Contents
Introduction
In this article, I will share how to get Korean Scholarship by contacting the professor at random order. I provide steps and tips that you could apply to win a research position in a Korean University. I do not guarantee that what I outline will 100% work, but at least you will have a broader perspective in this effort.
Contacting professor and having a scholarship
Maybe it is hard to believe that by contacting a Korean professor, you will have the chance to continue your study. Even, if you do not come with funding support. Still, it is okay! In this case, contacting the professor to join in his/her lab is a common practice in Korea. Many Korean and international students do that and many Korean professors do not feel offence of this practice. For your information, Korean professors are continuously under pressure to produce outstanding publications and patents. To this point, it would be impossible for them to produce both publication and patent alone. For this reason, each professor needs to assemble a group of researchers to help him/her.
There are abundant competitive sources of Korean grants (mostly provided by the government) that a professor could win. Also, there is a lot of industrial scheme that a professor could compete and win. Generally, this industrial scheme is made to improve the company’s daily operations. By winning these two sources, a professor could pay the operational costs of his/her research group.
Issues in Contacting Professors and their Remedies
However, contacting a potential professor sometimes is not an easy task. Many candidates fail to understand what the professor needs and how they could fill the needs. Hence, below are some suggestions that one could do when contacting professors:
- Keep your email short. Do not assume that a professor has sufficient time to read your email. They will only glance at it.
- Put your intention in the email subject. For example, (APPLY) PhD position in your lab. This will make your potential professor directly easier to understand what you want.
- Address them with “Professor”. This may be odd if you are coming from western countries, but not asian countries. Korean professors are rarely addressed by their name. Instead, they are addressed by their title : Professors. If you call them by their name, it is disrespectful in Korean culture.
- Tell them where you got his/her contact. The recommendation is very powerful. If you have a friend that is working in your potential professor’s lab, it could be helpful to mention his/her name in your email. By doing so, it will increase your chance to get accepted
Conclusion
In general, you need to keep trying. Sometimes a professor does not have funding scheme in his own. In this case, you do not need to worry, if your specification is of outstanding, there is a big chance, that your potential professor will contact you later.
Wish you luck
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