Visiting Scholars

Temple guardians at the entrance of
Bongeunsa temple, Seoul.

• Introduction
• Application Information
• Application Forms
• During Affiliation
• Research Assistance Grants
• Visiting Scholar Activities — Discovering the Bay Area
• Current Visiting Scholars
• Former Visiting Scholars

During Affiliation

U.S. Visa

When CKS and other UC Berkeley have completed processing your file, you will receive a DS-2019 form. Take this form with you to the U.S. Embassy to receive your J-1 visa for yourself (plus a J-2 visa for each dependent). For more information about the J visa, see the website of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul: English and Korean.

Residency requirement

The Center requires that except for travel periods of reasonable duration, persons holding visiting scholar status actually reside in the San Francisco Bay Area during the period of their affiliation. Specifically, Center affiliates may not claim visiting scholar status while carrying out normal academic duties in Korea.

Extension of stay

The period of affiliation is usually either one year or six months. However, extensions of up to one additional year will be made on a case by case basis. To request an extension, please do so by submitting a one page description to cks-vs@berkeley.edu (in English) on the current status of your research and a justification for why the extra time is needed. The fees for extending can be found under the fees section on this site.

Scholarly responsibilities

Research project: It is important that all visiting scholars make successful progress in their research program while they are affiliated with CKS. As a signal for completion of the scholar's research program, all visiting scholars and other affiliates are required to submit a final report on their research to the Chair when the affiliation ends.

Center Colloquia and Conferences: Korean visiting scholars are expected to attend as many Center colloquia and other public activities as possible. The scholar must at some time present an oral report or a public lecture, in Korean or English, on his or her research. Such lectures are free and open to the public.

Services provided by CKS

Affiliation with CKS allows visiting scholars to obtain an official campus identification card. Services also include the use of telephone, fax and photocopying privileges, and office space. However, since office space here at the Institute is limited, all offices are shared with other scholars and we allocate the space based on individual need.

Other scholar activities

The Korean Visiting Scholars' Association (KVSA) is organized as a support group to discuss various relevant issues that are related to the general concerns of the visiting scholars during their affiliation with the Center. It autonomously plans academic as well as social activities and implements them with the proper support of CKS. It also serves as one of the means to support visiting scholars in sharing information to orient themselves and to discover a community of colleagues, thereby easing their transition to life in Berkeley.