might still try.

I just graduated in English(Literature and Civilisation, but in France) and I'm interested in Theoretical Linguistics, in Multi-Lingual First Language Acquisition to be more precise, being French/English myself and as I have been studying Korean for about 6 years now, I'd like to study Tri-Lingual French-English-Korean Acquisition(or at least that's my idea for the moment)

In my case, would you recommend doing an MA at SNU or at KU? Or should I just forget the idea of studying in South Korea and look up universities in the UK or in the US? Until now I've been mostly considering the SOAS in London.

 

Of course anybody who might be able to answer is very welcome to do so =D

Edited May 23, 2015 by JessicaAB

[quirkycase]

I don't know enough about KU or SNU to comment about how good of a fit they are for your experience and goals, JessicaAB, but I will be attending SOAS' MA Linguistics and Language (Korean) program this fall.  Although I'm not attending yet, so my information is still limited, I'd be happy to try to answer any questions you might have 

 

Is there a particular reason you are interested in applying to Korean universities for an MA? What are your goals? I think determining where you should get your degree depends a good deal on what your long-term goals are in terms of career and academics.

[Teajessie]

I don't know enough about KU or SNU to comment about how good of a fit they are for your experience and goals, JessicaAB, but I will be attending SOAS' MA Linguistics and Language (Korean) program this fall.  Although I'm not attending yet, so my information is still limited, I'd be happy to try to answer any questions you might have 

 

Is there a particular reason you are interested in applying to Korean universities for an MA? What are your goals? I think determining where you should get your degree depends a good deal on what your long-term goals are in terms of career and academics.

 

Thank you ashso! I'd definitely ask you about it once you're in if you don't mind!

 

Actually, it's still fairly blurry from where I stand at the moment. I'd like to keep working on Child Language Acquisition thanks to this brilliant teacher I had here in Montpellier, but since until know I had thought of going into teaching for a while(I am taking a break for a year -working holidays- to improve my Korean, I considered staying as a regular English teacher afterwards), I'm not really sure of what I should do to get where.

 

I do know that I am planning on moving to South Korea eventually though, so studying there sounded like a nice idea. Maybe eventually teach in university there?

 

What about you, what are you planning on doing after your MA, why SOAS?

[quirkycase]

 

Thank you ashso! I'd definitely ask you about it once you're in if you don't mind!

 

Actually, it's still fairly blurry from where I stand at the moment. I'd like to keep working on Child Language Acquisition thanks to this brilliant teacher I had here in Montpellier, but since until know I had thought of going into teaching for a while(I am taking a break for a year -working holidays- to improve my Korean, I considered staying as a regular English teacher afterwards), I'm not really sure of what I should do to get where.

 

I do know that I am planning on moving to South Korea eventually though, so studying there sounded like a nice idea. Maybe eventually teach in university there?

 

What about you, what are you planning on doing after your MA, why SOAS?

 

Sure! Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

It's good that you've taken some time off to figure out your plans.  I understand your dilemma; I originally planned to go into psychology (my undergrad degree), but I changed my mind after graduating.  I decided to pursue linguistics, as I feel it is a better fit for me overall.  But because I am switching fields, I do not have clear research interests yet.  I would eventually like to get a PhD, but I need to develop and focus my research interests first.  Additionally, I have been self-studying Korean, and I wanted to continue pursuing that as well.  I visited Korea recently and loved it, so I intend to live there for a little while after getting my MA.  SOAS seems like the best place to prepare for all of this.

 

Are you interested in teaching a language, theoretical linguistics, or something else?  If your interest is in teaching languages, an applied linguistics MA program would probably serve you better. But if you want to teach linguistics and conduct research, you'd likely need a PhD.   Are you planning to get a PhD at some point, or do you only want to go for an MA? 

 

If you plan on living in Korea long-term, then getting a degree from a Korean university might be a good idea. Otherwise, I'd just consider how it relates to your goals.  How will it affect getting a job or furthering your education?

[Teajessie]

Sure! Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

It's good that you've taken some time off to figure out your plans.  I understand your dilemma; I originally planned to go into psychology (my undergrad degree), but I changed my mind after graduating.  I decided to pursue linguistics, as I feel it is a better fit for me overall.  But because I am switching fields, I do not have clear research interests yet.  I would eventually like to get a PhD, but I need to develop and focus my research interests first.  Additionally, I have been self-studying Korean, and I wanted to continue pursuing that as well.  I visited Korea recently and loved it, so I intend to live there for a little while after getting my MA.  SOAS seems like the best place to prepare for all of this.

 

Are you interested in teaching a language, theoretical linguistics, or something else?  If your interest is in teaching languages, an applied linguistics MA program would probably serve you better. But if you want to teach linguistics and conduct research, you'd likely need a PhD.   Are you planning to get a PhD at some point, or do you only want to go for an MA? 

 

If you plan on living in Korea long-term, then getting a degree from a Korean university might be a good idea. Otherwise, I'd just consider how it relates to your goals.  How will it affect getting a job or furthering your education?

I hope you find a specific subject you'd like to work on, though I don't doubt you will ^^

Have you? I visited S. Korea myself last summer and have been self-studying it too for a couple of years now, so I can completely understand your wish to deepen that, see for yourself what you've covered and what you've missed etc., I'm thinking of taking an advanced TOPIK test to see how I fare, maybe while in Korea. Do you know what level in Korean the MA is supposed to take you to?

I'm not sure to be honest, I like it all so it will be hard to decide.. Maybe applied linguistics first then move on to a PhD later on.. I just don't think I'm ready yet. I'm really interested in Child Language Acquisition so first hand observation through experience teaching multilingual children could also be an asset on the long run, maybe? So long as I actually record and study the children's linguistic behaviour the way I have seen my undergrad teacher do? Then again I might just be fooling myself, but I do think I need some 'field experience'.

 

So you'd be teaching English on an E2 for a while in Korea then you'd go back to study in the UK?

[quirkycase]

 You mentioned before that your interest is in first language acquisition in multi-lingual children, right? If you aren't interested in second language acquisition but first language acquisition, I'm not sure I see how teaching a second language will help you gain that sort of experience. Unless I'm misunderstanding you.

 

Do you know what level in Korean the MA is supposed to take you to?

 

It varies, I believe. The course was predominately designed for beginners, in which case it takes you to a mid/high intermediate level, but they can accommodate students who have some prior knowledge as well. Although they cannot accommodate students who are high level, I've been told.

 

 

So you'd be teaching English on an E2 for a while in Korea then you'd go back to study in the UK?

 

Most likely. I would prefer to teach English at university level, if I teach again. But I actually plan to go back to the US for my PhD.