Half of Carnegie Students Learn Foreign Languages

By Kang Shin-who

Staff Reporter

This is the 16th in a series of interviews with heads of the world's top universities. ㅡ ED.

A large number of international students among their student body is a common factor in the world's top universities. Among them, Carnegie Mellon University has another reason to welcome and draw more foreign students apart from globalization.

Jared L. Cohon, president of the school, said Carnegie Melon boasts the biggest number of students in the world learning foreign languages in an interview with The Korea Times.

``An interesting and welcoming trend at Carnegie Mellon is a significant increase among students studying foreign languages. Almost half of our undergraduates take courses in a foreign language, which compares to an average of 12 percent at American universities with no foreign language requirement,'' Cohon said.

Currently, Carnegie Mellon has about 5,600 undergraduates students and 13 percent of them are from abroad. Among nearly 4,500 graduates, 42 percent are international. As for Korean students, the school had 173 new students from Korea last year. The acceptance rate for Korean applicants is comparable to the overall study body rate of 27 percent for foreign students, the president said.

The school head believes Korean students would better off studying abroad in their early years if they aim to get admitted to the world's top universities saying, ``Students for whom college is their first experience outside of Korea can find it difficult in adjusting to the language and culture of a new country.'' However, Carnegie Melon gives special care to international students who have difficulties in adapting.

``In addition to the academic preparation that is essential for success, they must also adjust to the language and culture of a new country,'' Cohon said. ``At Carnegie Mellon, we pay close attention to the English language skills of our applicants. We also have many support structures and student organizations for international students. The presence of a large international student population is itself very helpful.''