EASST-MA - East Asian Studies (MA)
Download as PDF
Program Overview
Stanford’s interdisciplinary MA program in East Asian Studies is designed both for students who plan to complete a PhD but who have not yet decided on the particular discipline in which they prefer to work and for students who wish to gain a background in East Asian Studies in connection with a career in nonacademic fields such as business, law, education, journalism, or government service. The program permits the student to construct a course of study suited to individual intellectual interests and career needs and is typically completed in two years; the program may be completed within one year, depending on the course load taken and the amount of foreign language training required. Advanced language students or native Chinese, Japanese, or Korean speakers can potentially complete the program within one year. Students interested in pursuing professional careers are encouraged to plan for additional training through internships or other graduate professional programs in conjunction with obtaining an MA in East Asian Studies.
Coterm Admissions Information
Applications are open from September 15 to December 2.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Students must demonstrate proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language equivalent to Stanford’s first three full years of language training. This requirement may be fulfilled by one of three methods:
1. Completing the third-year course sequence at Stanford;
2. Examination (i.e., testing into 4th year in the target language) administered by the Stanford Language Center. Students who demonstrate partial completion via this method (for example, testing into third-year Chinese, 2nd quarter) need only complete those courses remaining to fulfill the regular year-long course sequence;
3. By possessing a degree from a university where the language of instruction is in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.
Students completing their language proficiency requirement while attending Stanford must adhere to these policies:
All language courses taken at Stanford used toward fulfilling the language requirement must be for letter grades and completed with a grade of B or higher.
Conversation classes cannot be used to meet this requirement.
The language used to meet the language proficiency requirement should match the student’s country/region of focus.
Students entering the program without any language preparation should complete first-year language courses during the first year of residence at Stanford.
Units from language courses numbered 1-99 do not count toward the 46 units required for the degree. Language courses numbered 100 and above (i.e., 3rd year and above) can be used toward meeting the 46 units minimum for the degree but cannot fulfill the content courses requirement.
Other Asian languages may be accepted by petition to fulfill this degree requirement.
Language courses are listed under the following subject codes on the Stanford Navigate Classes website : CHINLANG, JAPANLNG, and KORLANG.
Students must complete a minimum of 46 units at Stanford (no transfer credits accepted), comprised of:
Minimum nine (9) East Asia content courses, at least 30 units of which must be at the graduate level (200 level or above in most courses and 300 level for HISTORY and other select departments), and which also meet the following requirements:
Includes EASTASN 330 core course, three units, offered in autumn quarter. Students starting their program in autumn must take this class during their first quarter at Stanford.
Are on the approved East Asian Studies course lists below, or have been approved by petition (maximum three petitions),
Are a minimum of three units (excluding specific pre-approved exceptional courses)
Are taken for a letter grade (if available) and completed with a B or higher (P or higher in GSB courses and Law courses).
Include at least three courses either i) in the same department; or ii) within the same thematic focus.
Language courses may not be used to fulfill content course requirements.
B. Additional coursework as necessary to reach the minimum 46 units for the degree must meet the following criteria:
Taken for a letter grade,
At least level 100 or above (above 200 for HISTORY courses), with students strongly encouraged to enroll in graduate-level courses whenever possible,
An academic content course, such as a lecture, seminar, lab, or colloquium. Activity courses, studio courses, and EFS language classes are not accepted.
General policies applicable to all coursework:
Language classes if the course number is above level 100, language courses numbered 1-99 do not count toward required units.
All courses’ cumulative grade point average (GPA) must be 3.0 or higher.
No transfer units are accepted, except courses for exchange credit at the University of California, Berkeley, with the approval of their advisor and the Office of the University Registrar.
EASTASN 330 counts toward the nine content courses.
The courses below are pre-approved to meet the nine content course requirement, at least 30 units of which must be at or above the 200 level (at or above the 300 level for HISTORY courses). Students may submit a petition for up to 3 alternate courses for this requirement by following the course petition policy.
