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. Recent initiatives 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 Research Fund: This fund supports research in Korean studies by undergraduate and graduate students who are affiliated with the institute. Under the program, ten to fifteen students are supported every year with grants amounting to up to $2,000. Endowed naming opportunities are available for this fund. Also available for naming is our Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, which each year gives a select group of undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct research while receiving instruction in Korean studies by the institute’s faculty. See the program description as well as the testimonials of some of our former fellows.
- Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships: One year of fellowship support can be vital for advanced doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars who are emerging in the fields of Korean and Korean American studies. A term gift of $43,000 will provide a dissertation completion fellowship, while $70,000 will fund a postdoctoral fellowship. Donors may establish named term or endowed fellowships.
- 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.