Korea College of Maritime Sciences, the very first national university established by the Korean government, is the principal College of Maritime Sciences of Korea. The school founding was prompted by the patriotism and aspirations for higher education of a few pioneers who realized the need to secure maritime manpower in order to advance the country's development. Since then, the school has overc
ome a great number of obstacles to become we are today. For the past half century, the school has successfully educated numerous maritime specialists who were the driving force behind Korea's growth in marine transportation and has helped Korea to become the world's 10th ranked country in the field. With such contributions, the school is now recognized as one of the top universities in the marine transportation field. With Korea's limited natural resources and its high dependence on international trade, Korea's national economy has a special structure. Given that 95% of Korea's trading volume depends on marine transportation, the maritime industry of Korea not only supports the stability of the national economy, the improvement of the international trade balance, and the expansion of employment opportunities, but it is also a constant force in economic development, thus it is protected and nurtured at the national level. The maritime industry is highly technology intensive and faces stiff international competition, which does not allow stable development without the strong support of professional manpower with a variety of skills. Therefore, the College of Maritime Sciences is training and educating the professional manpower needed to advance the maritime industry in Korea. We especially focus on nurturing maritime professionals to have excellent adaptability to the situation and strong leadership skills by providing a basic curriculum that includes a 1-year on-board practical course. To realize its mission, the College of Maritime Sciences encompasses 4 divisions and 1 department including the Div. of Transportation Science, Div. of Marine System Engineering, Div. of Mechatronics Engineering and Dept. of Maritime Police Science. Students who have passed the national exam for the Marine Officer's License while attending the school are eligible acquire the license at the time of graduating from Korea College of Maritime Sciences and the students may advance into various careers in the maritime industry according to their actual experience on the sea and obtained professional knowledge. The College of Maritime Sciences used to admit male students only but since 1991, the school has extended admission to female and foreign students as well. It converted the N.R.O.T.C. system to an optional system and relaxed the physical requirements for admission to be the same as that for seamen. All students of the College of Maritime Sciences are eligible to live in the school dormitory for 4 years, receiving room and board, including the required uniforms and even some exemption of tuition and admissions fees.