The center admits a limited number of Stanford undergraduates to work toward a coterminal MA degree in East Asian Studies. Applications are accepted once a year during the regular CEAS MA application cycle. Students may apply after completing 120 units but no later than the quarter before the expected completion of the undergraduate degree. Applicants are expected to meet the same standards as those seeking admission to the MA program, and they must submit the following via the online coterminal application:
A completed Application for Admission to Coterminal Master’s Program
An unofficial Stanford transcript
Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be from members of the department of concentration
First 15 pages of a representative writing sample (such as a seminar paper, term paper, honors thesis, or journal article)
A list of courses the applicant intends to take to fulfill degree requirements
Coterm applications are reviewed along with peer applications by the MA Admissions Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS).
Students must meet all requirements for both BA and MA degrees. They must complete 15 full-time quarters or the equivalent, or three full quarters after completing 180 units for 226 units. Coterms are not eligible for university financial aid but can apply for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) and other fellowships administered by CEAS.
University Coterminal Requirements
Coterminal master’s degree candidates are expected to complete all master’s degree requirements as described in this Bulletin. Coterminal Master's Degrees describes university requirements for the coterminal master’s degree. Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the master’s degree.
After accepting admission to this coterminal master’s degree program, students may request a transfer of courses from the undergraduate to the graduate career to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree. Transferring courses to the graduate career requires review and approval of both the undergraduate and graduate programs on a case-by-case basis.
In this master’s program, courses taken three quarters before the first graduate quarter or later are eligible for consideration for transfer to the graduate career. No courses taken before the first quarter of the sophomore year may be used to meet master’s degree requirements.
Course transfers are not possible after the bachelor’s degree has been conferred.
The university requires that the graduate advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter even though the undergraduate career may still be open. The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.
Students must submit a master’s thesis representing a substantial piece of original research with a minimum of 10,000 words in the main body (excluding references, citations, appendices, etc.). With the advisor’s approval, the master’s thesis requirement may be satisfied by expanding upon an existing research paper written for an advanced course. The MA thesis is due in the quarter the student applies to graduate by the date and time specified on the official Stanford Academic Calendar. No filing extensions are permitted.
The following program milestones are additionally required for all students:
Program Proposal:
By the end of their first quarter at Stanford, MA students must submit a program proposal for the Master’s Degree. The Program Proposal Form must be signed by the student’s advisor and submitted to CEAS for review and approval.
Thesis Proposal and Literature Review
By the end of the quarter before the quarter in which they intend to graduate, MA students must submit an approved thesis proposal and literature review for the Master’s Degree. The proposal is the statement of the research question, the rationale for the research, the theoretical and empirical background the student brings to bear, and the research methodology to be applied. The advisor must review and approve the five to ten-page proposal. The Thesis Proposal and Literature Review Guidelines contain the cover page for the proposal, signed by the student’s advisor and submitted to CEAS.
Thesis Presentation:
Once during their time in the MA program, students are required to present their thesis project at a public presentation. CEAS organizes quarterly events for this purpose, allowing students to hone their public speaking skills by giving short informal presentations and receiving feedback from fellow students and faculty. This requirement can be fulfilled at any stage of the thesis development process and does not need to be only for ‘completed’ projects.
Petition to Count Course toward the Nine Content Course Requirement:
Under some circumstances, students may petition for a non-East Asia-specific course to be counted toward the nine content courses. For example, a petition could be submitted to count a methodology course in a particular discipline that will aid the student in their MA thesis research. Students must submit a “Course Petition Form” and a course syllabus before the second week of classes.
A maximum of three courses may be petitioned to count toward the nine content course requirement.
Directed Reading Course Approval Policy:
Directed reading courses (EASTASN 300) may be taken with relevant Stanford Faculty members to complete independent study projects. The following policies pertain to these courses:
A maximum of 6 units of EASTASN 300 may be applied to the 46 required degree units.
To apply EASTASN 300 units to the nine content course requirement, the course must be taken for a minimum of three units and a letter grade. Students must submit an instructor-approved syllabus to the CEAS office by the published deadline each quarter, which includes:
Instructor name and email
Year and quarter of course
Unit count
Grading basis (must be letter grade)
Approximate meeting time and class duration
Course objective (short paragraph)
A breakdown of course assignments, such as discussion sections, presentations, short papers, and long-form research papers.