Master's Degree in East Asian Languages & Cultures

Entrance Requirements

In addition to KU's admission requirements for graduate study, the department has the following prerequisites:

• 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 credit hours required for the degree.**
• 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.

Degree Requirements

Students in the East Asian Cultures Concentration shall consider this an interdisciplinary program. They are expected to gain a foundation and establish a focus in some compatible departmental discipline, such as business, economics, history, political science, or another of their choice.

A minimum of 30 graduate credit hours** that must include:

• Third-year level of language.*
• While students may apply credit hours from study abroad toward their degree, at least 18 credit hours must be taken in residence at KU.
• A course involving research methods, to be determined in consultation with the Thesis/Faculty Advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
• Students are expected to select one of the East Asian cultures for concentration and to include in their program at least two courses dealing wholly with an East Asian culture outside their concentration or broadly on East Asia.
• Students may not take more than 6 hours of directed readings.
• Students may, in consultation with the department graduate director, take other credit hours in a discipline or disciplines closely related to their studies. The balance between courses in EALC and related departments must be determined with the student's thesis advisor and the director of graduate studies. East Asian area courses are offered in anthropology, business, film and media studies, geography, history, history of art, linguistics, political science, religious studies, and sociology.
• Students must take one literature or culture course with an EALC department graduate faculty member at the 500 level or above in the country of their concentration.

*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.

**At least 50% of coursework for the master’s degree must be taken at the 700 level or above.

Students may, in consultation with the department Director of Graduate Studies, take other credits in a discipline or disciplines closely related to their studies. East Asian area courses are offered in other departments, including the Departments of Anthropology, Geography, History, History of Art, Philosophy, Political Science, Religious Studies, Linguistics and Theatre. 

For application information, see Admission, or contact the department's Graduate Program Coordinator, Aley Pennington.

Languages and Literatures Concentration:

• A thesis that will demonstrate in-depth research on a topic in the area of concentration, typically completed over 1 or 2 semesters (EALC 899, 3 to 6 credit hours). Students are expected to make significant use of primary and secondary sources in the language of concentration.

East Asian Concentration:

• A thesis that will demonstrate in-depth research on a topic in the area of concentration (China, Japan, or Korea), typically completed over 1 or 2 semesters (EALC 899, 3 to 6 credit hours).

Guidelines for the Portfolio Option for the Master’s Degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures (formerly called the non-thesis option)

Besides coursework, a Master’s degree requires work that represents culminating effort outside of specific course requirements, in particular, a Master’s thesis, or, in the case of the portfolio option, the three substantive research papers.  Through these papers, which derive from but go beyond coursework, graduate students work with faculty to delve deeply into a topic, hone research and writing skills, and finally submit their work for appraisal at a final oral defense.  Below are the guidelines for this option.

Students choosing the portfolio option must write three substantial research papers on East Asian topics (15-20+ pages; this can include a substantial annotated translation).  All students in the MA program in EALC should be aware of these expectations by the end of their first semester, and ideally should comply with the first guideline below, even if they eventually choose to write a thesis.

1. The student must commit to submitting at least one of the papers by the end of the second semester in the program. The student must receive approval from the instructor about the plan to submit the paper for the portfolio option, and must receive the instructor’s final approval before it can be considered as an acceptable submission (students should keep in mind that final approval typically comes after considerable revision that follows the first submission of the paper). If the paper does not receive final approval at the end of the second semester, the paper must be revised and rewritten according to the instructor’s comments and be completed by the beginning of the following semester or sooner (by August 31 if the student began in the previous fall, or December 31 if the student began in the previous spring).
2. The papers will be evaluated and graded by the instructor of the class in which the paper is submitted. The grade must be A or B. Students must also notify  the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) that they intend the paper to be one of the three submissions for the portfolio option.
3. Deadlines will be established for each of the other two papers, ideally the second paper to be completed by the end of the third semester, and the third before the end of the last semester in order to be ready for defense by the end of the semester.
4. With the permission of the DGS, students may take relevant courses in non-East Asian areas (such as linguistics, language pedagogy, anthropology, political science, and literary theory). A paper for such a course would generally not be used to fulfill the non-thesis requirements unless it is on an East Asian topic and it is approved by the EALC DGS.
5. Students will meet regularly with the DGS (at least twice a semester) to determine course selection, progress to degree, and designation of courses in which papers are to be submitted for the degree.
6. Besides the DGS, students should have a faculty advisor who works with them in their progress toward the degree. This advisor will be in the language of the student’s concentration and will help with course selection as well as the formation of the portfolio.
7. In the final semester of study, the DGS, faculty advisor, and student will work together to assemble an oral defense committee of three graduate faculty. The student will submit each paper to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), plus an abstract (no more than 500 words) summarizing each. The student will select one of the three papers to present and defend for their exam, but will respond to questions about the two other papers as well.

The EALC department offers several Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) positions in Eastern Civilizations and drill instructors in the language sequence courses.

