Why study East Asian languages and cultures?
The areas of East Asia covered represent 3 of the oldest continuous civilizations of the world. The great historical contributions of China, Japan, and Korea in literature, philosophy, and art are widely recognized and studied throughout the world. Today, the highly advanced industries of Japan, the enormous human resources of China, and the rapidly growing economies of Korea and Taiwan have contributed to the development of extremely valuable socio-political and economic ties between these areas and the United States.
M.A. Program Overview
The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) is the only department in Kansas offering a regular program of instruction in the languages, literatures, and cultures of East Asia.
The EALC Thesis M.A. program trains students who will devote themselves to becoming effective links between the Far East and the United States. Students concentrate in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or East Asian Cultures, usually entering the program with at least two years of college-level language. The program typically takes two years to complete, including the defense of a required Master's thesis.
FLAS Fellowships
Students in the M.A. program may also be eligible for a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship through the Center for East Asian Studies. FLAS fellowships include:
- Summer award - up to $5,000 for tuition and a stipend of $2,500 for living expenses for summer language study equivalent to one full year of language study
- Academic Year award - up to $18,000 for tuition and a stipend of $15,000 for living expenses for academic year study that includes two semesters of language and six credits or more of East Asian culture courses.
Students in the joint J.D./M.A. or who are also admitted to other programs are strongly encouraged to apply for this funding.
Admission to Graduate Studies
An applicant seeking to pursue graduate study in the College may be admitted as either a degree-seeking or non-degree seeking student. Policies and procedures of Graduate Studies govern the process of Graduate admission. These may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Please consult the Departments & Programs section of the online catalog for information regarding program-specific admissions criteria and requirements. Special admissions requirements pertain to Interdisciplinary Studies degrees, which may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Admission to the M.A. program
Apply to the EALC M.A. program via the Office of Graduate Studies online application system. For additional information regarding departmental admissions requirements, deadlines, and the application process, please visit the graduate admissions page of the EALC Department website, or contact the EALC Department Graduate Program directly at ealc@ku.edu.
Master’s Program
The department offers a master’s degree in East Asian languages and cultures. The student declares a concentration in 1 of 4 options.
- Chinese language and literature
- Japanese language and literature
- Korean language and literature
- East Asian cultures
Students of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language and literature gain in-depth knowledge of these ancient civilizations, which have produced some of the world’s greatest literature.
Students of East Asian cultures develop a broad interdisciplinary knowledge of East Asia. This concentration is for students pursuing professional or noncollege teaching careers, for students in the early stages of language training, or for students who have already acquired competence in an East Asian language.
At least 50% of coursework for the master’s degree must be taken at the 700 level or above.
Prerequisites
Entrance requirements for a concentration in either Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language and literature include
- 3 years of the modern language and, for Chinese language students, one year of classical Chinese or the demonstrated equivalent. Students not meeting this prerequisite may be admitted with deficiencies provided they achieve this level of proficiency outside the minimum of 30 graduate credit hours required for the degree.**
- 2 lecture courses dealing with East Asia.
Entrance requirements for a concentration in East Asian cultures are
- At least 2 years of an East Asian language. Students not meeting this prerequisite may be admitted with deficiencies provided they achieve this level of proficiency outside the minimum of 30 graduate credit hours required for the degree.**
- 2 lecture courses dealing with East Asia.
Requirements for Chinese, Japanese, or Korean Language and Literature Concentration
- A minimum of 30 graduate credit hours:
- Fourth-year level of language.**
- While students may apply credit hours from study abroad toward their degree, at least 18 credit hours must be taken in residence at KU.
- No more than 6 hours of directed readings courses may be included in the required 30 hours.
- A course involving research methods, to be determined in consultation with the Thesis/Faculty Advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
- Students are expected to take at least one course at the 500 level or above in the literature of their concentration.
- Thesis Option
- A thesis that will demonstrate in-depth research on a topic in the area of concentration, typically completed over 1 or 2 semesters (EALC 899, 3 to 6 credit hours). Students are expected to make significant use of primary and secondary sources in the language of concentration.
- In the final semester of study, the DGS, faculty advisor, and student will work together to assemble a committee of three graduate faculty and the student will be required to complete an oral defense of their thesis.
