EASST-BA - East Asian Studies (BA)
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Program Overview
The program’s mission in East Asian Studies is to enable students to obtain a comprehensive understanding of East Asia broadly conceived, which is the area stretching from Japan through Korea and China to the contiguous areas of the Central Asian landmass. Students are expected to have a good mastery of an East Asian language and focus on a particular sub-region or a substantive issue involving the region as a whole. The classes emphasize the developing powers of critical thinking and expression, which serve students well regardless of their ultimate career goals in business, government service, academia, or the professions.
Preparing for the Major
Majors are encouraged to prepare for the major by taking courses in an East Asian language and about East Asian cultures. The courses taken for the major must add up to at least 78 units, comprised of the three-unit Senior Colloquium and at least 75 additional units, all taken for a letter grade. Courses must be at least three units and taken with a letter grade to be counted towards the degree. Majors are encouraged to distribute their coursework among at least three disciplines and two subregions in Asia. The subregions need not be traditionally defined.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Demonstrate proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language at the second-year level or above, to be met either by coursework or examination.
Students who meet the language proficiency requirement through examination are expected to do at least two of the following:
Take an additional 15 units of the language at a higher level
Enroll in literature courses taught in the language
Complete the first-year course sequence of another East Asian language
No more than 30 units of language courses may be counted toward the major.
Complete three area courses total, one in each of the following categories:
Humanities
History
Social Sciences
The courses listed are examples and are not exhaustive; if uncertain whether a particular course fits into one of these categories, contact the SSO or DUS.
Complete four courses with a thematic coherence on East Asia, one of which must be a seminar at the 200-level.
Examples include:
East Asian religions and philosophies
Culture and society of modern Japan
Ethnic identities in East Asia
Arts and literature in late imperial China
Foreign policy in East Asia
Social transformation of modern Korea
China's political economy
See ExploreCourses/NavigateClasses under CHINA, JAPAN, KOREA, EALC, EASTASN, or other relevant departments; if uncertain whether a particular course fits into one of these categories, contact the SSO or DUS.
Complete one of the following EALC courses to fulfill the university Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement. This requirement should be fulfilled before the senior year, and the course taken should be in the student’s area of focus.
Only one course may be used to fulfill the WIM requirement, and other EALC WIM courses will be counted toward other course requirements.
Submit one of the following as agreed upon by the DUS, faculty advisor, and student, and present the research to EALC peers and faculty:
Capstone Essay (~7,500 words)
Equivalent Alternate Project (e.g., translation, media production, etc.)
Honors Thesis (~15,000 words)
The topic should be built upon the student’s thematic interest.
A faculty advisor for the capstone essay must be finalized no later than the second week of autumn quarter of the senior year.
Majors must enroll in the Senior Colloquium (course) in winter quarter of the senior year and enroll in at least one Senior Research course (course or course) with their faculty advisor during the senior year.
Senior Capstone and Honors Thesis Presentations will be held in spring quarter. Students must present as part of their final project.
Majors with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 may apply for the honors program by submitting a senior thesis proposal to the honors committee during the winter or spring quarter of the junior year. The proposal must include:
A thesis outline
A list of all relevant courses the student has taken and plans to take; one advanced-level colloquium or seminar dealing with China, Japan, or Korea is required
A preliminary reading list including a work or works in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean
The name of a faculty member who has agreed to act as the honors topic advisor
Students must discuss the honors project with the DUS and receive approval before conducting honors research. Without approval, students should plan to complete the capstone essay.
If the proposal is approved, research begins in spring quarter of the junior year, or by autumn quarter of the senior year at the latest, when the student enrolls in two to five units of credit for senior research (in course or course) with their faculty advisor. In winter quarter of the senior year, the student enrolls in five units of credit for senior research (in course or course) with their thesis supervisor while writing the thesis and enrolls in the Senior Colloquium (course) to polish and present their thesis. The finished essay (usually about 15,000 words) is submitted no later than week 5 of spring quarter of the senior year. Eight to eleven credit units are granted for honors coursework and the finished thesis.
Demonstrate proficiency in modern Chinese at the third-year level or above, to be met either by coursework or examination.
Students who meet the language proficiency requirement through examination are expected to do at least two of the following:
Take an additional 15 units of the language at a higher level
Enroll in literature courses taught in the language
Complete the first-year course sequence of another East Asian language
No more than 30 units of language courses may be counted toward the major.
Demonstrate proficiency in classical Chinese by taking one of the following courses.
To bring the total number of units counted towards the major to 78, complete additional content courses to fulfill the requirement. The selected courses should be discussed with the SSO, DUS, or advisor for approval.
Three CHINA courses at the 100-level, with one in each of the following areas: pre-modern China, modern China, and Chinese linguistics.
Four other content courses, as approved by the advisor, DUS, or SSO. One of these should be a History course offered by the Department of History.
All students take course as part of the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement.
See ExploreCourses/NavigateClasses under CHINA, JAPAN, KOREA, EALC, EASTASN, or other relevant departments; if uncertain whether a particular course fits into one of these categories, contact the SSO or DUS.
Submit one of the following as agreed upon by the DUS, faculty advisor, and student, and present the research to EALC peers and faculty:
Capstone Essay (~7,500 words)
Equivalent Alternate Project (e.g., translation, media production)
Honors Thesis (~15,000 words)
The topic should be built upon the student's thematic interest.
