Education

Harvard University: Arts & Sciences: East Asian Programs

Category Art and Social Sciences, Harvard University, Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, Postgraduate, USA
Tags Arts, Asian, East, Harvard University, Programs, Sciences

Higher Degrees in East Asian Studies

AM in Regional Studies — East Asia
The AM degree is administered by the Committee on Regional Studies — East Asia. This program provides a basic preparation for specialization in the East Asian field, both for future PhD candidates and for those preparing for nonacademic careers.

The requirements for this degree are:

Admission. Admission is based on the appli-cant’s previous record, general ability, and promise. The typical applicant will have an undergraduate background in the study of East Asia and/or previous experience in East Asia itself. The GRE General test is required. Although knowledge of an East Asian language is not a prerequisite, such training also will be taken into consideration.

Residence. Candidates are ordinarily expected to be registered as full-time students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for four terms (two academic years), but up to one year of credit toward the degree requirements may be awarded for work already completed elsewhere.

Program of Study. Programs are flexible to meet individual needs but typically consist of the following. First year: an advanced language course in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, or, for students who have not previously studied the language, an appropriate beginning course; and six half-courses on East Asian history, political, social, and economic developments, on literature or other cultural manifestations, or courses offering methodological or comparative insights on East Asia. Second year: a full course continuing the Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language; a seminar devoted to the writing of a research paper on a chosen topic; five other approved half-courses. Students with a special interest in Vietnam are normally required to attain proficiency in the Chinese or Japanese language.

Language Requirement. Minimum language proficiency is ordinarily defined as the satisfactory completion of a third-year level course. For students without prior language background, it usually will be necessary to continue formal language study, at Harvard or elsewhere, through the summer following the first year in residence.

Thesis. The presentation of an approved research seminar paper fulfills the thesis requirement.

Further information regarding the AM in Regional Studies — East Asia may be obtained by writing to the Chair, Committee on Regional Studies — East Asia, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, or by consulting the Website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~rsea /.

Graduate Programs in East Asian Languages and Civilizations

The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations offers instruction in the
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, Mongolian, and Vietnamese languages; its faculty also offers Literary Tibetan in the Sanskrit and Indian Studies Department. The principal fields of study are Chinese, Japanese, and Korean literature, East Asian Buddhism, and Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Inner Asian history. Instruction in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese history is also offered in the History Department. A rough division of emphasis places Chinese and Japanese history after 1800 in the History Department and most courses in earlier periods in East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Faculty holding joint appointments with other departments include specialists in Chinese history, Vietnamese history, Buddhist studies, Chinese archaeology, and Japanese history.