Joint Degree Program in Law and East Asian Languages and Cultures

To receive the J.D./M.A. EALC, a student must successfully complete a minimum of 106 credit hours, 81 in the School of Law and 25 in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. The School of Law requires a 2.0 grade point average, while the Graduate School requires a 3.0 GPA for all courses counting toward the M.A. in EALC portion of the degree.

J.D. Requirements

Students must complete all required first year School of Law courses (32 credit hours) prior to enrolling in courses for the joint degree. In addition to these course requirements, the School of Law has an upper-class writing requirement, a residence requirement, and a time limit for completion of the degree.

In addition to the 44 TOTAL credit hours of coursework required of all law students, students in the joint J.D./MA EALC program must complete an additional 12 credit hours of coursework consisting of courses in any two of the following four areas of concentration:

Students may choose courses to complete the remaining hours necessary to reach the total of 81 hours of law school credit needed for the joint degree from any part of the Law School curriculum.

Please refer to the current School of Law Catalog for further details about the requirements for the J.D. portion of the degree.

EALC Requirements

Students shall consider the degree in East Asian Cultures to be interdisciplinary in nature:

1. A minimum of 22 graduate credit hours plus 1of the 2 options listed in part 6.
2. Each student is expected to select 1 of the East Asian Cultures (Japan, China, or Korea) for concentration and to include in their program at least two courses dealing wholly with an East Asian culture outside of his or her concentration. Up to two courses can be pan-East Asian courses including the student’s country of concentration.
3. Students must complete a third year of language of the country of concentration.*
4. No more than 6 hours of directed reading in a language may count toward the M.A. degree.
5. Students must take 1 literature or culture course with an EALC department graduate faculty member at the 500 level or above in the country of their concentration.
6. Students are required to fulfill 1 of the following requirements:
   1. Write a thesis (3 credit hours) which must deal with a subject within the concentration chosen by the student, or
   2. Practical thesis: Hold an internship or job in the country of concentration for a period of at least 8 weeks, at the advisor’s approval, and write a 40 page analysis of the cultural aspects of the experience (3 credits).

Students MUST consult with the EALC Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) immediately upon admission to the joint program to determine an enrollment plan and obtain a list of current approved joint courses.  Joint students must also consult with the DGS during advising periods each semester.

Third and fourth year Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language courses fulfill the requirements, as well.*

Typical Enrollment Pattern

* A language course result lower than B may result in a departmental recommendation for probation status.  If language coursework performance does not improve after one semester, the student may be recommended for dismissal.