Pukyong National University

PKNU newly opens major when students design own major

- opening 'student-designed curriculum idea contest'

Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-Soo) announced that it is expanding the operation of a 'self-designed major program', which the university opens if a student designs a major that did not exist.

Pukyong National University opened 1 student-designed major last year, 12 in the first semester of this year and 15 in the second semester and decided to expand the operation of the program by holding an 'idea contest for student-designed curriculum' starting this month.

A self-designed major is one of the double major plans that allows students to pursue multiple areas of interest aside from their main major. In general, double majors take additional majors from other departments that have already been provided, but student-designed majors allow students to create majors by designing an interdisciplinary major plan with double or triple curriculum studies in their interest area, creating a new and diverse major that did not exist before.

The university newly provides student-initiated majors such as 'interdisciplinary self-designed major in global animation' that combines the curriculum of the department of Japanese language and literature, the department of English language and literature, and the department of visual animation at another university, as well as an 'interdisciplinary self-designed major in environmental and media', a convergence of mass communication studies, transdisciplinary studies on human ICT, business administration, and environmental engineering, and the 'quantum computational science self-designed major', a major convergence of the computer engineering, the department of physics and the department of science computing for this second semester.

It is also unique in that it allows all students who have designed the major to apply for and complete the newly established major. In fact, among the newly established student-designed majors the last semester, 'industrial AI convergence student-designed major' and 'sports & industrial administration management student-designed major', which received a lot of attention, were completed by students other than the ones who designed them.

Along with this, Pukyong National University plans to select and award the top 10 teams in the 'self-designed major curriculum contest', which will run until October, and open the winning plans as actual courses next year after review.

Pukyong National University anticipates that this will be an opportunity to expand students' direct participation in the operation of the curriculum, such as holding a contest in addition to students' applications for opening self-designed majors, developing students' self-directed learning capability, and guaranteeing the right to choose a major. <Pukyong Today>