Degrees are conferred upon students who acquire a certain number of credits between the period of study and the period of enrollment, pass the qualification test for thesis submission, and pass the thesis.
Graduate school completion (master's, doctoral, combined master's and doctoral)
- Term of Study
A) Master's program: 2 years or more (however, it can be shortened by 1 year or less)
B) Doctoral program: 2 years or more (however, it can be shortened by 6 months or less)
C) Combined master's and doctoral program: 4 years or more (however, it can be shortened by 1 year or less)
- Terms of enrollment
(The terms of enrollment are as follows and cannot be exceeded / Article 53 of School Regulations)
A) Master’s program: must be completed within 4 years
B) Doctoral program: must be completed within 6 years
C) Combined master's and doctoral program: must be completed within 8 years
- Credits
A) Master’s program: 24 credits or more
B) Doctoral course: 36 credits or more
C) Combined master's and doctoral program: 60 credits or more (including credits earned in the master's course)
D) Common: GPA in all subjects must be 3.0 or higher.
- Enrollment
A) Courses (starting from the class of 2021)
① The subjects in the department are divided into 'seminar,' 'core,' 'in-depth,' and 'thesis research.'
② The specific course titles and dates follow the ‘Detailed Guidelines for Course Operation and Enrollment.’
③ ‘Research Ethics’ is a required course for all graduate students and is included in the total course credits.
④ At least 1 seminar course in the master’s program, 1 seminar course in the doctoral program, and 2 seminar courses in the combined master’s and doctoral program are required. The maximum number of credits granted is 2 for the master's program, 4 for the doctoral program, and 6 for the combined master's and doctoral program. However, the seminar is not limited to the department’s seminar courses. Seminar courses will be given different course numbers for each subtopic, which will be recognized as separate credits (note that courses with the same numbers may result in fewer credits for graduation).
⑤ Students must complete at least 2 courses in the master's program, 4 courses in the doctoral program, and 6 courses in the combined program for core subjects.
⑥ For the graduate thesis research course, the professor in charge (advisor) must be specified with the lecture number for the particular professor. Thesis research credits are recognized for only one course per semester.
⑦ If a course required for academic research is not available in the department, courses from other departments are acceptable.
⑧ Students from the classes of 2016 to 2020 and classes before 2015 must follow the graduation standards announced at the time of admission (consult with your advisor separately for exceptions).
B) Required courses for the Master’s and doctoral programs for the classes of 2016 to 2020
① Required credits for the combined master's and doctoral program (9 credits): Medical Reading (806.501A) and Outstanding Medical Scientist Seminar (M1932.00500) are required courses. In addition, if the undergraduate education was in medicine, then 1 course from Fundamental Molecular and Cellular Medical Sciences (806.505) or Advanced Molecular and Cellular Medical Sciences (806.506) is required. If the undergraduate education was not in medicine, then 1 course from Structure and Function of the Human Body (806.503) or Medical Understanding of Diseases is required.
② Required credits for the master's program (9 credits): Medical Reading (806.501A) and Outstanding Medical Scientist Seminar (M1932.00500) are required courses. In addition, if the undergraduate education was in medicine, then 1 course from Fundamental Molecular and Cellular Medical Sciences (806.505) or Advanced Molecular and Cellular Medical Sciences (806.506) is required. If the undergraduate education was not in medicine, then 1 course from Structure and Function of the Human Body (806.503) or Medical Understanding of Diseases is required.
③ Required credits for the doctoral program (6 credits): If the Master’s degree was not from Seoul National University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, then the Outstanding Medical Scientist Seminar (M1932.00500) is required. In addition, if the undergraduate education was in medicine, then 1 course from Fundamental Molecular and Cellular Medical Sciences (806.505) or Advanced Molecular and Cellular Medical Sciences (806.506) is required. If the undergraduate education was not in medicine, then 1 course from Structure and Function of the Human Body (806.503) or Medical Understanding of Diseases is required. If the master's degree is from Seoul National University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, all required credits have already been completed, so these requirements do not apply
C) Additional Information
① Excess credits obtained in the department’s master's program can be applied for the doctoral program (refer to the guide on the website at the beginning of the first semester of the Ph.D.).
