Major Requirements

The B.A. degree is granted in Chinese, Japanese, and East Asian Studies. The following courses and their prerequisites must be completed with a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better:

1. Major in Chinese

CHINGEN 91 and JAPANGEN 92
Chinese language requirement:
1. first-year modern Chinese (one of the following series: CHINLANG 1, 2, 3, or CHINLANG 1B, 2B, 3B, or CHINLANG 5)
2. second-year modern Chinese (one of the following series: CHINLANG 21, 22, 23, or CHINLANG 21B, 22B, 23B, or CHINLANG 25)
3. Beginning Classical Chinese (CHINLIT 125, 126, 127)
three courses in CHINGEN or CHINLIT at the 100 level with one in each of the following areas, pre-modern China, modern China, and Chinese linguistics
four other content courses dealing with China primarily at the 100 level, as approved by the undergraduate adviser
CHINGEN 133 is the required Writing in the Major (WIM) course.
CHINGEN 198. Senior Colloquium: completion of a capstone essay of approximately 7,500 words, written either in a directed reading course or for one of the courses above.

2. Major in Japanese

CHINGEN 91 and JAPANGEN 92
Japanese language requirement:
1. first-year modern Japanese (one of the following series: JAPANLNG 1, 2, 3, or JAPANLNG 7, 8, 9, or JAPANLNG 10)
2. second-year modern Japanese: JAPANLNG 17, 18, 19, or JAPANLNG 20)
3. third-year modern Japanese: 117, 118, 119
three courses in JAPANGEN or JAPANLIT at the 100 level with one in each of the following areas, pre-modern Japan, modern Japan, and Japanese linguistics
four other content courses dealing with Japan primarily at the 100 level, as approved by the undergraduate adviser
JAPANGEN 138 is the required Writing in the Major (WIM) course.
JAPANGEN 198, Senior Colloquium: completion of a capstone essay of approximately 7,500 words, written either in a directed reading course or for one of the courses above.

JAPANGEN 71N can be used to satisfy the Japanese language/linguistics area requirement.
JAPANGEN 51/251 does not counted toward the major.
Students who complete third-year Japanese at KCJS satisfy the language requirement but are required to take a placement test if they wish to enroll in JAPANLNG 211, 212, 213.

Students who want to concentrate in Chinese or Japanese language/linguistics can substitute the four other content courses primarily at the 100 level with LINGUIST 1 and three other linguistic courses at the 100 level, as approved by the undergraduate adviser in consultation with the student’s academic adviser.

These requirements are in addition to the University’s basic requirement for the bachelor’s degree. Letter grades are mandatory for all required courses.

3. Major in East Asian Studies

Majors in East Asian Studies begin or continue the mastery of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. Within the humanities or social sciences, they may focus on a particular sub-region, for example, Japan; South China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan; or western China and Central Asia; or a substantive issue involving the region as a whole, such as environmental protection, public health, rural development, historiography, cultural expression, or religious beliefs. The major seeks to reduce the complexity of a region to intellectually manageable proportions and illuminate the interrelationships among the various facets of a society.
Potential majors must submit a Student Proposal for a Major in East Asian Studies form not later than the end of the first quarter of the junior year. Majors must complete at least 75 units of course work on China, Japan, and/or Korea in addition to a 1 unit Senior Colloquium. Courses to be credited toward major requirements must be completed with a grade of ‘C’ or better. Requirements are:

Language: proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language at the second-year level or above, to be met either by course work or examination. Students who meet the requirement through examination are still expected to take an additional 15 units of language at a higher level, or literature courses taught in the language, or the first year in an additional Asian language. No more than 30 units of language courses are counted toward the major.

2. Gateway Courses: a minimum of three gateway courses, one in each area. The gateway courses are:

a. Art, Literature and Religion

ART 60. Asian Art and Culture
CHINGEN 91. Traditional East Asian Civilization: China
JAPANGEN 92. Traditional East Asian Civilization: Japan
RELIGST 14. Introduction to Buddhism
RELIGST 18. Introduction to Zen Buddhism

b. History
HISTORY 93. Late Imperial China
HISTORY 94B. Japan in the Age of the Samurai
HISTORY 95. Modern Korean History
HISTORY 98. The History of Modern China
HISTORY 256. U.S.-China Relations: From the Opium War to Tiananmen

Contemporary Social Sciences
ANTHRO 148. Health, Politics and Culture of Modern China
ANTHRO 150. Identity and Peoples of China
HUMBIO 147. Population and Environment in China
POLISCI 140L. China in World Politics
POLISCI 148. Chinese Politics: The Transformation and the Era of Reform
SOC 117A. China Under Mao

3. Substantive Concentration: additional courses on East Asia, one of which must be a seminar above the 100 level. Majors are encouraged to distribute their course work among at least three disciplines and two subregions in Asia. The subregions need not be traditionally defined. Examples include China, Japan, or Korea; or, in recognition of the new subregions which are emerging, South China and Taiwan, or Central Asia. At least four courses must have a thematic coherence built around a topic such as:
    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
4. Capstone Essay: completion of a paper of approximately 7,500 words, written either in a directed reading course or for one of the courses in item 3 above, which should be built upon the student’s thematic interest. CHINGEN or JAPANGEN 198, Senior Colloquium (1 unit), is required of majors during Spring Quarter of their senior year to develop and present the capstone essay of honors paper.
5. At least one quarter overseas in the country of focus.
6. An East Asian Studies course that satisfies the University Writing in the Major requirement (WIM) should be completed before beginning the senior essay. This year, CHINGEN 133, JAPANGEN 138, and HISTORY 256 satisfy the WIM requirement.
The courses for the major must add up to at least 75 units and all must be taken for a letter grade, in addition to the 1 unit Senior Colloquium, for a total of 76 units.
HONORS PROGRAM
Majors with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.25 or better in all courses related to East Asia may apply for the honors program no later than the final quarter of the junior year. Application entails submitting an honors proposal to the student’s adviser for approval. Admission is granted by the EALC undergraduate committee, acting on the thesis supervisor’s recommendation.
Honors requirements are satisfactory completion of:

An honors thesis of high quality of approximately 10,000 words to be submitted in lieu of the senior capstone essay.

5 to 10 units of directed individual study in connection with the thesis project.
One advanced level colloquium or seminar dealing with China, Japan, or Korea.

Download application to major in East Asian Studies