Ewha Woman's University
Ewha Womans University is a private women's university in central Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the city's largest institutions of higher learning and currently the world's largest female educational institute. It is one of the best-known universities in South Korea, also considered to be one of the top universities in Korea. Ewha was founded in 1886 by the American Methodist Episcopal missionary Mary F. Scranton.
"Ewha" is a Sino-Korean term for "pear blossom". While the use of "Womans" is unconventional, it carries special meaning. The early founders of the college thought that every woman in this community is worth being respected; to promote this idea, they chose the word "woman" to avoid lumping students together under the word "women."
History
Ewha Womans University traces its roots back to Mary F. Scranton's Ihwa Hakdang (also Ewha Hakdang; 이화학당 梨花學堂) mission school for girls, which opened with only one student on May 31, 1886 (Lee, 2001). The name, which means “Pear blossom academy”, was bestowed by the Emperor Gojong the following year. The school began to provide college courses in 1910, and professional courses for women in 1925. Immediately following liberation of Korea on August 15, 1945, the college received government permission to become a university. It was the first South Korean university to be officially organized.
Ewha is now responsible for many firsts in Korean history: Korea's first female doctor, Esther Park; its first woman to get a doctoral degree, Helen Kim (who later became the university's first Korean president); the first female Korean lawyer, Lee Tai-young; the first female justice on the Constitutional Court, Jeon Hyo-sook, and the first female prime minister, Han Myeong-sook, were all Ewha graduates. The "firsts" is in part due to the fact that many Korean women in older generations were discouraged from attending co-ed universities in Korea. Ewha's motto is "Frontier Ewha."
Organization
Undergraduate
The undergraduate departments of Ewha are divided among 11 colleges with 65 departments. Likewise, the graduate courses are divided into 13 graduate schools.
College of Liberal Arts
College of Social Sciences
College of Engineering
College of Natural Sciences
College of Arts (Music/Fine Arts/Design)
College of Law
College of Pharmacy
College of Education
College of Business Administration
College of Health Sciences
Scranton College (Honors Program, Division of International Studies)
Scranton College opened its doors on March 1, 2007. The College was named after Mary F. Scranton, the missionary who founded Ewha 120 years ago. As a unique program that stands at the core of ‘Global Ewha 2010 Project,’ Scranton College is designed to educate our students and enable them to become effective leaders in a globalized world. There are two main programs in the College: the Scranton Honors Program which encompasses a multitude of disciplines, and the Division of International Studies which is specifically aimed at equipping students with the capacity to compete in the global arena. Scranton College offers comprehensive interdisciplinary courses which allow more freedom, creativity, and individuality to students. Small-sized classes conducted in English and the study-abroad programs aim to equip students with an open, flexible mindset and broader scholastic view required in the age of globalization.
The Division of International Studies (DIS) was first established in March 2001 as an undergraduate program where English is the language of instruction. It was the first-of-its-kind to be established in Korea. Now, as part of Scranton College, DIS provides individualized curricula for the students in order to help them gain international expertise in their area of choice.
Graduate
The Graduate School
The Graduate School of International Studies
The Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation
The Graduate School of Social Welfare
The Graduate School of Business
The Graduate School of Medicine
The Graduate School of Education
The Graduate School of Design
The Graduate School of Theology
The Graduate School of Policy Sciences
The Graduate School of Music in Modern Media
The Graduate School of Clinical Health Sciences
The Graduate School of Clinical Dentistry