② Up to 6 credits for master's, 12 credits for doctoral, and 18 credits for the combined program are recognized for the graduate thesis research. At least 50% of the remaining credits [remaining credits are from subtracting the graduate thesis research credits and required credits from the completed credits (24 credits for master's, 36 credits for doctoral, 60 credits for combined)] should be from major courses.
③ When registering for the Outstanding Medical Scientist Seminar (M1932.005000), be careful not to overlap the subtitle with courses you have already taken (even if the course number is the same, the subtitle names are different each semester and is recognized as a separate credit)
Graduation from graduate school
- Master’s Program
A) Number of registrations: 4 or more ~ 8 or less
B) Credits
① 24 credits or more
② Completion of required departmental courses
C) Grades: The average GPA for all subjects is 3.0 or higher
D) Qualification for submission of thesis: Any individual who has passed both the foreign language test and the comprehensive test
E) Dissertation/Thesis
① Any individual who has been passed by the examination committee commissioned by the head of the affiliated (graduate) university
- Doctoral Program
A) Number of registrations: 4 or more ~ 12 or less
B) Credits
① 36 credits or more (60 credits including the Master’s program)
② Completion of required departmental courses
C) Grades: The average GPA for all subjects is 3.0 or higher
D) Qualification for submission of thesis: Any individual who has passed both the foreign language test and the comprehensive test
① Any individual who has been passed by an examination committee commissioned by the graduate school committee
② Any individual who has met at least one of the I or II criteria before applying for a degree review.
I. The IF of SCI-registered papers(s) published or approved as the first author is 10 or more.
- IF 10 or higher in SCI publication as original author
- The IF total of two or more original SCI papers is 10 or higher
- 2 or more original SCI publications + 10 or higher IF for 1 SCI-registered paper (only 1 paper is recognized)
II. 2 or more original SCI papers published or approved as the first author, of which at least one of them has been published (or approved for publication) in the top 25% of each SCI category.
※ For papers that meet the above requirements, the advisor must be the corresponding author.
※ Co-authors meet the aforementioned requirements.
※ The thesis must be related to the content published as the first author in a prestigious international academic journal.
※ For special circumstances (e.g., papers scheduled for IF publication (Nature, Cell, Science, etc.) and papers close to IF 10 (e.g., PNAS, etc.), the Research Advisory Committee may ask the Departmental Academic Committee to review the case.
※ % of each IF and SCI field will be recognized as the highest for the student's entire degree period
- Combined master's and doctoral program
A) Number of registrations: 6 or more ~ 16 or less
B) Credits
① 60 credits or more
② Completion of required departmental courses
C) Grades: The average GPA for all subjects is 3.0 or higher
D) Qualification for submission of thesis: Any individual who has passed both the foreign language test and the comprehensive test
E) Dissertation/Thesis Review
① Any individual who has been passed by an examination committee commissioned by the graduate school committee
② Any individual who has met at least one of the I or II criteria before applying for a degree review.
I. The IF of SCI-registered papers(s) published or approved as the first author is 10 or more.
- IF 10 or higher in SCI publication as original author
- The IF total of two or more original SCI papers is 10 or higher
- 2 or more original SCI publications + 10 or higher IF for 1 SCI-registered paper (only 1 paper is recognized)
II. 2 or more original SCI papers published or approved as the first author, of which at least one of them has been published (or approved for publication) in the top 25% of each SCI category.
※ For papers that meet the above requirements, the advisor must be the corresponding author.
※ Co-authors meet the aforementioned requirements.
※ The thesis must be related to the content published as the first author in a prestigious international academic journal.
※ For special circumstances (e.g., papers scheduled for IF publication (Nature, Cell, Science, etc.) and papers close to IF 10 (e.g., PNAS, etc.), the Research Advisory Committee may ask the Departmental Academic Committee to review the case.
※ % of each IF and SCI field will be recognized as the highest for the student's entire degree period
Thesis submission qualification test
- Grounds for implementation
Article 44 of the Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act, Seoul National University Degree Conferment Regulations Article 8 (Qualifications for Degree Submission) and Article 9 (Foreign Language Test and Comprehensive Exam), and Enforcement Guidelines for Graduate School Thesis Examination and Degree Conferment Article 2 (Degree Request) Thesis Submission Qualifications), Seoul National University College of Medicine Master’s/Doctoral Degree Thesis Submission Qualification Examination and Thesis Review Rules, [enacted on April 2020] - Eligibility
A) Eligibility to take the comprehensive exam: Any individual who has met the following requirements and completed safety environment training
B) CommonalitiesType Eligibility Comprehensive Exam Master’s Students who have been enrolled for more than 2 semesters and earned more than 12 credits in the master’s program of this department Doctoral Students who have registered for more than 2 semesters and earned more than 12 credits (including total credits) in the doctoral program of this department Combined Master’s and Doctoral Combined Master’s and Doctoral Students who have been enrolled for more than 2 semesters and earned more than 12 credits in the master’s program of this department
① Students who have failed some subjects in the previous examination can retake the failed subject.
