East Asian Studies (BA)

Program Description

The Department of East Asian Studies offers students a comprehensive undergraduate program focusing on China, Japan, and Korea. The program combines the teaching of languages with the disciplinary study of diverse forms of cultural production and social practices. The curriculum emphasizes multi- and cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of documents, practices, and texts, and their regional and global interconnections. The department offers four-year language sequences in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean designed to facilitate the rapid acquisition of literacy in the target language. Students are encouraged to integrate their acquired language skills with the in-depth study of particular aspects of East Asian civilization through upper-level seminars, independent study, and, for qualified undergraduates, an honors research program. Students graduating from the Department of East Asian Studies go on to pursue a wide variety of professional careers related to the region, or continue their education at the graduate level in related fields.

Honors Program

Eligibility

Students typically apply for the honors program in April of their junior year through the East Asian Studies department’s website. At the time of application, students must have spent at least two full years in residence at the College of Arts and Science, completing at least 64 credits of graded work in the College. Students must have completed a substantial number of EAS major requirements, typically 24 to 28 credits. Students must also have both a general GPA and a major GPA of 3.65. Students transferring from Liberal Studies are exempt from the CAS residency requirement.

Requirements

1. The student must register in their senior year for two semesters of independent study, at 4 credits per semester (a total of 8 credits), under the supervision of a departmental faculty member (or affiliate). These 8 credits are in addition to the 36 credits required for the major for a total of 44 credits, that is, eleven 4-credit courses.
2. The 8-credit honors sequence must result in a substantively researched thesis, normally 30 to 50 typed pages. The faculty supervisor and the subject of the honors thesis are chosen by the student in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies, who must approve the topic/adviser in the first semester of the honors sequence.
3. The student must maintain both a general GPA and major GPA of 3.65.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply. 

Program Requirements

The major in East Asian Studies requires nine 4-credit courses (36 credits). Students choose one of two major tracks, either Language and Civilization or Civilization, as detailed below.

¹

The foreign language requirement is satisfied upon successful completion through the Intermediate level of a language. This may be accomplished in fewer than 16 credits, but those credits must then be completed as elective credit.

Track Requirements

Language and Civilization

Students must complete two courses (8 credits) in a language and seven courses (28 credits) in civilization, chosen from the offerings of the Department of East Asian Studies.

¹

Elementary and intermediate courses do not count toward the major credit total. No compromise on language levels is permitted.

²

Students must have at least one course in each of the three areas: China, Japan, and Korea. At least 20 of the 28 civilization credits must be taken at the NYU New York campus.

³

No other Cultures and Contexts courses are considered as fulfilling this requirement, including Eastern Civilization or equivalent in Liberal Studies. Transfer students from Liberal Studies must take one of the courses listed.

Students are only permitted to transfer up to two civilization courses (8 credits) and two language courses (8 credits) from non-NYU programs, if preapproved by both CAS and the department.

Civilization

Students must complete nine courses (36 credits) in civilization, chosen from the offerings of the Department of East Asian Studies. In this track, no language courses can count toward the major.

¹

No other Cultures and Contexts courses are considered as fulfilling this requirement, including Eastern Civilization or equivalent in Liberal Studies. Transfer students from Liberal Studies must take one of the courses listed.

²

Students must have at least one course in each of the three areas: China, Japan, and Korea.

At least 20 of the 36 credits must be taken at the NYU New York campus.

Students are only permitted to transfer up to four civilization courses (16 credits) from non-NYU programs, if preapproved by both CAS and the department.

Sample Plan of Study

Language and Civilization

¹

The first four terms (Elementary and Intermediate levels) do not count toward the major.

²

Students must take one elective in each of the three cultural traditions: Chinese, Japanese, Korean.

Civilization

¹

Students must take one elective in each of the three cultural traditions: Chinese, Japanese, Korean.

²

Students may take an East Asian language to satisfy the Core graduation requirement, but no language credits count toward the civilization track of the major.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of program requirements, graduates will have acquired:

1. Historical and cultural knowledge of their region of specialization, as well as of East Asia in general.
2. The ability to conduct thorough and grounded research incorporating relevant library resources, archives, and digital technologies.
3. The skills to formulate oral and written arguments using disciplinary methodology and sources.
4. The ability to read, write, speak, and aurally comprehend Chinese, Japanese, or Korean at the advanced level or higher, with the potential to integrate it into scholarly research (in the Language and Civilization Track of the major).

