By Matthew Cimitile, University Communications and Marketing
A year and a half ago, USF launched an international partnership with Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in South Korea, aimed at expanding USF’s global presence and enriching the educational experience for Muma College of Business students pursuing degrees in finance and fintech.
This summer, an expansion of that partnership saw 42 USF students immerse themselves in the rich history and culture of Korea during a summer semester program in the nation’s capital, Seoul. Alongside earning credits for courses in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, finance and advertising that integrated aspects of Korean society into the classroom, students also built connections with peers across the globe.
For some, it was their first time outside the U.S.
“Honestly, it was a bit scary at first. I’m in a foreign country, and I don’t know the language that well. I was a bit homesick,” said Tiffany Ho, a USF digital marketing major with an international business minor. “But now, looking back as we near the end of the semester, I’m going to miss my time here.”
Tiffany Ho at Gyeongbokgung Palace, where she is wearing a traditional Korean hanbok.
Ho enrolled in an advertising and pop culture course that explored Korean society through billboards and signs that are ubiquitous throughout the country. Instead of traditional lectures and exams, the course took students on field trips and excursions, using Seoul as an extension of the classroom.
"We saw advertising everywhere we went," Ho said. "We learned who advertisements are targeted to and how brands build recognition over time."
Students regularly visited museums, cultural sites and neighborhoods, documenting advertising campaigns and marketing strategy through projects and journals.
"I’ve never really taken a class like this. We were constantly out in the city, learning as we explored,” Ho said.
For accounting and finance major Matthew A’Hearn, his study abroad education began moments after his flight landed.
"I landed an hour outside Seoul, so the first thing I had to do was navigate the public transportation system,” A’Hearn said. “It’s an effective system and I picked up on some cultural customs along the way.”
A’Hearn took two finance courses, one taught by an American professor and the other by a Korean professor. That, in itself, was instructional, allowing him to see similarities and differences in teaching approaches across cultures.
"Both have extensive industry experience, but they utilized that knowledge in different ways to get the course materials across,” he said.
Matthew A'Hearn during one of his many adventures in Seoul.
In addition to USF students, SKKU houses college students from across the U.S. and beyond during the summer. A’Hearn said that interacting with an international student community became one of the program's greatest strengths.
"The people here really make the experience," he said. "You're not only learning about Korean culture, you're experiencing Seoul through the perspectives of people from so many different backgrounds."
The study-abroad experience is one of several endeavors underway between the two universities to enhance education and research.
Back in June, faculty from the USF Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance presented at a joint research conference held twice a year at SKKU, on topics covering accounting, finance and fintech. While there, they celebrated the opening of the Center for AI Finance at SKKU.
The collaboration is opening doors for SKKU students, too. They can begin their graduate studies in fintech at SKKU and complete their master’s degree in fintech at USF, through a program that launched in fall 2025.
The SKKU Summer in Seoul program marked the first time USF offered a summer semester abroad in South Korea. The program returns next summer, and applications open in this fall.