A growing community
The University of Utah Asia Campus, located in Incheon, South Korea increased its number of new students by 10 percent this spring semester compared to the 2021 spring semester. Despite the continuous effects of Covid-19, 128 new students entered this spring, bringing the campus’ total enrollment to 540 students, including 40 students who joined the Asia Campus from its counterpart in Salt Lake City. The U Asia campus was established in 2014 with just 13 students and has seen steady growth ever since.
“We are thrilled at the continued interest in the U Asia Campus. Students are the lifeblood of our community, and the increase in enrollment is evidence of our faculty and staff’s hard work and dedication.” says, Dr. Greg Hill, chief administrative officer at the U Asia Campus.
The Business Administration department arrives in South Korea
The U Asia Campus is currently recruiting first-year students for the newly-launched Business Administration (BA) department and will welcome students from the Salt Lake City campus to take BA courses in Korea within the next few semesters. The department will offer two majors–Accounting and Information Systems.
“The Utah Asia Campus is excited to welcome the David Eccles School of Business programs. The Eccles School will be a welcome addition to our community, and its well-established, worldwide reputation will benefit U Asia Campus in many ways. We look forward to a great partnership,” says Hill.
Business Administration students can earn both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years. They also have the option to apply for OPT (Optional Practical Training) opportunities to work in the United States for three years after graduation. Students who enroll in the BA program through the U Asia Campus study at the Korea campus for the first two years of their program, and spend the third year at the U’s Salt Lake City campus. Students can choose between spending their fourth year at either campus. Students with master’s degree-linked courses will study at the Salt Lake City campus in the last year of their study.
According to the U.S. accounting media Public Accounting Report, the University of Utah accounting major ranks in the top 25 among all university accounting programs in the U.S. Graduates of the U’s Accounting and Information Systems programs have a 98% employment rate in the U.S. and an average starting salary of $56,000 for accounting majors and $63,000 for information system majors.
The BA department is the newest in a series of arrivals at the U Asia Campus. In Spring 2021, two new majors – Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) – were added to its curriculum, shortly followed by a game studies minor in Fall 2022. The new focus on business, STEM and gaming programs comes as exciting news for students with employment prospects in the near future, as students in the respective fields boast some of the highest employment rates in the United States and globally.
The University of Utah Asia Campus plans to continue growing both its community and its curriculum in order to offer the fullest American higher education experience to students in South Korea, and a memorable international experience for the U’s American students.