A student identified as A, enrolled in the open major division of a university in the greater Seoul area, decided to choose the electronics engineering department for this year-end major selection. The decision came 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 value of electronics engineering graduates will also rise. Beyond A, a considerable number of students within that open major division are reportedly seeking to choose the electronics engineering department. An official at the university admissions office said, "When we counsel students, aspiring electronics engineering majors are clearly increasing among freshmen last year and this year."
Amid the semiconductor boom, the popularity of electronics engineering-related majors, including electrical and electronics engineering departments, is soaring. In electronics engineering departments, students can study artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor materials, which is advantageous not only for landing jobs at semiconductor companies but also for earning master's and doctoral degrees related to semiconductors. Professors on the front lines, meanwhile, point out that since the concentration in electronics engineering majors is expected to continue for the next several years, proper talent cultivation will only be possible if related infrastructure, such as expanded course offerings and additional faculty, is increased.
According to an analysis released Thursday by the Higher Education Research Institute of 12 private universities in the greater Seoul area that operate open major admission systems, including Sungkyunkwan University, Ewha Womans University and Kyung Hee University, electronics engineering departments ranked first in preference at about half of these schools.
Among Sungkyunkwan University's open major track students, 57.1% chose the electrical and electronics engineering department as their first choice, and electronics engineering departments also ranked first at Kwangwoon University (52.8%), Kyung Hee University's Global Campus (52.5%), Kyonggi University's Suwon Campus (30.3%), Dankook University (29.8%), Ewha Womans University (21.5%) and Myongji University's Natural Sciences Campus (16.9%). According to data separately obtained by The Seoul Economic Daily, Sungkyunkwan University's open major students showed the highest preference, after the electrical and electronics engineering department, for global biomedical engineering (11%), chemical engineering (3%), advanced materials engineering (3%), software (2%), integrative biotechnology (2%), mechanical engineering (1%), global economics (1%) and global business administration (1%), in that order. Considering that the proportion of students who have not yet decided on a major due to reasons such as leaves of absence is 11%, most of Sungkyunkwan University's open major students are effectively concentrated in the natural sciences fields. In particular, given that Sungkyunkwan University is classified as a traditional powerhouse in the "humanities and social sciences fields," some point out that the preference for science and engineering, including semiconductors, has now become the norm.
The preference for electronics engineering departments was also clear at eight so-called "flagship national universities," including Seoul National University. According to the related survey, 53.8% of open major enrollees at Kyungpook National University's Daegu Campus chose the electronics engineering department, and electronics engineering departments also ranked first at Chonnam National University's Gwangju Campus (46.6%), Chungnam National University (36.5%) and Kangwon National University's Chuncheon Campus (21.4%). Seoul National University, which disclosed data on a college basis, saw 70 students, or 40.7% of its 172 open major students, choose the College of Engineering.
The survey results also showed that preference for business administration departments — which are relatively less affected by shifts in industry trends yet evaluated as advantageous for employment — remained strong. Among open major division enrollees at Kyung Hee University's Seoul Campus, 20.3% chose the business administration department, and business administration departments ranked first in selection rate at Myongji University's Humanities Campus (27.4%), Sangmyung University (19.9%), Sungshin Women's University and Sookmyung Women's University (13.6%).
This concentration in electronics engineering departments is becoming a trend over the past two years. According to the Higher Education Research Institute's 2024 report, two years ago, companies such as Naver, Kakao and Krafton drew attention, and computer engineering departments, advantageous for landing jobs at such companies, were highly popular. According to the survey results at the time, 33.3% of Korea University's open major students chose the computer science department, and computer science departments also showed high preference 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's College of Engineering enrollees chose the computer engineering department as their major, more than three times the preference for the electrical and information engineering department (20.9%), with the dominance of computer engineering departments especially pronounced at top-tier universities. An official at one private university's admissions office said, "Just a few years ago, computer engineering departments were highly popular due to the coding craze and the like, whereas among current freshmen, many students want to choose electrical and electronics engineering, which is advantageous for semiconductor-related employment." The official added, "As students become increasingly sensitive to employment trends, freshmen too have a strong tendency to choose majors by looking at employment prospects."
Experts, on the other hand, point out that this phenomenon means the purpose of the open major policy, which prioritizes students' aptitudes, is not being properly realized. Two years ago, the Ministry of Education announced an "open major incentive" scheme granting separate bonus points to universities that expanded open major quotas when selecting projects for the University Innovation Support Program, moving to increase related recruitment numbers. However, some point out that this has only made the difference in preference between popular and unpopular departments — based on employment rates and salaries — even more pronounced.
In particular, professors in the relevant departments complain about the difficulty of teaching, saying the concentration in electrical and electronics engineering departments has rapidly increased student numbers and brought in large numbers of students with low understanding of basic engineering. At some universities' electronics engineering departments, there are also complaints that normal classes have become impossible as large numbers of open major students without a proper grounding in physics have flowed in. Lee Jun-shin, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University's Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, said, "Last year, the number of students assigned through open majors who applied to the electrical and electronics engineering department suddenly increased, and many students have almost no foundation in the relevant major, so preparing classes is not easy." He added, "I have tried various measures, such as open-book exams, but the average exam scores are low, so measures such as level-based classes seem necessary."
