Education

Harvard University: Arts & Sciences: East Asian Programs

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

Harvard University over the years has developed a number of training and research programs and facilities concerning the languages and societies of Asia. The University’s principal resources are in the East Asian field, but Central Asia, the Near and Middle East, India, and Russia in Asia are all receiving increasing attention. One primary resource is the Harvard-Yenching Library, an outstanding collection, which has been built up over six decades. There are also significant collections of East Asian publications in the Fogg Art Museum, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and the Harvard Law School. Western language works on East Asia are housed most extensively in the University’s central collection, the Widener Library.

This publication is designed to indicate briefly the opportunities for study and research on East Asia offered in the various departmental disciplines and in the several programs at Harvard designed specifically for the study of East Asia. The language instruction offered at Harvard includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Vietnamese. The departments in which the study of East Asia is pursued include Anthropology, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Economics, History of Art and Architecture, Government, History, Linguistics, Music, and Sociology. Instruction is also given under the Faculty Committees on the Core Curriculum, the Study of Religion, Regional Studies — East Asia, History and East Asian Languages, and Inner Asian and Altaic Studies.

In the following pages, information is given concerning admission, degree requirements, fellowships, libraries, museums, research activities, and publications. Courses are described in the Official Register of Harvard University entitled Courses of Instruction, Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Admission

Application forms for admission to AM and PhD programs in the study of East Asia may
be obtained only from, and must be submitted to, the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 (not the Committee on Regional Studies — East Asia or any academic department). Applicants must have, or have in near prospect, a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution (or a satisfactory equivalent), with a superior academic record and other indications of promise. See www.https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS for online submission of the application.

The holder of a bachelor’s degree who for special reasons may wish to pursue East Asian studies without intending to take a higher degree should apply to the Office of Special Students and Visiting Fellows, Harvard University, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. Special Students may be admitted to part-time as well as full-time study, and the tuition is the same as in the Graduate School. The University awards no fellowships or financial aid to Special Students.

Degree Requirements

Graduate students may pursue programs leading to higher degrees in several different subjects relating, directly or indirectly, to East Asia. The specific requirements for higher degrees in such subjects as anthropology, comparative literature, economics, history of art and architecture, linguistics, music, political science, and sociology, in any of which the student may emphasize work on East Asian materials, are listed below. The specific requirements for advanced degrees in the East Asian field follow.