GTA appointments may be renewed, based on performance and budgetary availability, for up to 3 years for M.A. students, 5 years for Ph.D. students, and 6 years students who are getting both an M.A. and Ph.D. at KU.  GTAs must be enrolled in a minimum of six (6) credit hours and will receive a 50% tuition waiver for a 25% appointment (10 hours/week) or a 100% tuition waiver for a 50% appointment (20 hours/week).  A stipend corresponding the percentage of appointment will also be awarded. 

Graduate students are eligible to apply for these whenever there are openings. Incoming students may also be considered for positions, provided they submit the requested application materials in addition to the graduate admission application and are available for an interview when positions are being filled.  Well-qualified students from outside departments, (e.g. the School of Education or the Department of Linguistics), may also apply for these positions.  Please review the General Terms and Application Considerations (PDF) document for more information regarding GTA appointment terms, applicant qualifications, and application materials.

To be notified of available positions, please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator, Aley Pennington.

FLAS Fellowships

Students in the M.A. program may also be eligible for a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship through the Center for East Asian Studies.  FLAS fellowships include summer and academic year awards.

Other Funding Opportunities

Students are also encouraged to research and apply for other funding opportunities through the Office of Graduate Studies, as well as externally to KU.

East Asian Languages & Cultures Master's Thesis Titles

For more information on reviewing or obtaining a copy, contact the University Library.

Tokusei in Medieval Japan, by Harrington, Lorraine Fuchs, 1969

The Plays of Ma Chih-Yuan (1250?-1325?), by Yu, Shiao-Jing, 1977

Assimilation, Repatriation or Ethnic Isolation: Choices Confronting the Korean Minority in Japan, by Somers, David I., 1978

Cultural Adjustment Factors in Teaching English to the Vietnamese, by Fensler, Don, 1978

Selected Essays by Chang Hsiu-Ya, by Okurowski, Mary Ellen, 1978

Rebellion, Sedition, and Collective Prosecution in Ch'ing Penal Cases, by Allee, Mark A., 1979

The Emergence of an Independent Arms Control Policy in the People's Republic of China, 1957-68, by Steinel, Douglas, 1982

Mononofu: The Warrior of Heian Japan, by Friday, Karl F., 1983

The Home Rule Struggle in 20th Century Taiwan, by Kurata, Phillip C., 1983

The Study of the Meaning & Use of To, -Tara, -Ba, & Nara in Japanese, by Buechler, Geoffrey L., 1983

T'ang Sai-Er's Rebellion, by Dalton, James, 1984 (Honors)

A History of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan, by Marshall, Marcus D., 1984

Japanese Self Defense Force: Prelude, Establishment and Prospect for Future, by Cook, Thomas T., 1984

A Translation of Wang Xizhe's "Mao Zedong & The Great Cultural Revolution", by Morrison, Joe L., 1985 (Honors)

Four Plays by Betsuyaku Minoru, by Lawson, Robert N., 1985

The Chinese People's Liberation Army: Military Modernization Since 1978 & Its Prospects in the Year 2000, by Hoh, William C., 1986

The Integration of Xinjiang with China Proper: A Study in Han Colonization and Pluralistic Minority Policies, by Willis, Jeffrey M., 1986

Dogen in Light of Hua-Yen Buddhism, by Vorenkamp, Dirck, 1987 (Honors)

The Tiananmen Incident: A Prospect Mandate for Policy-Making Change in the People's Repuiblic of China, by Cohen, Stuart B., 1987

Otogishi: A Historical Outlook in Literature, by Black, Nancy S., 1988

San Francisco School Crisis, by Black, Nancy S., 1988

Sun in a Shattered Mirror, by Olmstead, Diane, 1988

Recent Reforms in the Science & Technology Policy of the People's Republic of China, by Garner, Roland, 1988

Stock Ownership in China: Financing China's Economic Reform Programs, by Hull, Robert, 1989

Toward a Syllabus for Teaching the Japanese Language Based on Crombie's Relational Approach, by Hughes, Gene Clayton, 1989

A Case Study of Kansas-Henan Trade Relations, by McClure, David, 1989

The Interrelation of the Enka Songform and Japanese Society, by Muschany, Cathie M., 1989

The Cost of a One Week War: Japan, the Soviet Union & Issues of Japanese Prisoners of War in Soviet Held Territory, 1945-1955, by Nordman, David, 1989 (Honors)

Joint Ventures in the People's Republic of China Using Chinese and Foreign Investment: The Relational Dynamics of the Foreign Investors, the Localities, and the Central Government, by Sprunger, Michael W., 1989

American-Japanese Trade Imbalance: Where Does the Search Begin?, by Price Jr., Alvie L., 1990

Legal Inequality & Social Discrimination: The Korean Minority in Contemporary Japan, by Son, Young-Hwai, 1990

Dowa Education Through Children's Picture Books, by Ofuji, Keiko, 1990

The Political Situation of Ethnic Minorities in the Xinjiang Uighur & Xizang Tibetan Autonomous Regions of the People's Republic of China, 1985-90, by McDaneld, A. Scott, 1991

The Tengu's Art: An Illusion of Neo-Confusianism & Zen in Japanese Swordsmanship According to Shissai Chozanshi's Tengu Geijutsu Ron, by Seckler, Johnathan, 1992

