The USC Dornsife Korean Studies Institute (KSI) supports research and teaching on globally relevant issues within the Korean context through faculty-led initiatives and student-centered programs. Our faculty affiliates and graduate students encompass a broad range of disciplinary expertise, spanning Korean language, literature, history, film and media studies, visual and performing arts, architecture, political science, international relations, sociology, data science, and Korean and Asian American studies. Housed in the historic Ahn Family Residence—the former home of Dosan Ahn Chang Ho’s family, KSI also serves as a living center of Korean and Korean American history for visitors from around the world.
Giving to KSI ensures that the institute remains a vibrant hub for forward-looking research and education. The support of funding agencies and private donors helps us maintain USC’s long-term commitment to advancing Korean and Korean American studies for generations to come. For designated online giving to the institute, please visit USC Giving. For more ways to give, see the guidelines here.
FUNDING PRIORITIES
If you have inquiries about giving opportunities, please contact Associate Director Dr. Gloria Koo at gloriako@usc.edu.
- KSI Programming Fund: Contributions to this fund support the organization of conferences, workshops, speaker series, and other academic and cultural events at KSI. These programs bring pioneering scholars, artists, and public intellectuals to campus, enriching the offerings in Korean studies at USC and in the Southern California region. One of our signature programs is the KSI Undergraduate Research Fellows Program. Each year, a select group of undergraduate students conduct independent research under close faculty mentoring. They also participate in an exchange conference with the University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania students. See the program description as well as the testimonials of some of our former fellows. In addition to the student programs, we support initiatives that explore Korean language and literature, Korean and Korean American history, visual and performing arts, S.-Korean relations, and emerging areas such as technoscience and environmental studies.
- Student Scholarship Fund: This fund supports undergraduate and graduate students doing research on Korea. The Fund provides scholarships to the undergraduate students who participate in the Maymester courses in Korea during the summer. The Fund also supports graduate students conducting fieldwork research in Korea, visiting the archives and presenting their papers at academic conferences. For advanced doctoral candidates, the Fund provides fellowship support. A term gift of $43,000 provides a dissertation completion fellowship.
- Korean American Studies Fund: Located minutes from Los Angeles’s historic Koreatown, KSI is dedicated to advancing Korean American studies through academic conferences, cultural programming, community partnerships, and student scholarships. This fund also supports the ongoing preservation and enhancement of the historic Ahn Family Residence as an educational landmark.
NAMING ENDOWMENT GIFTS
We welcome confidential conversations with individuals and foundations interested in establishing transformational, named endowments for the Institute, its directorship, or its signature programs. Please contact Director Sunyoung Park at sunyounp@usc.edu or our Advancement team to explore these possibilities.
