The University of Aberdeen, a British public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland, has made a decision to open a new campus in South Korea. Established in 1495 as the fifth oldest institution in the English-speaking world, the University of Aberdeen will open its new branch, located in Hadong, in the coming September.

Prior to the agreement, a delegation of nine members from the provincial government of South Gyeongsang visited the University of Aberdeen for negotiations. The University of Aberdeen will build its first Asian branch as part of the agreements made with the municipality.

 

The University of Aberdeen’s Principal Sir Ian Diamond designed the plan for opening the campus in South Korea last year, but financial issues postponed the launch. The new campus in Hadong will become the first British university branch in South Korea. It is expected that the Hadong campus will operate for at least ten years in accordance with the South Gyeongsang municipalities. The main branch will also send 18 faculty members to the Hadong campus.

The University of Aberdeen states that the Hadong campus “will be a specialised campus offering highly competitive postgraduate training, research and consultancy services for the international offshore oil and gas industry, from extreme events engineering to energy finance.” It will offer one-year-long MS degree programs as well as PhD opportunities.

At the moment, the Hadong campus offers an MBA in Energy Management and the following MS degrees: Petroleum Engineering, Topside Engineering, and Subsea Engineering. The applications for the MBA and MS degrees in Petroleum Engineering are currently open. The admission quotas are as follows: 100 students for MS programs, 60 for three-year PhD programs, and 25 for MBA degrees.

Alongside MS and PhD programs, the Hadong campus will also provide training programs for industry specialists and individual companies upon their request. A variety of training opportunities ranging from fundamental safety engineering to pipelines and soil mechanics will be offered.