② In accordance with the restrictions on applying for the thesis submission qualification test for those who have not completed the safety environment education [Academic Committee (2006.11.10)], a copy of the safety environment education certificate must be submitted. - Test Subjects, Scoring, and Criteria
A) Test SubjectsType Program Subject Scoring and Criteria Foreign Language Comprehensive Comprehensive Thesis Submission
Qualification TestMaster’s English
(Foreign students can choose Korean)Major Subjects 60 or more out of 100 to pass Doctoral English
(Foreign students can choose Korean)Major Subjects 70 or more out of 100 to pass ① English test: Those who do not submit scores corresponding to the medical school application qualifications [298 points or higher for revised TEPS, 551 points for original TEPS, 79 points for TOEFL (IBT)] at the time of admission (special screening for global talents, government-sponsored scholarship students, etc.) must submit a score equivalent to or higher than the medical school application qualifications obtained within 2 years prior to the submission of the thesis examination documents.
② Korean language test for foreign students is conducted separately under the supervision of the Office of Academic Affairs: College of Medicine homepage → Check notice page
③ If the nationality of the foreign student is the United States (or a country that uses English as a legal official language), they must take the Korean test.
B) Comprehensive Exam Scoring
① Master's degree: oral exam on major knowledge
② Ph.D.: *Summary presentation of 1 original paper published (approved) as a first author in a professional journal or oral examination for the thesis
* Specialized journals for the thesis submission qualification test are limited to journals registered in SCI(E)/SSCI/AHCI, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
* Papers accepted in the thesis submission qualification test are limited to Original Article, Letter, Brief communication, Meta-analysis, and Review Article related to the subject of the thesis (Starting from the 2nd semester of 2021). However, if you are submitting a thesis different from this criteria, you must submit an advisor’s confirmation letter that includes approval from your advisor.C) Registration Period and Method
For all thesis submission qualification tests, only those who have completed the application through the following procedure are eligible (individual evaluation with the advisor is not accepted without going through the administrative office)
① Fixed period (1st semester-February, 2nd semester-August)
② mySNU online registration (Academic Information → Graduation → Graduation Exam Registration → Comprehensive Exam Registration → New → Registration → Registration Subject Information → Add → Registration Subject Type → Detailed Major Exam Selection (input thesis or oral in the comment box) → Save → Print
③ Submit all documents to the administrative office within the deadline
- 1 copy of the application form (printed out after applying electronically → write B (major knowledge oral test) for master’s degree and D (dissertation summary presentation or thesis oral test) in the comment box → advisor signature
- A copy of the safety environment certificate (you can submit a screen capture after checking the completion confirmation on the website at http://ieps.snu.ac.kr)
- We will notify you if there are additional documents for submission.
- Information on the Korean language test for foreign students
A) Method
① The test is in the form of a written test, divided into master's and doctoral programs. According to academic field, the test is further divided into humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, and arts (supervised by the Office of Academic Affairs).
② Test Exemption: If you have taken a Korean language course (Korean Language and Korean Culture 1 or 2) and obtained a grade of “C- or higher” or “S” in the regular curriculum to replace the thesis submission qualification test, the Korean language is waived. However, it is not included in the credits for graduation.
B) Substitution of oral exam
① Students who have taken the Korean language test of the master's and doctoral degree dissertation submission qualification test and have failed at least once and have advisor recommendation can replace the written test with an oral test conducted by a Korean language-related professor commissioned by the President.
② Acceptance Criteria: Master's students must have score of 60 points or more, Ph.D. students must have score of 70 points or more out of 100 points
C) Registration
① Method: mySNU(http://my.snu.ac.kr) login → Academic Information → Graduation → Graduation Exam Registration → Registration and submit documents
② Announcement period: 1st semester in February, 2nd semester in August on the website
