The May 18 Institute CNU offers a master’s degree program, the Global NGO Masters’ Program, (hereafter referred to as the GNMP). The GNMP welcomes individuals including NGO workers and leaders in Asia-Africa, who are passionate and engaged in transformative thought.

We aim to educate global NGO workers and the next generation leaders who will help transform nonprofit, social enterprises, international NGOs, social services agencies, art, and cultural institutions, foundations, and advocacy and volunteer organizations in Asia and Africa. We encourage anyone with a passion for the promotion of social change, human rights, democratization, local community development, solidarity across borders, and humanitarian aid.

The program was established in 2016 as a theoretical, practical, and educational platform for international sharing and expansion of the spirit and experiences of the May 18 Democratization Movement. The GNMP works closely with the May 18 Memorial Foundation in Gwangju, the official body commemorating the democratic struggle in Gwangju on May 18, 1980. Students have an excellent chance to learn and trace the spirit and history of the democratization movement in Korea. We aim to strengthen democratic civil society through NGO workers’ global networking and solidarity across borders.

We provide a multidisciplinary curriculum, integrating academic and practitioners’ training. The curriculum covers a wide range of current issues from both regional and global perspectives and the entire coursework is conducted in English. The GNMP is intended for the people who have been contributing or have the potential to contribute to leading social progress in Asia-Africa. The GNMP offers intensive and flexible preparation for those who seek leadership and skills for more just and equitable social development in Asia and Africa. For this purpose, the program provides international students with scholarship opportunities and a living stipend.