Rushed Undeclared Undergraduate College Falters

As Pusan National University (PNU) has hastily established Undeclared Undergraduate College which will serve as the control tower for Undeclared Major students, disruptions and criticisms have ensued.

Based on Channel PNU on March 3rd, PNU admitted 139 students into three Undeclared Major programs—Engineering Undeclared Major, Nano Undeclared Major, Global Open Major—under the newly established Undergraduate Colleges as of March 1st.  This initiative, led by the Ministry of Education pledging to provide financial incentives for national universities, encourages them to adopt this system with the university headquarters at the center. Last year, PNU announced its plan, as covered by Channel PNU on November 22nd, 2024, to increase the proportion of Undeclared Major students to one out of four freshmen by 2026.

■Limited space and land availability

The rushed establishment of Undergraduate Colleges in just two months, inconveniences students. First, freshmen temporarily use the 3rd floor of the Head office throughout March. Because Indeok Hall, the main building for this program, is under internal construction. The Hall houses various facilities including the administrative office, classrooms, learning and rest areas. Even after its completion, concerns remain about the building’s capacity to accommodate a full-scale college. Lee Hae-Jun, (Dean, Office of Academic Affairs), said, “The lobby of Indeok Hall is planned to be used as a lounge that students can freely use.”

Further complications arise at the Yangsan Campus, where space is also insufficient. Two new buildings are under construction, but they will not be completed until December 2027 and 2028, respectively. When specialized courses for the new Applied Life Convergence Department begin in the 2027 academic year, a shortage of classrooms and rest areas is expected. Regarding this, Dean Lee stated, “For the whole year of 2027, there will be inadequate space is expected . The Division of Campus Planning is reviewing space usage plans and will maximize space availablity.”

The educational conditions for students in this category also appear challenging. The system will operate with an abnormal structure where students are at the Yangsan Campus while professors and instructors are at the Miryang campus. For practical courses, students need to use farms and research facilities at the Miryang Campus, requiring them to travel between the two campuses. Next year’s freshmen from Applied Life Convergence Department are supposed to take classes at the Yangsan Campus, challenges them to engage in interaction with seniors studying at the Miryang Campus. School officials said, “The era when face-to-face classes were mandatory ended with the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re considering changing from the existing weekly practice to once every three weeks.”

Additionally, this new college lacks a student council, leaving freshman orientation and welcome events to be handled by the councils of both the College of Engineering and the College of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. However, these councils were ineligible to collect membership fees from Undeclared Major students, Song Young-Hwan (Dept. of  Nanomechatronics Engineering, 21), President of the College of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, said, “They are prevented from paying student council fees to the College of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Although the number of students increased by about 30, the event funding remained the same.”  In response, school officials belatedly said, “We will seek ways to support the Engineering and Nanoscience and Nanotechnology College student councils as soon as the Undergraduate Colleges budget is prepared.”

■Undergraduate Colleges Established Despite Internal Opposition

Instances of miscommunication between the Head Offices and campus members regarding the “Establishment of Undergraduate Colleges” were often found. For example, an “Undergraduate Colleges information session” in November, 2024, overlapped with the General Students' Association (GSA) election period, and the previous GSA didn’t even announce the event. Unfortunately, no further communication took place. Four months later, an Undergraduate Colleges information session was finally held on February 25th under the current GSA’s initiative, but by then, the establishment of the Undergraduate Colleges was already confirmed.  About 40 members from various college student councils attended the session, but most encountered the news for the first time. One student appeared confused after learning on the spot that his major would be moved under a different college due to the Undeclared Major system.

Administrative approval for the Undergraduate Colleges also faced hurdles. At the Academic Committee held on January 14th at the Professor’s Hall, the “Undergraduate Colleges Establishment Plan” was rejected as more than half of the 12 attending council members abstained. They stated in their deliberation opinion, “Insufficient explanation of the agenda to campus members including staff and students, hinders accurate understanding of the content.” However, the Office of Academic Affairs, responsible for establishing the Undergraduate Colleges, passed it without re-deliberation based on university regulations, leading the Academic Committee to issue a statement of condemnation and declare a deliberation boycott. The growing conflict was eventually resolved when the Academic Committee agreed to amend the university regulations for establishing the Undergraduate Colleges, but criticism that unnecessary discord was created in the process was unavoidable.

PNU officials stated that this new system was hastily adopted to meet the deadline set by the Ministry of Education, especially since they had already recruited freshmen. Dean Lee said, “It was the best choice in terms of administrative procedures, even if there are shortcomings for now. We will continue discussions with relevant members as the Undeclared Major system is critical for the future of PNU.” He added, “We will navigate toward solutions by the 2026 academic year when the  Undeclared Major system will be further expanded.”

※About PNU’s Undeclared Major

PNU’s Undeclared Major has Type I (complete autonomous selection) and Type II (selection within a certain range).

For the 2025 academic year, 139 freshmen from Type II programs - Engineering Undeclared Major, Nano Undeclared Major, Global Open Major - entered the Undergraduate Colleges. Engineering Undeclared Major freshmen will choose one of six advanced departments next year (Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, Dept. of Organic Material Science and Engineering, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Dept. of Electronics Engineering, Electronics Engineering Dept. of Semiconductor Engineering, Dept of Industrial Engineering). Similarly,  Nano Undeclared Major students will choose one of three departments (Dept. of Nanoenergy Engineering, Dept. of Nanomechatronics Engineering, Dept. of Optics Mechatronics Engineering). Global Open Major freshmen will pursue an academic program centered on Cultural Arts Content major.

From the 2026 academic year, the Undeclared Major selection system will be expanded with the creation of “Undeclared Major,” which corresponds to Type I. Approximately 630 freshmen are scheduled to enter four departments: Undeclared Major. Advanced Convergence Department, Applied Life Convergence Department, Global Open Major.

Reporter Hwang Ju-Won

Translated by Seo Yoo-Jung