{"id":4202,"date":"2026-11-11T13:03:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T08:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4202"},"modified":"2026-11-11T13:03:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T08:03:47","slug":"bts-makes-its-way-into-university-classrooms-from-stanford-to-berkeley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4202","title":{"rendered":"BTS makes its way into university classrooms from Stanford to Berkeley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

BTS is becoming a subject of academic study at universities around the world, with Stanford offering a course inspired by leader RM\u2019s approach to well-being, while institutions such as Berkeley have explored the group\u2019s music, fandom and cultural influence, according to Gulf News.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stanford University is offering a three-unit freshman seminar titled PSYC 65N: Namjooning, and Other Well-Being Inspiration from BTS during its autumn 2026 quarter.<\/p>\n

The course, running from September 22 to December 4, explores mental well-being through activities and interests associated with RM, whose real name is Kim Namjoon. These include nature walks, cycling, visiting museums, reading and art appreciation.<\/p>\n

Students will also study topics such as sleep, anxiety, self-awareness, self-love and creative block, combining scientific research with discussions inspired by RM\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

The seminar is restricted to Stanford first-year students, and applications close on August 26.<\/p>\n

<\/a>What is Namjooning?<\/h3>\n

Namjooning is a fan-created term inspired by RM\u2019s name and his habit of spending free time reading, cycling, visiting museums and exploring nature.<\/p>\n

The term became popular among BTS fans in 2019 and has since come to represent taking time away from daily routines to enjoy simple activities and focus on personal well-being.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Berkeley\u2019s BTS course<\/h3>\n

The University of California, Berkeley, also introduced a student-led course titled Next Generation Leaders: BTS in 2019.<\/p>\n

The two-unit course explored the group\u2019s history, music, artistic work, philanthropy and storytelling, alongside discussions about globalisation and media representation.<\/p>\n

The course was part of Berkeley\u2019s Democratic Education at Cal programme, which allows students to design and teach their own classes.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Universities use BTS to teach Korean<\/h3>\n

BTS has also featured in Korean language education through Learn! KOREAN with BTS, a programme developed by Big Hit Edu, the Korea Foundation and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.<\/p>\n

The learning materials use clips from the group\u2019s variety show Run BTS! and members\u2019 live broadcasts to help students learn Korean.<\/p>\n

Universities in the United States, France, Egypt and Vietnam were among the institutions that introduced the programme in 2020.<\/p>\n

Other universities have included BTS in broader courses examining Korean popular music, culture and the global influence of K-pop.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Academic conferences explore BTS<\/h3>\n

The group\u2019s influence has also become a subject of academic conferences. The BTS Global Interdisciplinary Conference brings together researchers to discuss the group\u2019s music, cultural impact and fandom.<\/p>\n

Its fifth edition was held on July 2 and 3, 2026, at Jeonbuk National University in South Korea, featuring 50 presenters from 10 countries.<\/p>\n

The growing number of courses and academic discussions reflects how BTS has become a subject of interest beyond the music industry, attracting attention from researchers studying culture, language, media and global fandom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BTS is becoming a subject of academic study at universities around the world, with Stanford offering a course inspired by leader RM\u2019s approach to well-being, while institutions such as Berkeley have explored the group\u2019s music, fandom and cultural influence, according to Gulf News. Stanford University is offering a three-unit freshman seminar titled PSYC 65N: Namjooning, and Other Well-Being Inspiration from BTS during its autumn 2026 quarter. The course, running from September 22 to December 4, explores mental well-being through activities and interests associated with RM, whose real name is Kim…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}