- Portfolio Option
- Must write three substantial research papers on East Asian topics (15-20 pages).
- At least one of the papers must be completed by the end of the second semester in the program.
- The papers will be evaluated and graded by the instructor of the class in which the paper is submitted. The grade must be A or B.
- The student will submit each paper to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), plus an abstract (no more than 500 words) summarizing each. The student will submit the original copy with the instructor’s remarks and grade. The DGS may require revisions be made before final acceptance.
- With the permission of the DGS, students may include relevant courses in non-East Asian areas (such as linguistics, language pedagogy, anthropology, political science, and literary theory). A paper for such a course would generally not be used to fulfill the above requirements unless it was on an East Asian topic approved beforehand by the DGS.
- Students will meet regularly with the DGS (at least once a semester) to determine course selection, progress to degree, and designation of courses in which papers are to be submitted for the degree.
- With approval of the DGS, students with a specific focus of study will work with a faculty member with knowledge of that field as their faculty advisor. The DGS will liaise with the advisor on all matters listed above.
- In the final semester of study, the DGS, faculty advisor, and student will work together to assemble an oral defense committee of three graduate faculty. The student will select one of the three papers to present and defend for their exam. The committee may also ask general questions about the two other research papers that were submitted to meet the portfolio requirements.
Requirements for East Asian Cultures Concentration
- A minimum of 30 graduate credit hours:
- Third-year level of language.**
- While students may apply credit hours from study abroad toward their degree, at least 18 credit hours must be taken in residence at KU.
- A course involving research methods, to be determined in consultation with the Thesis/Faculty Advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
- Students are expected to select 1 of the East Asian cultures for their concentration and to include in their programs at least 2 courses dealing wholly with an East Asian culture outside the concentration or broadly on East Asia.
- Students may not take more than 6 hours of directed readings.
- Students may, in consultation with the department graduate director, take other credit hours in a discipline or disciplines closely related to their studies. The balance between courses in EALC and related departments must be determined with the student's thesis advisor and the director of graduate studies. East Asian area courses are offered in anthropology, business, film and media studies, geography, history, history of art, linguistics, political science, religious studies, and sociology.
- Students must take 1 literature or culture course with an EALC department graduate faculty member at the 500 level or above in the country of their concentration.
- Thesis Option
- A thesis that will demonstrate in-depth research on a topic in the area of concentration (China, Japan, or Korea), typically completed over 1 or 2 semesters (EALC 899, 3 to 6 credit hours).
- In the final semester of study, the DGS, faculty advisor, and student will work together to assemble a committee of three graduate faculty and the student will be required to complete an oral defense of their thesis.
- Portfolio Option
- Must write three substantial research papers on East Asian topics (15-20 pages).
- At least one of the papers must be completed by the end of the second semester in the program.
- The papers will be evaluated and graded by the instructor of the class in which the paper is submitted. The grade must be A or B.
- The student will submit each paper to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), plus an abstract (no more than 500 words) summarizing each. The student will submit the original copy with the instructor’s remarks and grade. The DGS may require revisions be made before final acceptance.
- With the permission of the DGS, students may include relevant courses in non-East Asian areas (such as linguistics, language pedagogy, anthropology, political science, and literary theory). A paper for such a course would generally not be used to fulfill the above requirements unless it was on an East Asian topic approved beforehand by the DGS.
- Students will meet regularly with the DGS (at least once a semester) to determine course selection, progress to degree, and designation of courses in which papers are to be submitted for the degree.
- With approval of the DGS, students with a specific focus of study will work with a faculty member with knowledge of that field as their faculty advisor. The DGS will liaise with the advisor on all matters listed above.
- In the final semester of study, the DGS, faculty advisor, and student will work together to assemble an oral defense committee of three graduate faculty. The student will select one of the three papers to present and defend for their exam. The committee may also ask general questions about the two other research papers that were submitted to meet the portfolio requirements.
**A language course result lower than 'B' may result in a departmental recommendation for probation status. If language coursework performance does not improve after one semester, the student may be recommended for dismissal.
East Asian Courses in Other Departments
For additional courses in the above disciplines, see appropriate sections of the online catalog. Elective courses within EALC can be found on the department's website.
