SALT LAKE CITY — In 2014, the University of Utah Asia Campus opened its doors in Incheon, South Korea, to students looking for a global and culturally diverse education.
Now, the U. is welcoming the first group of students to Salt Lake City to complete their degrees.
Although most undergraduate students will spend three years at the Asia campus before finishing their degrees in Utah, Juhee Kim, Lihae Park and Rupert Kangho Lee are on an accelerated path and have already accrued enough credits to enter to the U.’s main campus as college seniors.
The U. also welcomes six graduate students in the Master of Public Health program — JiHo Chang, Krista Ocier, Jihye Park, Mariana Ju, Kayoung Kim and Sungmin (Paul) Kim. Because it’s a two-year program, graduate students spend one year at the Asia campus and one year on the main campus.
Fall 2016 enrollment at the Asia campus has increased to 225 students, and next year a larger cohort of about 60-70 undergraduate and graduate students are expected to arrive in Salt Lake City.
As the Asia campus increases its degree offerings in the years to come, it is anticipated that more than 300 students will arrive each year to complete their U. degrees.
In addition, the Asia campus will celebrate the opening of its newest building later this month. The nine-story, 170,000-square-foot facility is modeled after the J. Willard Marriott Library. The building includes a welcome center, student lounge, 26 lecture halls and classrooms, a counseling center and more than 100 faculty and student support offices.