Master of Arts in East Asian Studies

University of Arizona

The Department of East Asian Studies offers two types of Master’s degrees, Area Master's degrees and General Master’s degrees. Area Master’s degrees may focus on either China or Japan and are intended to prepare graduates for doctoral study (though graduates may of course use these as terminal degrees). They require the writing of a thesis, except for students majoring in linguistics, who may elect to take an examination instead. The General Master’s degrees may also focus on China or Japan or may involve study of both areas. General Master’s candidates may write a thesis or a departmental paper. The General Master’s degree is designed for candidates who do not intend to study for a doctorate.

Requirements:

The department requires 33 units for the MA degree and that a minimum of 25 units be completed in the East Asian Studies Department. No more than 3 units of independent studies may be counted. All the student’s required course work must be taken at the 500 level or above; at least one-half must be taken in courses assigning “A”, “B”, and “C” grades. Graduate credit is not allowed for pass/fail or audited courses.

Students must fulfill the following requirements:

• 6 units of the three-part EAS 595a Graduate Colloquium, to be taken in the first two semesters if possible.
• One introductory course in three of the following five fields (3 units per course adding to 9 units total): history, linguistics, literature, thought/religion, and anthropology. One of these courses must be in the student’s field of study. (It may be possible to apply courses taken previously at the undergraduate level towards meeting this breadth requirement, although this will not reduce the total number of units needed to complete the M.A. degree. Students who wish to do so should submit to the department a petition explaining their request.)
• 6 units of advanced-level courses within the department which are relevant to the student’s field of study. These courses must enhance the programmatic integrity of the course of study.
• 3 units of courses either from other departments or within the department which are relevant to the student’s course of study.
• 3 units of CHN/JPN 910 (Thesis) for students who are writing a thesis.
• Language requirements: 6 units of fourth year Chinese/Japanese, or one semester of classical Chinese/ Japanese and a related seminar (if students have equivalent Chinese/Japanese language ability).