Established in August 1946, the original name of College of Natural Sciences was Department of Science under Department of Liberal Arts and Science. College of Natural Sciences is a world class institution in research of basic science that studies fundamental principles and the laws of nature. Through cutting edge research and systematic education, College of Natural Sciences provides excellent preparation for students to become exceptionally competent in the foundational knowledge essential to scientific inquiry. With groundbreaking research, College of Natural Sciences nurtures students to become leading scientists as they learn critical thinking and scientific analysis ability.
In addition to the education for our own students, College of Natural Sciences(CNS) assumes full charge of basic science education of other schools in SNU such as College of Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Education, and College of Pharmacy. Graduate program has been substantially funded by Brain Korea 21 Project since 2000, followed by Brain Korea 21 Plus Project since 2013, which has allowed individual research fund and the financial support for graduate students. Currrently there are 230 faculties and 1,100 graduate students in CNS, and many professors of CNS made an international reputation in the academic world of science. Through the world-class facilities and support for research in CNS, both faculties and students are developing their international competency and trying to make a high-level achievement.
For the popularization of science, College of Natural Sciences has developed and run various programs which are open to students and general public for their easy access to natural sciences. Natural Sciences Open Lecture was first held in 1994 and eversince it takes place every February for two days, holding five to eight seminars of different topics. Nearly 1500 people participate in this event every year, spreading scientific mindset and broadly contributing to the advancement of science. In particular, since 2014, a huge budget has been allocated to add spectacular performance to the lecture so that the lectures become much more interesting for the general public. Programs include: Saturday Science Open Lecture where lecture and discussion courses on different topics are held for middle and high school students; Natural Sciences Experience Camp gives people opportunities to explore different fields of natural sciences. Such programs are so popular that participants are determined by a selection process. In addition, CNS offers mentoring program which is also gaining popularity. We recruit undergraduate students and send them to rural areas where advanced science is hardly accessible. As you can see, CNS serves as a communication link between science and general public.
