Graduate Admission

Prerequisites

Entrance requirements for students pursuing a concentration in either Chinese or Japanese Language and Literature:

  • Three years of the chosen language and, for Chinese language students, one additional 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 hours required for their degree, and
  • Two lecture courses dealing with East Asia.

Entrance requirements for students pursuing a concentration in East Asian Cultures (which includes Korean studies):

  • At least two 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 hours required for their degree, and
  • Two lecture courses dealing with East Asia.

Please note that otherwise well-qualified applicants that do not meet some of the department prerequisites may, in some cases, still be admitted with the understanding that the student will fulfill these prerequisites later, outside of the 30 hours required for the M.A. degree.

Application Deadlines

All United States citizens and permanent residents applying to the EALC graduate program are encouraged to apply for the FLAS Fellowship. 

Applications for graduate study are accepted year-round; however, students are encouraged to apply for Fall (August) matriculation. Completed applications, including all supplemental documents, submitted by February 1, will receive priority consideration for funding (including fellowships and GTA positions). The final application deadlines are May 1 for Fall and December 1 for Spring. Please indicate how you intend to fund your graduate education in your statement of purpose or in the application form.

Application Materials

  • A current C.V. (Curriculum Vitae) or resume.
  • A Statement of Purpose explaining your academic objectives. Please describe the research interests and goals that you intend to pursue in light of specific strengths that can be found among the faculty at KU. 
  • A writing sample that demonstrates your writing skills and basic research capacity. A research paper from a previous upper-level undergraduate course will suffice.
  • The names and emails of three references.  These references will be contacted directly by KU for letters of recommendation.  Please alert your references in advance.
  • Transcripts from all institutions from which a degree was obtained and from all institutions attended post-bachelor's. *
  • Official GRE scores (strongly recommended)

Applicants who indicate that English is not their native language must also provide proof of English proficiency.

*International applicants who obtained degrees from the People's Republic of China must also provide an official copy of his or her Degree Certificate or "Xuewei Zheng."  A Graduate Certificate only, or "Biye Zheng," will not be acceptable for admission to the program. 

Contact

For further information about the graduate application process, please contact Aley Pennington, Graduate Academic Advisor.