A Record-breaking 193 New Students Enrolled
George Mason University Korea (Mason Korea) announced on Feb. 22 that it held a New Student Convocation ceremony for Spring 2023 freshmen and new students at the Incheon Global Campus Auditorium.
The convocation ceremony was held without masks for the first time in three years with the easing of Korea’s mask mandate. In addition to the new students, about 200 people, including Mason Korea Campus Dean Robert Matz, faculty, enrolled students, and parents attended the celebration.
"I am very pleased to welcome nearly 200 new students,” said Robert Matz, Campus Dean of Mason Korea, in a welcoming speech. “To accommodate our record-breaking number of new students, we have also invited the highest number of new faculty yet. This semester, I too am returning to the classroom and taking a Korean class at Mason Korea. I want to encourage our new students to challenge themselves to gain new experiences. Mason Korea will support you every step of the way.”
This spring, Mason Korea introduced Uway Apply, an online university application system, and began accepting English scores on the College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT (also known as Suneung) as official language scores to increase accessibility for prospective domestic students.
The university’s enrollment has continuously increased since its opening in 2014, with a record-breaking 193 new students this spring, up 45% from last year.
"Mason’s Korea and US admissions offices have been working closely together to find some of the best students in Korea and we’ve seen great outcomes as a result of that," said Kelley E. Chung, Associate Dean for Admissions and Government Affairs at Mason Korea. "We’re committed to providing more opportunities for Korean students to become well-rounded global leaders," she added.
George Mason University Korea is an extended campus of George Mason University, the largest public research university in the state of Virginia. Amidst rising prices in the U.S., Mason Korea offers the same curriculum and degrees as Mason’s U.S. campus at a more affordable cost than regular tuition fees at U.S. universities. Additionally, students gain access to a wide range of experiences through three years of study at the Korea campus and one year at the U.S. campus.
Courses are taught in 100% English and students enjoy close attention from world-class faculty in classrooms averaging an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Mason Korea offers degrees designed to cultivate the next generation of world leaders, including Business, Computer Game Design, Computational and Data Sciences, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Economics, and Global Affairs.
Over 80% of Mason Korea graduates (within one year of graduation) have advanced to international organizations and multinational companies such as KPMG U.S. headquarters, EY Hanyoung, Woori Bank, Coupang, Samsung Biologics, and the United Nations Center for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), and top graduate schools such as Seoul National University, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, and The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
The accounting program in particular fully supported student growth based on the "Mason Education Philosophy" last year in partnership with the Career Development Center, leading graduates to successful employment at top firms such as the Big Four accounting firms (Deloitte, EY Hanyoung, KPMG, PwC) in the US and South Korea, and Deutsche Bank Korea.