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Transnational Korean Studies TKS
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Transnational Korean Studies Minor 

The Korean Studies minor is an inter-departmental and interdisciplinary program that allows students to explore and deepen their interest in and knowledge of Korea. Korean Studies at UC San Diego places special emphasis on modern Korea as a transnational formation, exploring how Korea has been shaped and constructed itself under changing historical circumstances and in relation to other nation-states, empires and their histories and cultures. Course offerings for the minor include the disciplines of History, Literature and Language, Culture and Popular Culture Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Political Science, International Relations and Globalization Studies.

UC San Diego undergraduate students: Please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for all advising questions. We are listed under "Korean Studies." Use the "Meet with Advisor" page to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor. 

Requirements

The Korean Studies minor requires that students complete a minimum of 28 units of Korea and/or Korea-related courses. Normally 28 units add up to 7 courses, if each course is a 4-unit course. If courses taken offer more than 4 units (i.e., some Korean language courses), then more than 28 units may be needed to fulfill the program’s minimum requirement.

Korean Studies Minor degree check list (Fillable PDF)

  • 7 courses, with a maximum of 3 lower-division courses.
  • All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
  • The minor does not require  language or lower-division courses. Students are not required to take Korean, but we strongly recommend that they take language courses as part of their overall specialization.
  • The approved list of courses is divided into two categories: Korea courses (100% Korea content) and Korea-related courses (at least 1/3 Korea content).  For Korea-related course, students need to petition to have these courses count toward the minor. The courses can be seen at the bottom of the page. 
  • For “topics courses,” make sure the content is on Korea and Korea-related issues as only those courses will count toward the minor.
  • Graduate courses offered by GPS faculty allow enrollment of undergraduate students on a limited basis with the instructor’s permission.
  • Students are encouraged to take advantage of Korean Studies courses when they study in the Education Abroad Program at Yonsei University, a participating institution in the UC EAP program.  The number of Korean Studies classes taken outside of UC San Diego is limited to 2, upper-division non-language courses. The Program Director will review and approve whether these courses taken from the Education Abroad Program can count toward the Minor.

Please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for advising questions.

Approved List of Courses

Check the UC San Diego General Catalog and speak with the Program Director and/or Coordinator for more information regarding the Korean Studies Program