[KS] Seeking Advice about Graduate Degree Programs: Request from a Russian Student in Korean Studies

[Vladimir Tikhonov]

Dear Natalia (and anybody else who may be potentially interested),

Norway is not exactly an English-speaking country, but the overwhelming 
portion of the academic work is done here in English, and, in addition, 
the Norwegian universities have some MA programmes taught exclusively in 
English. In case of UiO (Oslo University), I personally supervise the 
one called "East Asian Studies Master" 
(http://www.uio.no/studier/program/aas-master/east-asian/). It does not 
deal exclusively with the int-l relations - one of our former students, 
for example, defended her MA thesis on one of Kim Siseup's novels - but 
the int-l relations figure prominently as one of the disciplines being 
taught to our students 
(http://www.uio.no/studier/emner/hf/ikos/EAST4505/index-eng.xml) , and 
it is fully possible to specialize in int-l relations while writing 
one's MA thesis. Thankfully, Norway charges neither its citizens nor 
foreigners for the education (so far...), but living costs here are 
probably among the highest in the world. So, the citizens of the 
countries deemed to be in need of assistance (Russia is on the list) are 
eligible to apply for stipend through the so-called "Quota Scheme" 
(http://www.uio.no/english/academics/admission/quota/). Unfortunately, 
the application deadline for those wishing to begin their studies with 
UiO from next autumn, has just passed. I wonder if the Norwegian 
University Center in St-Petersburg (http://www.hf.uio.no/st-petersburg/) 
may have more information about the rest of the stipend programmes 
available for the Russian citizens.

best greetings,

Vladimir Tikhonov/Pak Noja


On 19.12.2006 16:37, Robert Provine wrote:
> Dear Members of This Listserv and Other Individuals Engaged in 
> Korea-Related Studies,
> 
> I am writing to request your advice and assistance in identifying the 
> most appropriate graduate degree programs in which to continue my 
> studies in international relations following my receipt of the B.A. 
> degree this coming June.  I wish to apply not only for admission to 
> programs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and/or 
> Australia but also for the funding that will be necessary to support 
> these studies (tuition, room and board, and other related expenses).
> 
> I specifically wish to pursue a Master's degree in international 
> relations and to study the economic relations of North Korea with the 
> outside world.  As the restructuring of the North Korean economic system 
> seems to be imminent and irreversible, I would also like to investigate 
> some of the country's possible development strategies.  I am currently 
> nearing the completion of my studies for the B.A. degree in the 
> Department of Korean History (Oriental Faculty) at Saint Petersburg 
> State University (Russia).  My B.A. thesis, supervised by Professor 
> Sergey O. Kourbanov, deals with the special economic zones in North 
> Korea (particularly the Gaeseong Industrial Complex), and focuses on the 
> process of its formation and on some of the approaches of the South 
> Korean government and the world of South Korean business.
> 
> I recently presented a paper at the Korean Studies Graduate Students' 
> Convention in the Czech Republic.  Dealing with the newspaper Tong'a 
> ilbo as a source of information for the social history of Korea during 
> the first half of 1935, it is expected to be published next year in the 
> proceedings of this conference.  In addition, I have published an 
> overview of Russian dissertations about Korea, 1939-2003, in the 
> Proceedings of the 2003 Korean Studies Conference in Saint Petersburg.
> 
> I speak, read and write Korean fluently (I have passed the sixth level 
> of the Korean Language Proficiency Test).  I spent nearly five years of 
> my childhood from 1992 to 1997 in South Korea and attended Korean 
> primary school in Seoul. More recently, after completing my two years of 
> study at Saint Petersburg State University, I received a Korea 
> Foundation scholarship to study for one year at Yonsei University in 
> Seoul.  In 2005, I graduated from the Korean Language Institute that is 
> affiliated with Yonsei University. In addition, I have an advanced 
> command of English (I am prepared to take the TOEFL test); and I can 
> speak, read and write some Japanese and some French.
> 
> I hope to go into international diplomacy or government-related work 
> (perhaps in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) upon completing the 
> Master's degree in international relations.  While the M.A. degree is 
> accepted as a terminal degree, I eventually plan on continuing my 
> studies and pursuing the Ph.D. degree in international relations as well.
> 
> I would be most grateful for whatever advice, assistance and insights 
> you and your colleagues can extend at this time.  Would you please 
> direct your correspondence to my e-mail address as follows: 
> nsibirskaya at yahoo.com  Thank you very much in advance for your kind 
> consideration of this inquiry.
> 
> With my best wishes for the holiday season and for the new year,
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Natalia Sibirskaya
> 
> (Ms.) Natalia Sibirskaya
> 199155 ul. Korablestroitelei, 42-1-37
> Saint-Petersburg, Russia
> tel: 7-812-352-21-91
> mob: 7-921-74-22-370
> nsibirskaya at yahoo.com
> 


-- 
Vladimir Tikhonov,
Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages,
Faculty of Humanities,
University of Oslo,
P.b. 1010, Blindern, 0315, Oslo, Norway.
Fax: 47-22854828; Tel: 47-22857118
Personal web page: http://folk.uio.no/vladimit/
 
http://www.geocities.com/volodyatikhonov/volodyatikhonov.html
Electronic classrooms: East Asian/Korean Society and Politics:
                        http://folk.uio.no/vladimit/eastasianstudies.htm
                        http://www.geocities.com/uioeastasia2002/main.html
                        East Asian/Korean Religion and Philosophy:
 
http://www.geocities.com/uioeastasia2003/classroom.html