Policies

Program Policies

Departmental Policies Applying to Both Major Tracks

1. Courses must have an East Asian studies course number (EAST-UA) to count toward the EAS major.
2. A grade of C or better is necessary in all courses used to fulfill major requirements; courses graded Pass/Fail do not count toward the major.
3. An upper limit of 16 credits can be transferred from outside NYU and applied to the major. This includes non-NYU study away credits as well as credits from other universities in the United States. Transfer students from other universities should meet with the director of undergraduate studies (DUS) to discuss the number of credits they can transfer from their previous institution toward the major. In all cases, transfer credits will be awarded only after CAS (or the appropriate school) has awarded university credit, and only after courses are reviewed at the departmental level for equivalence to NYU-NY standards. Please refer to “Policy on Transfer Credits and NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi Courses,” below, for additional information.
4. Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Tibetan languages may not be counted toward either major or minor requirements.
5. Qualified NYU Shanghai and/or NYU Abu Dhabi civilization courses count towards the major automatically. A language and civilization track major may apply up to four 4-credit courses (16 credits) toward the major—no more than 8 credits in civilization and 8 credits in language. A civilization track major may apply up to two 4-credit courses (8 credits) toward the major—no more than 8 credits in civilization. A list of qualifying courses will be provided each semester on the department’s website. Please refer to “Policy on Transfer Credits and NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi Courses,” below, for additional information.
6. Courses listed as “electives” on the EAS departmental website course listings do not count toward the major. CAS first-year seminars may count toward the major, although the specific seminar must be approved by the DUS.
7. No double-counting of courses with a second major or a minor will be permitted. Courses to be counted toward the EAS major must be exclusive to this major, whether or not they are cross-listed with another department.

Policy on Transfer Credits and NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi Courses

1. Students who enter CAS as first years and choose the track in language and civilization may take up to two 4-credit civilization courses (8 credits) and two 4-credit language courses (8 credits) covering East Asia at NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi. A list of the preapproved courses can be found on the department's website. These courses will be applied toward the major or minor for students who earn a C or better; they do not need to be preapproved or reviewed.
2. Students who enter CAS as first years and choose the track in civilization may take up to two 4-credit civilization courses (8 credits) covering East Asia at NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi. A list of the preapproved courses can be found on the department's website. These courses will be applied toward the major or minor for students who earn a C or better; they do not need to be preapproved or reviewed.
3. Students who enter CAS as transfer students and choose the track in language and civilization may apply up to four 4-credit transfer courses (16 credits) toward the major or two 4-credit transfer courses (8 credits) toward the minor, upon review and approval by the director of undergraduate studies. For the major, no more than 8 credits in civilization and 8 credits in language may be transferred in. They may choose to replace up to 16 of these credits with two 4-credit civilization courses (8 credits) and two 4-credit language courses (8 credits) covering East Asia at NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi. A list of the preapproved courses can be found on the department's website. These Shanghai and Abu Dhabi courses will be applied toward the major or minor for students who earn a C or better; they do not need to be preapproved or reviewed. The total of transfer credits from other institutions and credits from NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi cannot exceed four courses (16 credits) for the major and two courses (8 credits) for the minor. [Transfer students should note that NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi courses do not count toward the 64 credits that internal or external transfer students to the College are required to complete in CAS (-UA) courses.]
4. Students who enter CAS as transfer students and choose the track in civilization may apply up to four 4-credit transfer courses (16 credits) in civilization toward the major or two 4-credit transfer courses (8 credits) toward the minor, upon review and approval by the director of undergraduate studies. They may choose to replace up to 8 of these credits with two 4-credit civilization courses (8 credits) covering East Asia at NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi. A list of the preapproved courses can be found on the department's website. These Shanghai and Abu Dhabi courses will be applied toward the major or minor for students who earn a C or better; they do not need to be preapproved or reviewed. The total of transfer credits from other institutions and credits from NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi cannot exceed four courses/16 credits for the major and two courses/8 credits for the minor. [Transfer students should note that NYU Shanghai and NYU Abu Dhabi courses do not count toward the 64 credits that internal or external transfer students to the College are required to complete in CAS (-UA) courses.]

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

College of Arts and Science Policies

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.