Sookmyung Women's University is promoting the establishment of a variety of student exchanges including short study abroad, dual-degree, and internships with more than 400 overseas sister universities. Among them is the student exchange program that allows students to study at overseas SMWU affiliated universities to earn academic credits during regular and seasonal semesters. There are two types of exchange students: general exchange and self-funded exchange students. In the general exchange program, students from each university swap at a ratio of one-on-one with SMWU students paying only their SMWU tuitions in-house. That is, they are exempt from tuition fees at the overseas schools. On the other hand, for the self-funded exchange program, students must pay the overseas university's tuition fees as well as their SMWU school fees, but they qualify for a scholarship tuition reduction of 60% at SMWU and receive roughly 1000USD for use during their overseas stay. SMWU offers a total of three students each an opportunity to participate in both the general exchange students and self-funded exchange students in February, August, and November of every year. Students selected during the February recruitment go abroad starting the second semester of that year, and students recruited in August go overseas starting the first semester of the following year. Also, any spots not fully occupied during the first recruitment can be filled in second recruitment. Students recruited in November go on their exchange during the second semester of the following year, but unlike the first and second recruitment, recruitments in November are done through special selection, so the number of available sister universities that students may apply are limited. Recruitment criteria include a grade score (30%), a language score (30%), document evaluation (40%), and an interview. Applicants also receive up to three additional 0.5 points per subject if they have documented proof of enrollment in language classes during regular and seasonal semesters. For more details on the student exchange program, go to the SMWU website SNOROSE or read the GLOBAL REPORT in The Sookmyung Times.
