Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Seoul Cyber University authorized to open online doctoral programs
Park Ki-hoon, a professor in the Department of Social Welfare at Seoul Cyber University, gives a lecture, in this file photo provided by Seoul Cyber University.
By Jung Min-ho
Seoul Cyber University has been approved to offer online doctoral programs in social work and counseling psychology, according to officials on Thursday.
After the recent approval by the Ministry of Education, Seoul Cyber University will become the first online university in Korea to offer doctoral programs in social work, starting next year.
It will also become one of the first cyber universities to offer doctoral degrees in counseling psychology, officials said.
The school plans to start accepting applications for its master’s and doctoral programs in social work and counseling psychology in the coming weeks. It is also working on integrating its two graduate schools into a unified new graduate school for these programs.
Before the approval, Seoul Cyber University offered only two "special graduate schools," which provided master’s programs primarily for working professionals. These programs awarded professional degrees that did not require a dissertation.
The school has been promoting itself as a leading online institution for counseling psychology, highlighting that students can gain practical experience through courses partnered with counseling centers in five major cities, including Seoul and Incheon.
Established in 2000, Seoul Cyber University offers over 40 majors, with the most popular being social work, psychology, and counseling.
It is one of the most popular fully online schools among the 22 nationwide, with over 16,000 undergraduate students and 398 graduate students.