Seoul National University

This special topics, seminar-style course selects one or more topics related to West Asian civilization and language and consists of in-depth coverage, analysis, and discussion of issues related to the topic. The topic of this course may change each time it is offered. For example, the Spring 2025 semester topic was Islam and Inequality: A Historical Perspective, focusing on socioeconomic inequality.  

This course surveys various abnormal behaviors and mental disorders. The first part of the course introduces the major psychological theories (Psychodynamic Theory, Learning Theory, Cognitive-Behavioral Theory) as well as the biological and socio-cultural theories which explain the phenomena, causes, and treatment of abnormal behaviors and mental disorders.  

In the second part, various phenomena and classification systems of mental disorders are presented. The focus is on psychological causes of various types of mental disorders: disorders related to anxiety, mood, and personality, somatoform disorders, dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, sex-related disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders, alcoholism, mental disorders in childhood or adolescence.  

In addition, the course covers the proper treatments for mental disorders as well as how to improve mental health in general. 

This course introduces theories and practices on technology startup to students majoring in technology management or engineering. The course provides students with the basic knowledge needed to start a technology-oriented business or prepare career path related to the technology start-up ecosystem in the future. Topics include entrepreneurship, business planning, financing, and other related topics such as laws, finance & accounting strategy, and intellectual property rights. 

In this course the possibilities of new forms of expression are explored and expanded on by using different materials and composite techniques, such as the heterogeneity of oil and water, composites of drawing and printing, and the incorporation of conventional images. 

This course provides a psychological perspective on how to live a good life. To this end, this course consists of three main themes: 1) happy life, 2) meaningful life, and 3) dignified life. A happy life consists of sub-themes such as the definition and measurement of happiness, the components of happiness, the consequences of happiness, the characteristics of a happy state and society, and the characteristics of a happy individual. A meaningful life consists of themes of meaning, source of meaning, goals and achievements, and self-control, and finally, a dignified life consists of sub-themes of virtuous living, human rationality and diversity, and healthy framing. 

This course explores users as humans who are changing/expanding in the AI era, exploring the limitations of recent AI services, and then designing user-centered AI services. Students learn methods to understand users, and then define user interfaces and their interaction. Prototyping techniques and evaluation methods are also provided. Service design is carried out at the level of expressing ideas, not at the level of actual driving. 

In particular, this class is conducted with a focus on practice rather than lecture-style delivery, and coaching for each process customized for each team is carried out through close interviews and discussions. In addition, the course benchmarks related services in depth from the perspective of actual business to identify limitations and opportunity points and carry out a process to turn them into deliverable results. There are no special technical/technical prerequisites required for this course, however, students must be proactive and enthusiastic about participating. 

This course surveys and introduces topics vital to understanding our planet.  

The Earth is composed of four major systems, such as geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, which govern the surface processes and internal dynamics of the Earth. This course explores Earth processes of crustal evolution, environmental changes, and biotic successions since its formation as a planet.  

This course introduces the basics of business analytics, which uses data and models to make business decisions. It focuses on descriptive analytics and predictive analytics, and covers detailed topics such as data management, data visualization and summary, hypothesis testing, linear regression models, logistic regression models, decision trees, and data mining. The goal of this course is for students to 1) identify key factors in business decisions, 2) apply various tools and techniques to make evidence-based business decisions, and 3) effectively explain and communicate those decisions to various audiences and stakeholders. 

This course focuses on learning how to structure and solve complex decision problems and analyzing their property and solutions quantitatively. It covers advanced theories, algorithms, and applications of management science in the context of quantitative decision modeling and optimization. Topics include the theory and applications of linear, nonlinear, integer programming, as well as advanced modeling approaches to optimization problems under various sources of uncertainty. Students will also explore recent advances in the field, including integration with machine learning, and address real-world decision challenges across various domains, ranging from finance, marketing, and production to healthcare, sports management, and humanitarian operations. The course involves hands-on learning using relevant languages (e.g., Excel, Python) and state-of-the-art solvers. A basic understanding of mathematical optimization and probability is required. 

This course empowers undergraduate students in the College of Natural Sciences with essential knowledge in programming and artificial intelligence. Regardless of their specific majors, students gain foundational insights into computer science, computational science, statistics, and deep neural networks. This course equips students with practical skills that can be directly applied to scientific challenges. Through a combination of theory and practical exercises, this course offers students the opportunity to tackle real-world problems and work with data using artificial intelligence techniques. Students who possess basic computing and programming skills gain an understanding of how artificial intelligence and programming are applied in various subfields of natural sciences, fostering their ability to utilize these skills in future research endeavors.