A student who participated in Kookmin University's Global Education Program (SEA:ME) with Volkswagen Group Korea gives a presentation. /Provided by Kookmin University

Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) has introduced a free choice of major system to ensure students' choice of major from the freshman class of 2025. It also established the College of Future Convergence (Free Major - Future Convergence Major). 828 students (30.4%) will be selected as Type I, which allows students to freely choose their majors without distinction. In addition, 312 students (11.5%) from four colleges (75 from the College of Automotive Engineering, 110 from the College of Business Administration, 77 from the College of Law, and 44 from the College of Architecture) will be selected as Type II, which allows students to freely choose their majors within the college's faculties.

President Jeong Seung Ryul

◇ Kookmin University has the largest number of applicants for the self-selection system among major universities in the metropolitan area

Kookmin University selects the largest number of students among major universities in the metropolitan area. It also aims to overcome the boundaries and divides between different areas that have been pointed out as problems in the existing education system. Kookmin University's vision is to build an educational ecosystem without academic and physical boundaries based on a community spirit and pragmatic educational philosophy. At Kookmin University, you can freely choose most majors, including humanities, nature, and arts. This is the biggest difference compared to other universities. Three colleges, including the College of Fine Arts, College of Sports, and College of Arts, specialize in the field of performing arts, giving students more opportunities to choose from. From the first semester of their freshman year, students in the College of Future Convergence follow the same academic schedule as students in traditional majors. They are provided with an environment where they can grow into convergent and creative talents through the process of exploring various majors.

Students from Kookmin University's AI Design Department practice EEG measurement. /Provided by Kookmin University

Both the Liberal Studies major and the Future Convergence major have in common that students enter the program without a declared major. Both majors allow students to explore majors in an “exploratory major” of their choice after admission, and then declare their first major at the end of the second semester of their freshman year. The main difference between the two populations is the flexibility to change majors.

Students can change their majors at any time without any restrictions, and they can change their majors freely without any conditions. On the other hand, the future convergence major can be changed once without any conditions. However, if you want to change your major further, you can change it according to the university's academic regulations.

◇ KMU is building a customized integrated information system to help students choose and change majors efficiently.

Kookmin University is also building a customized integrated information system, 'Smart Mentor' (tentative name), to help students choose and change majors efficiently. Smart Mentor is a service that analyzes individual student data to recommend curriculum in the desired field and provides a roadmap for each major. With Smart Mentor, students can easily check the requirements and status of their majors. They can also use their existing courses to identify advantageous majors before changing majors. In addition to curriculum, the service also provides information on non-curricular programs, career support, and employment and entrepreneurship linkages to help students systematically manage their careers after graduation.

Kookmin University is continuously thinking about new ways of education that go beyond the existing limits. △KMU has solved the problem of lecture space by introducing new teaching methods such as hybrid and blended classes, and △improved the problem of lack of lab space and equipment by introducing equipment and software utilizing advanced technologies such as AR and VR.

The problem of dropouts due to a lack of belonging due to not having a major will be improved by introducing the 'Exploratory Major Selection System'. This system will allow students to select an exploratory major at the time of admission. Students will then take courses in that major from the first semester of their freshman year until they choose their first major. In addition, students will be supported to participate in various activities such as on-campus and off-campus OT with other students in their major. To prevent dropouts, both free majors and future convergence majors must choose a major by the end of the second semester of the first year. From the first semester of the second year, students are required to complete the curriculum of their first major. Inquiries (02)910-4123, admission.kookmin.ac.kr

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