Ko Seo Hyun, a graduate of Kookmin University's Master of Public Administration program (Advisor; Professor Park Hyun Hee, Department of Public Administration), has been selected as a full scholar in the Fulbright Scholarship Program and will be attending the PhD program in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Chicago, ranked 6th in the nation in the field of urban policy (2024 U.S. News & World Report), starting this August. 

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Scholarship Program has produced more than 400,000 Fulbrighters from 160 countries and awards approximately 8,000 fellowships annually. Fulbright alumni include 40 heads of state and government, 62 Nobel Prize winners, and 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, and the program is globally recognized as a merit-based scholarship that is highly competitive and highly selective. 

The Graduate Scholarship Program, of which Seohyun Koh is an alumnus, provides up to $45,000 per year in tuition, living expenses, round-trip airfare, insurance, and an accompanying family allowance for two years for master's and doctoral programs in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts. The selection process for the Graduate Scholarship Program is similar to that of U.S. graduate programs, and includes language scores (TOEFL, GRE), a resume in English, an academic plan in English, a personal statement in English, and three letters of recommendation in English. Those who pass the screening process will be invited for an interview, and the final selection will be made through English interviews with experts in their respective fields.

Q. Alumni, please briefly introduce what you are doing now.

Hello, my name is KO Seo Hyun, a 17th year student majoring in Public Administration and Policy and a recent graduate of the Master of General Studies program under the supervision of Prof. Park Hyun Hee, Department of Public Administration. I am currently preparing to enter the PhD program at UIC's Department of Public Administration by conducting textual analysis of the 2018 Jeju Yemeni refugee case with Prof. Park.

Q. What field will you be receiving the Fulbright Scholarship in and what are your plans for future activities?

As of this year, the Fulbright Scholarship is divided into the Graduate Scholarship Program, which supports graduate study in the humanities/social sciences/arts, the Advanced Graduate Scholarship Program, which supports graduate study in all fields of the sciences, and the CJ-Fulbright Graduate Scholarship Program in Music, which supports graduate study in the field of popular music. In the case of last year's program,

I was selected as a PhD scholar in the social sciences under the humanities/social sciences/arts/sciences graduate scholarship program. In order to receive the Fulbright Scholarship, the recipient must apply and be accepted to a doctoral program in the U.S. after being selected, and I chose the PhD program in public administration at the University of Illinois Chicago, which was the best fit for my research. UIC's Department of Public Administration is ranked 6th in the nation for Urban Policy and is one of the leading schools in network analysis, which is what I want to study. Through my PhD program, I plan to study public administration and policy theory and methodology in depth and conduct research on 1) the policy process and 2) policy specific areas such as crime, immigration, youth, and health, with the goal of becoming a social healing doctor and policy scholar who can correctly diagnose various policy problems in our society and provide appropriate treatments. 

Q. How did you decide to apply for the Fulbright Scholarship and how did you get selected?

I have had the goal of pursuing a PhD in the U.S. since I started my master's program. As an undergraduate student, I chose to major in policy studies due to my interest in crime victim support policies, and fell in love with the subject as an exchange student at Temple University in the U.S., where I took two semesters of criminal policy courses. 

I wanted to pursue further studies but was hesitant about choosing graduate school instead of working, but in my final semester, I took a qualitative research methodology course taught by Professor Hyunhee Park and fell in love with research and decided to pursue a career as an academic. Many of my professors were pursuing doctoral programs in public administration in the U.S., and I was interested in pursuing further studies in the U.S. through my exchange experience, so I continued to have a goal of pursuing a doctoral program in the U.S. when I entered the master's program at my university. 

I discovered the Fulbright Scholarship while searching for doctoral-related scholarships early in my master's program and decided to apply for it because of its reputation and abundant support, as well as the fact that it would allow me to experience and prepare for the U.S. doctoral application process in advance. 

I think I was selected because I was able to convey my reasons and intentions to become a contributing scholar in my SOP and PS. I did not have high GRE and TOEFL scores at the time of submitting my Fulbright application, but I think I was selected because I had a strong academic commitment and goal, clearly stated what I wanted to contribute as a Fulbright scholar, and conveyed it well in my application. 

For the Fulbright, you apply in April or May, and you are required to submit a Statement of Purpose (SOP) and a Personal Statement (PS), which are usually required for PhD programs, so I researched and outlined how to write the SOP and PS during my master's program, and I finished preparing the documents in April while studying for the GRE. Therefore, I think it would be helpful to take some time to reflect on your activities, why you chose to become a scholar, the path you have taken to get there, and your resolutions for the future, and put them in writing. 

Q. I heard that there is an English interview during the selection process. Do you have any tips for the interview?

If you are selected for the Fulbright, you will have an English interview. 

In my case, I think I had four interviewers, and three of them asked me questions: one about my application, one about my ability to learn under Fulbright, and one about my major and the research I've done. 

In order to prepare myself, I first organized my answers so that I could convincingly tell them “why I deserve a Fulbright”: 1) why I chose to become a scholar, 2) why they should award me a Fulbright and not another applicant, and 3) how I would contribute as a Fulbright. Once I had organized why they should select me, I prepared to explain what I had done to become a scholar. 

Among my various experiences, I organized them around my research experience and prepared to explain the key points of my research in a condensed but natural way. Since I had little experience living abroad during my school years and I grew up in Korea and am much more comfortable thinking in Korean, I prepared for the English interview by thinking and organizing everything in Korean first, then translating it into English, or reading the Korean text and speaking in English immediately. 

Although an English interview can be intimidating, I think the most important thing is to be clear about what you want to say and convey it to the interviewer. Don't be intimidated by grammatical errors or word mistakes, and be confident in your thoughts and what you have prepared. 

Additionally, it's a good idea to read some Fulbright interview reviews early in the interview preparation process and familiarize yourself with English interview etiquette if you're not used to interviewing in English.

Q. What are your thoughts on pursuing a PhD program in the future and what advice would you give to your peers?

A professor once told me in class, “The best school is the one that nurtures you.” I didn't immediately understand what he meant, but after attending Kookmin University for about six years, from undergraduate to graduate school, I came to understand his words very well. 

Professor Park Hyun Hee, one of Korea's most accomplished scholars and a mother figure to me, taught me and raised me with the love of a child. I was also able to grow academically by receiving high-quality lectures and guidance from outstanding professors in KU's nationally renowned Department of Public Administration, and I was able to grow in many other ways outside of academics thanks to the many student support activities and overseas experience opportunities offered by KU. 

I am so grateful that I was able to spend my 20s with KU, and I know that no matter what field you end up working in, your learning and experience at KU will be a great asset. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and growth at Kookmin University.

About the Fulbright Scholarship

In September 1945, Mr. J. William Fulbright, a freshman senator from Arkansas, proposed a bill to financially support educational exchanges between the United States and other countries around the world. 

The bill was passed by the 79th Congress of the United States and signed into law by President Harry Truman on August 1, 1946, shortly thereafter. 

All countries that operate the Fulbright Program receive financial and administrative support from the U.S. government. 

The Republic of Korea is one of the countries that administers the Fulbright Program with financial support from both governments. 

The U.S.-Korea Educational Commission, informally known as the “Fulbright Commission,” is an independent educational promotion agency jointly sponsored and funded by the governments of the two countries.