Student A, a first-year student in the undivided majors division at a university in the Seoul metropolitan area, plans to choose the electronics engineering department when the major selection period arrives at year's end. The decision stems from the judgment that as semiconductor-related companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix announce investment plans worth hundreds of trillions of won, the market value of electronics engineering graduates will also rise. An official at the university's admissions office said, "When we counsel students, the number of those aspiring to electronics engineering has clearly increased among last year's and this year's incoming students."
Among students in university undivided majors divisions, the popularity of electronics engineering-related majors, including electrical and electronic engineering, has risen sharply. The reason is that electronics engineering departments allow students to study artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor materials, giving them an advantage not only in landing jobs at chip companies but also in obtaining master's and doctoral degrees related to semiconductors. Professors on the front lines point out that since the concentration toward electronics engineering majors is expected to continue for the next several years, related infrastructure such as expanded lectures and increased faculty must be built up.
According to an analysis by the Korean Higher Education Research Institute released Wednesday of 12 private universities in the Seoul metropolitan area that operate undivided admissions systems, including Sungkyunkwan University, Ewha Womans University, and Kyung Hee University, the electronics engineering department ranked first in preference at about half of these schools.
The analysis found that 57.1% of students in Sungkyunkwan University's undivided majors track chose the electrical and electronic engineering department as their first choice. The electronics engineering department also ranked first at Kwangwoon University (52.8%), Kyung Hee University Global Campus (52.5%), Kyonggi University Suwon Campus (30.3%), Dankook University (29.8%), Ewha Womans University (21.5%), and Myongji University Natural Sciences Campus (16.9%).
The preference for electronics engineering was also pronounced at the eight so-called "flagship national universities," including Seoul National University. According to the related survey, 53.8% of undivided majors admissions students at Kyungpook National University Daegu Campus chose the electronics engineering department, and it also ranked first at Chonnam National University Gwangju Campus (46.6%), Chungnam National University (36.5%), and Kangwon National University Chuncheon Campus (21.4%). Seoul National University, which disclosed data on a college basis, saw 70 of its 172 undivided majors students, or 40.7%, choose the College of Engineering.
The survey also found high preference for business administration, which is evaluated as being relatively less affected by industry trend changes while remaining favorable for employment. Among undivided majors division students at Kyung Hee University Seoul Campus, 20.3% chose the business administration department, and business administration ranked first in selection rate at Myongji University Humanities Campus (27.4%), Sangmyung University (19.9%), and Sookmyung Women's University (13.6%).
An admissions office official at one private university said, "Just a few years ago, the computer engineering department was highly popular due to the coding craze and other factors, whereas among current first-year students many are trying to choose electrical and electronic engineering, which is favorable for semiconductor-related employment. As students become increasingly sensitive to employment trends, incoming students also have a strong tendency to choose majors based on employment prospects."
This concentration of majors toward the electronics engineering department has grown stronger over the past two years. According to the Korean Higher Education Research Institute's 2024 report, computer engineering was the most popular two years ago. At that time, the survey found that 33.3% of Korea University's undivided majors students chose computer-related departments, and computer departments were also highly preferred at Keimyung University (58.3%), Ewha Womans University (32.8%), Inha University (29.1%), and Yeungnam University (22.9%). In particular, 72.1% of Seoul National University College of Engineering admissions students chose the computer engineering department as their major, more than three times the preference for the electrical and information engineering department (20.9%), showing that the strength of computer engineering was more pronounced at top-tier universities.
Since most students who choose the undivided majors path prioritize employment prospects over aptitude or special talents, the concentration toward the electrical and electronic engineering department is expected to continue. Employees at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are expected to receive performance bonuses of hundreds of millions of won starting next year depending on their years of service, putting them in line for income comparable to doctors.
Regarding this phenomenon, some point out that the purpose of the undivided majors policy, which prioritizes student aptitude above all, is not being properly realized. Two years ago, the Ministry of Education announced an "undivided majors incentive" plan to grant additional points to universities that expanded undivided major quotas when selecting for the University Innovation Support Project, moving to expand related recruitment numbers. However, some point out that this has only made the distinction between popular and unpopular departments even more pronounced.
In particular, professors in the department complain about the difficulty of teaching, saying that the concentration toward the electrical and electronic engineering department has caused a sharp increase in the number of students, along with a large influx of students with low understanding of foundational engineering. Lee Joon-shin, a professor in Sungkyunkwan University's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said, "Last year, the number of students applying to the electrical and electronic engineering department among those assigned to undivided majors suddenly increased, and many of them have almost no foundation in the relevant major, making it not easy to prepare classes. I have tried various measures such as open-book exams, but since the average test score is less than half of previous years, measures such as level-based classes appear to be necessary."
