Welcome to Sungkyunkwan University's (SKKU)
College of Social Sciences
Thank you for visiting Sungkyunkwan University’s College of Social Sciences.
Since its establishment in 1398 as the nation’s foremost institution for cultivating high-level talent, Sungkyunkwan University has played a central role in Korean higher education for more than six centuries, producing great scholars and distinguished leaders. Building upon this tradition, the College of Social Sciences has grown into an academic community that systematically and scientifically examines the complex phenomena of human society and contributes to social change through its scholarly achievements.
The College of Social Sciences currently offers a broad range of social science education at the undergraduate level through one interdisciplinary division—the Global Leader Division—and eight departments: Public Administration, Political Science and Diplomacy, Media and Communication, Sociology, Social Welfare, Psychology, Consumer and Family Sciences, and Child and Adolescent Studies. Through these programs, the College seeks to cultivate not only foundational academic competencies but also integrative thinking abilities that enable students to analyze and address complex social problems.
At the graduate level, in addition to the eight departments, the College operates the Interdisciplinary Program in Social Innovation. The College also provides a wide range of advanced educational programs through its professional and specialized graduate schools, including the Graduate School of Governance, the Graduate School of National Strategy, the Graduate School of Social Welfare, and the Graduate School of Media and Cultural Convergence. These programs support the development of young professional talent while offering advanced education for individuals currently working in the public and private sectors, forming an important foundation of the College’s educational mission that organically connects scholarship with policy and theory with practice.
In terms of research, the College of Social Sciences has established a solid research infrastructure centered on its graduate programs and 19 affiliated research institutes. The College has carried out numerous nationally funded and private research projects, including mid- and small-scale SSK initiatives and the BK21 FOUR Program. Major BK21 education and research teams and projects—focusing on platform governance for empathy and innovation, collaborative development of social services based on social innovation, the enhancement of interactive capacities of individuals and communities, and data-based social innovation—collectively demonstrate the College’s research direction and capabilities oriented toward addressing social problems.
The College of Social Sciences now stands at a new turning point. Amid rapid digital transformation, the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and data technologies, increasing global uncertainty, and the structural entrenchment of social inequality and public challenges, the social sciences must evolve beyond interpretation to become disciplines that exert tangible influence on society through problem solving. In response, the College has established a new vision of becoming an impact-based social science platform that moves society beyond research outcomes, and seeks to pursue comprehensive innovation across education, research, and social contribution.
Education at the College is now being reorganized around a clear Student-to-Society Pathway, which connects learning to research and research to society. Based on interdisciplinary education frameworks such as HUSS, MD, and C/L programs, the College systematically structures individual students’ problem-solving competencies into defined tracks, while building an educational ecosystem in which undergraduate education, graduate study, research, and career development are organically connected. In particular, with AI- and data-based social science education as a central pillar, the College aims to cultivate interdisciplinary talent equipped with both analytical and practical capabilities required in the digital era through data analysis, policy simulation, capstone projects, and social experiment labs.
In addition, the College of Social Sciences is establishing an AI- and Data-Based Social Science Core that spans education and research. This initiative is not limited to specific departments or majors, but provides a structured foundation for data literacy, analytical capacity, and methodological competence that all social science students and researchers should share. In preparation for the era of Intelligence Transformation, the College is strengthening its academic foundation for more precise analysis of social phenomena and evidence-based problem solving by internalizing AI and data utilization capabilities as core competencies of social science through policy data labs, social experiment labs, and methodological education modules.
Research at the College is also advancing beyond individual departments and project units toward an interdisciplinary innovation research platform centered on social problems. Anchored by the Institute for Social Sciences, the College is establishing an open collaborative system that transcends departmental boundaries, while strategically linking national R&D initiatives and private research projects, including BK21 programs, to foster Social Impact Grand Themes. Beyond quantitative research output, the College places social impact—the diffusion of research outcomes into policy, practice, and civil society—at the core of its criteria for research excellence.
Furthermore, the College of Social Sciences is strengthening Glocal Policy Engagement that connects Korea with the global community. Through international collaborative research, global academic networks, and community-based problem-solving partnerships, the College seeks to expand the role of social sciences at both the local and global levels, while strategically enhancing its global academic reputation and international visibility. This direction reflects the College’s emphasis on sustainability, not as a short-term achievement, but as a structure that is firmly established and maintained over time.
At the center of all these changes are people. The College of Social Sciences seeks to realize Sungkyunkwan University’s educational ideals across education and research by nurturing cultivated individuals grounded in integrity and wisdom (Inui-Yeji, 仁義禮智), professionals who create new value in the digital era through creative thinking and a spirit of challenge, and global leaders capable of contributing to human society, guided by well-rounded competencies in character, communication, scholarship, and judgment (Sin-Eon-Seo-Pan, 身言書判).
The College of Social Sciences will move forward without resting on past achievements. With clear goals and performance-oriented strategies, the College will continue to develop as a university that responds to social change and leads efforts to solve social problems. With a clear vision and a strong commitment to practice, the College of Social Sciences seeks to further develop as an influential social science platform that connects education, research, and society. We sincerely ask for your continued interest and support in this ongoing endeavor.
Thank you.
SUNG MIN PARK, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Social Sciences