A faculty advisor for the capstone essay must be finalized no later than the second week of the Autumn Quarter of senior year.
Majors are required to enroll in the Senior Colloquium (course) in winter quarter of the senior year and enroll in at least one Senior Research course (course/course/course) with their faculty advisor during the senior year.
Senior Capstone and Honors Thesis Presentations will be held in spring quarter; students must present as part of their final project.
Winter quarter, senior year: Students must enroll in the Senior Colloquium course to work on research and writing methods with DUS to work on their Senior Capstone Essay or Senior Honors Thesis.
Spring quarter, senior year: Students enroll in a Senior Research course with their topic advisor. Students may also enroll in Senior Research with their topic advisor in the autumn and/or winter quarter(s) of the senior year. Students must enroll in at least one Senior Research course with their topic advisor.
Spring quarter, senior year: Students submit and present the final research project to EALC faculty and peers.
Demonstrate proficiency in Japanese at the third-year level or above, to be met by coursework or examination.
Students who meet the language proficiency requirement through examination are expected to do at least two of the following:
Take an additional 15 units of the language at a higher level
Enroll in literature courses taught in the language
Complete the first-year course sequence of another East Asian language
No more than 30 units of language courses may be counted toward the major.
To bring the total number of units counted towards the major to 78, complete additional content courses to fulfill the requirement. The following courses selected should be discussed with the SSO, DUS, or advisor for approval.
Three JAPAN courses at the 100-level, with one in each of the following areas: pre-modern Japan, modern Japan, and Japanese linguistics.
Four other content courses, as approved by the advisor, DUS, or SSO. One of these should be a History course offered by the Department of History.
All students take course as part of the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement.
See ExploreCourses/NavigateClasses under CHINA, JAPAN, KOREA, EALC, EASTASN, or other relevant departments; if uncertain whether a particular course fits into one of these categories, contact the SSO or DUS.
Submit one of the following as agreed upon by the DUS, faculty advisor, and student, and present the research to EALC peers and faculty:
Capstone Essay (~7,500 words)
Equivalent Alternate Project (e.g., translation, media production, etc.)
Honors Thesis (~15,000 words)
The topic should be built upon the student’s thematic interest.
A faculty advisor for the capstone essay must be finalized no later than the second week of autumn quarter of the senior year.
Majors are required to enroll in the Senior Colloquium (course) in winter quarter of the senior year and enroll in at least one Senior Research course (course/course/course) with their faculty advisor during the senior year.
Senior Capstone and Honors Thesis Presentations will be held in spring quarter. Students must present as part of their final project.
Winter quarter, senior year: Students must enroll in the Senior Colloquium course to work on research and writing methods with DUS to work on their Senior Capstone Essay or Senior Honors Thesis.
Spring quarter, senior year: Students enroll in a Senior Research course with their topic advisor. Students may also enroll in Senior Research with their topic advisor in the autumn and/or winter quarter(s) of the senior year. Students must enroll in at least one Senior Research course with their topic advisor.
Spring quarter, senior year: Students submit and present the final research project to EALC faculty and peers.
Demonstrate proficiency in Korean at the third-year level or above, to be met by coursework or examination.
Students who meet the language proficiency requirement through examination are expected to do at least two of the following:
Take an additional 15 units of the language at a higher level
Enroll in literature courses taught in the language
Complete the first-year course sequence of another East Asian language
No more than 30 units of language courses may be counted toward the major.
To bring the total number of units counted towards the major to 78, complete additional content courses to fulfill the requirement. The following courses selected should be discussed with the SSO, DUS, or advisor for approval.
Six content courses on Korea and/or East Asia at the 100-level, at least two of which must bear the KOREA subject code.
All students take course as part of the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement.
See ExploreCourses/NavigateClasses under CHINA, JAPAN, KOREA, EALC, EASTASN, or other relevant departments; if uncertain whether a particular course fits into one of these categories, contact the SSO or DUS.
Submit one of the following as agreed upon by the DUS, faculty advisor, and student, and present the research to EALC peers and faculty:
Capstone Essay (~7,500 words)
Equivalent Alternate Project (e.g., translation, media production, etc.)
Honors Thesis (~15,000 words)
The topic should be built upon the student’s thematic interest.
A faculty advisor for the capstone essay must be finalized no later than the second week of autumn quarter of the senior year.
Majors are required to enroll in the Senior Colloquium (course) in winter quarter of the senior year and enroll in at least one Senior Research course (course/course/course) with their faculty advisor during the senior year.
Senior Capstone and Honors Thesis Presentations will be held in spring quarter; students must present as part of their final project.
Winter quarter, senior year: Students must enroll in the Senior Colloquium course to work on research and writing methods with DUS to work on their Senior Capstone Essay or Senior Honors Thesis.
Spring quarter, senior year: Students enroll in a Senior Research course with their topic advisor. Students may also enroll in Senior Research with their topic advisor in the autumn and/or winter quarter(s) of the senior year. Students must enroll in at least one Senior Research course with their topic advisor.
Spring quarter, senior year: Students submit and present the final research project to EALC faculty and peers.