Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2014) |
울산과학기술원 | |
 | |
| Motto | First in Change |
|---|---|
| Type | National |
| Established | 2007 |
| Budget | 152 million USD (2015) |
| President | Yong Hoon Lee |
Academic staff | 391[1] (2016) |
Administrative staff | 288[1] (2016) |
| Undergraduates | 4052[1] (2016) |
| Postgraduates | 1332[1] (2016) |
| Location | , |
| Colors | UNIST Navy, UNIST Emerald |
| Mascot | Uni(윤이) the unicorn |
| Website | www |
| Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Ulsan Gwahak Gisurwon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ulsan Kwahak Kisurwŏn |
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, simply referred to as UNIST (Korean: 울산과학기술원; Hanja: 蔚山科學技術院; RR: Ulsan Gwahak Gisurwon), is one of the four public universities in South Korea which are dedicated to research in science and technology, along with KAIST, GIST, and DGIST. UNIST was founded in 2007 in response to growing demand for higher education in the Korean industrial capital of Ulsan,[2] where world-renowned automotive (Hyundai Motor), shipbuilding (Hyundai Heavy Industries), petrochemical (SK Energy), and secondary cells industries are clustered. At the time of its foundation, UNIST was known for being the first national university in South Korea to be incorporated and thus administered by an independent board of trustees despite being funded by the central government.
History
Despite the fact that Ulsan, with over 1.1 million residents, is an industrial powerhouse of South Korea with the highest GDP per capita among any region in the country, there only existed one university within the city limits, the University of Ulsan. The former president Roh Mu-hyun included the establishment of a national university in Ulsan as part of his campaigning platform and a discussion regarding the university began three years into his presidency along with the construction of a new high speed rail station, Ulsan Station, for the city.[3]
The location of the campus was finalized in 2006[4] and in 2007, Moo Je Cho was selected as the first president of the new university. Cho appealed to the public that the school should be a science and technology oriented institute in order for the new school to find its niche and to take advantage of a possible synergetic effect resulting from a collaboration between the researchers and the local industry as seen in the case of Stanford University and Silicon Valley or KAIST and Daedeock Innopolis.
UNIST was established by the UNIST bill that was passed in 2007 by the request of the people and city of Ulsan. In 2009, UNIST opened its doors to welcome its first class of undergraduate students.
In March 2015, a new bill was passed in the national assembly recognizing UNIST as one of the four nationally funded research institutes in Korea. Besides changing the Korean name of the school from Ulsan Gwahak Gisurdae (울산과학기술대) to Ulsan Gwahak Gisurwon (울산과학기술원), the passage of this bill implied a new set of additional changes and benefits from the national government including but not limited to a greater emphasis on graduate education and the waiver of the alternative military service examination for its PhD students.
On 12 May 2019, the university has celebrated its 10th anniversary from the day of its opening. The ceremony lasted the entire day, and several UNIST members and distinguished guests, such as National Assembly members Lee Chae-ik, Jeong Kab-yoon, and Kang Ghil-boo, Ulju County mayor Lee Seon-ho, among others. The ceremony was sponsored by KBS and BNK Kyongnam Bank. A commemorative open concert was held in the evening of the same day and was broadcast via Korean Broadcasting Service. The concert was attended by some 7000 people.[5]
Timeline
| April 6, 2007 | The Act on Establishment and Operation of the National University Corporation, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology was enacted. |
| September 1, 2007 | The first president, Dr. Moo Je Cho, was appointed |
| October 10, 2007 | The first board of directors meeting was held |
| March 2, 2009 | The first undergraduate students were accepted |
| June, 2010 | UNIST Supercomputing center opened |
| September 1, 2011 | President Cho started a second term |
| October 7, 2012 | The first Institute for Basic Science (IBS) lab opened. |
| October 18, 2012 | The stem cell research building opened |
| February 26, 2013 | The first graduation ceremony took place |
| February 27, 2013 | The 5th class entrance ceremony was held |
| July 1, 2014 | The Genomics Institute opened |
| September, 2015 | UNIST becomes one of the fourth nationally funded research institutes in Korea |
| October, 2015 | Inauguration of Dr. Mooyoung Jung as the 3rd president of the school took place.[6] |
| December 7, 2015 | Inauguration of the institute of disaster management took place.[7] |
| March 7, 2017 | UNIST opens Industry-Academia Battery R&D Center, said to be the world's largest R&D center for batteries operated by a university.[8] |
| March 23, 2018 | Completion of the Ulsan Industry-University Convergence Center, UNIST's second campus.[9] |
| November 26, 2018 | UNIST receives the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) International Accreditation.[10] |
| November 25, 2019 | Dr. Yong Hoon Lee begins his term as UNIST's 4th president.[11] |
University rankings
| USNWR National[12] | General | 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARWU National[13] | Research | 6-8 | |
| THE Asia (Asia version)[14] | General | 22 | |
| USNWR Asia[15] | General | 51 | |
| ARWU World[16] | Research | 301-400 | |
| THE World[17] | General | 201-250 | |
| USNWR World[18] | General | 368 | |
| THE World (Young)[19] | General/Young | 20 | |
In 2017, the Times Higher Education ranked UNIST 201-250th in the world.
