“Dual-Degree Programs with Professional Graduate Schools to be Opened” The Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) celebrated its 20th Anniversary on November 27 at the Yonsei Alumni Hall. After thanking the invited guests, alumni and their family, Dean Chang Dae Ryun of the GSIS revealed his plans for a globalization project that integrates programs of both domestic and international professional graduate schools with the GSIS program. Dean Chang stated that “True globalization is possible only when the international insight of International Studies is added to the professional knowledge of the professional graduate schools. We will work to open dual-degree programs with professional graduate schools both in Korea and overseas.” He also explained that, because the environment and infrastructure is different in every country, the Yonsei GSIS is proposing to create an independent model rather than base its new program on prior models around the world. Dean Chung had high hopes for this project, which would allow GSIS to take a leading role in the globalization efforts of Yonsei University. GSIS currently offers dual-degree programs with Keio University of Japan and the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Discussions are underway for a similar program with the University of Chicago in the U.S. The project will also include dual-degree programs with professional graduate schools at Yonsei, such as the Graduate School of Business and Graduate School of Public Health. This project originates from the belief that the International Studies Program, in which courses in diverse areas including politics, economics, sociology, and history are all conducted in English, can strengthen many programs by way of the kind of synergy that Dean Chung expounds above. GSIS boasts an outstanding environment for students to gain a global experience without actually going overseas, with 40 percent of its students coming from overseas to create a truly diverse cultural environment. GSIS was established in 1987 with 26 students from Korea and 8 international students. Now, on its 20th birthday, 167 Korean students and 111 international students from 31 countries make up the student body of GSIS. The School was awarded a total of 10.5 billion won in funds provided by the government’s “International Professional Development Project” from 1996 to 2000, and in 1997 was named the best graduate school of international studies by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. 1,300 students have completed the program in the past 20 years and have become international specialists in such diverse areas as global organizations, the press, academia, and international corporations. Students from 56 countries have studied at the GSIS, the spectrum beginning nearby in Asia with Japan, China, and Mongolia, and spanning many oceans to North America (U.S., Canada), South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.