In 2018, the Times Higher Education ranked UNIST 201-250th in the world.
In 2019, the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking ranked UNIST 368th in the world, 51st in Asia, 7th in Korea. Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked UNIST 201-250th in the world, 20th amongst world's youngest universities (Universities that are 50 years old or younger), and 22nd best university in Asia.
Academics
UNIST is a medium-sized, research oriented university. Modeled after other universities around the world such as KAIST, MIT and HKUST the school employed three approaches that would set UNIST apart from other universities in Korea. First, despite being a national university of Korea, 100% of the courses at UNIST are taught in English and the school is actively seeking ways to recruit international students and professors. Second, all undergraduate students are required to pursue two areas of specializations called 'tracks'. The first track is roughly equivalent to a major and the second track is comparable to a minor at other universities. Third, UNIST has adopted the flipped learning approach in its classrooms in order to promote active student participation and mastery of the core subjects in science and engineering.[citation needed]
UNIST comprises 12 science and engineering schools, a business school, and the Division of General Studies (DGS) which oversees the school's first year undergraduate curriculum. In addition, there are several specialized graduate schools and research centers.[25]
Undergraduate Schools
- School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering
- School of Urban and Environmental Engineering
- School of Design and Human Engineering
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- School of Life Sciences
- School of Natural Science
- School of Business Administration
- School of Management Engineering
Graduate Schools
- Graduate School of Technology & Innovation Management
- Graduate School of Creative Design Engineering
- Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Management
Affiliated research centers
- KOGIC: Korean Genomics Center at UNIST
- Hans Schöler Stem Cell Research Center
- Institute for Basic Science (IBS) is a nationally funded research organization in South Korea consisting of a number of labs in universities around the country. UNIST is home to 3 IBS affiliated labs, namely:[26]
- Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (Director Rodney Ruoff)
- Center for Soft and Living Matter (Director Steve Granick)
- Center for Genomic Integrity (Director Myung Kyungjae)
Campus
UNIST maintains a fully residential campus. Its location, Eonyang, is adjacent to the old Ulsan city and small mountains surround the whole campus. At the center of the campus, there sits a large man-made pond called Gamakmot.
Note
- All courses are taught in English.
- Almost all students live in dormitories.
- All undergraduate students and graduate students in good standing receive full-tuition and living expenses from the university.
- UNIST is actively recruiting international researchers and graduate level students.
Gallery
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UNIST Library -
Business Administration Building -
View from the main entrance -
View from the main square to the north
See also
- List of national universities in South Korea
- List of universities and colleges in South Korea
- Education in Korea
References
- ^ a b c d "UNIST Facts & Figures". UNIST Official Website. UNIST. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ ""Manufacturing Capital of Korea" Ulsan Takes No. 1 Position in Per-capita Income". The Korea Economic Dailey. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ "울산 국립대 추진 일지". www.hani.co.kr. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
- ^ "울산 국립대 부지 "반연지구" 확정". news.naver.com. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
- ^ "UNIST Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary with Ulsan Citizens". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "Inauguration of President Mooyoung Jung". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "The Institute of Disaster Management Inaugurated at UNIST". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "UNIST Opens World-Class Battery Research Center". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "UNIST Celebrates Completion of Ulsan Industry-University Convergence District". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "UNIST Business School Earns AACSB International Accreditation". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "President Yong Hoon Lee Begins Term as UNIST's 4th President". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
- ^ U.S.News & World Report (2024). "Best Global Universities in South Korea". Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ World University Rankings - 2023 (2024). "South Korea Universities in Top 500 universities". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Asia University Rankings 2024". Times Higher Education. 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ U.S.News & World Report (2024). "2024-2025 Best Global Universities in Asia". Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ "THE World University Rankings". Times Higher Education. 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ U.S.News & World Report (2024). "2024-2025 Best Global Universities Rankings". Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "Young University Rankings 2024: South Korea". Times Higher Education (THE). 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- ^ "2023 JoongAng Ilbo University Rankings". JoongAng Ilbo. 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ^ "QS University Rankings 2025". Top Universities. 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ "THE University Rankings 2025 - South Korea". Times Higher Education (THE). 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ "QS Asian University Rankings". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ "QS World University Rankings". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ "Academics | UNIST". www.unist.ac.kr. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
- ^ "After Establishment: Secondary Period". UNIST. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
Since 2012, UNIST has accomplished a feat of hosting 3 IBS Campus Research Centers on campus, receiving funding of $300 billion USD over 10 year from Korea Institute for Basic Science. These campus site labs are led by world leading scientists, Steve Granick, Rodney S. Ruoff, and Kyung Jae Myung and will be contributing to the progress of basic sciences and society.
35°34′23″N 129°11′24″E / 35.573°N 129.190°E
See also