The Effects of Hainan Province's Infrastructure, Energy Production, & Strategic Position on the PRC's Newest Special Economic Zone, by Schmidt, Scott, 1992

Yosano Akiko: A Pioneer Feminist Essayist of the Meiji and Taisho Periods, by Warren, Jane, 1992

Self-Disclosure Among Chinese Best Friends: Intercultural Dimensions of Interpersonal Communication, by Kulich, Steve J., 1992 (Honors)

The End of the Examination System & Dynastic Recruitment in 1905-1911, by Machiya, Yoshio, 1993

Economic Obstacles to Korean Unification, by Pak, Yeong-Tae, 1993

Feng Shui: An Overview from its Origins to its Current Forms, by Flaherty, William, 1993

Munakata Shiko's Interpretation of Poetry in the Prints Nyonin Kanzeon Hangakan, by Torikawa, Natsuko, 1993

A Study of Post World War II New Town Urban Japanese Housewives- Persecution & Influence of Overseas Life on their Roles in Tsukuba Science City, by Larzalere, Norma, 1993 (Honors)

The Molding of Chinese Womanhood: Preliminary Research of the Effect of Confucian Teachings upon Chinese Women, Past & Present, by Zhan, He-ying, 1993

Accordance with the I-Kua System in Moist and Chuang-Tzu's Teachings, by Hoffman, Alan, 1994

China & the Collapse of the USSR Social Order in the People's Republic of China: 1989-1992, by Wynen, Karin, 1994

Achieving Military Objectives in Asia: The Impact of Unilateral Policy-Making, by Busch, John Michael, 1994

Nine Short Stories by Murakami Haruki, by Chamberlain, Banks Randall, 1994

Southern Baptist Convention Missionary Education in Taisho Japan, by Clark, Paul Hendrix, 1994

Uchimura Kanzo and Christianity in Meiji Japan: The Trials of East-West Cultural Interaction, by Allen, Darrell, 1995

The Perfect Tense Usage of the Conditionals in Japanese, by Van Compernolle, Tim, 1995 (Honors)

The Rise of the Zaibatsu System in Japan & Its Economic Influences on Korea & Taiwan, 1868-1945, by Lian, Li- Mei, 1995

An Analysis of Sino-U.S. Joint Venture Negotiation Styles: A Chinese Perspective, by Cheung, Ashley, 1996

An Examination of the Influence of Japanese Culture & the Failures of Economic Reforms Proposed by SCAP Economic Missions from 1947 to 1949 on High Rates of Personal Savings in Japan, by Collisson, Nancy, 1996

An American Educator as Hired Help in Early Meiji Japan: William Elliot Griffis' Experiences as a Yatoi Gaikokujin, by Walker, J. Shawn, 1996

Carter's Proposed Troop Withdrawal: The Making & Unmaking of Foreign Policy Toawrds the Republic of Korea, by Coleman, Claudia, 1996

Wang Zipao & the Literary Themes of Time & Immortality in Chinese Art, by Steuber, Jason, 1996

Yasukuni Shrine & the Constraints on the Discourses of Nationalism in 20th Century Japan, by Safier, Joshua, 1997

Chinese Themes in the Journals & Short Stories of Akutagawa Ryunosuke, by Chen, Mei-Hua, 1997

The Readjustment & Marketiation of the Chinese Economy, by Chim, Guanghui, 1997

A View from the Periphery: Maruyama Kenji's Japan, by Haw, C. William, 1997 (Honors)

Problems for Chinese Students Learning Japanese Address Terms- the Interplay of Politeness Universals & Cultural Knowledge of Chinese & Japanese, by Hua, Hui, 1997

China's Grain Production: Prospects Into the Next Century, by Johnson, Brent, 1998

United States- People's Republic of China Military Cooperation During the Deng Era: Prelude to the New World Order in Asia, by Babb, Joseph, 1998

Housing Foundations: The Coomodification of Housing in China, 1949-1999, by Cooledge, Mark, 1999

Godzilla: The Assault of Modernism & the Counterattack of Tradition, by Ginther, Gray, 1999

Japanese School Textbooks: Teaching the Pacific War, by Garriss, Aaron, 1999

The Social Construction of HIV Stigma in Japan, by Albrecht, David, 1999

Institutional Schism & Varient Christologies in the Chinese Christian Establishment: A Case Study of the China Inland Mission & the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association, 1920-1929, by Crownover, G. Christopher, 2000

Rules of War? Current Japanese Attitudes Toward Japan's World War II Atrocities, by Drees, Daniel, 2000

Villagers & Officials: Zhang Yigong's Rural Stories of the Early 1980s, by Willis, Sheree, 2000

The Subjacency Principle: Acquisition Level Faciliated by EFL and ESL Settings, by Kang, Ae-Jin, 2001

Lin Biao: Mao Zedong's Successor and China's Traitor?, by Brigham, Vanessa, 2002

The Taiwan Issue in the People's Daily: The Role of Non-PRC Ethnic Chinese Organizations, by McIver, Adam, 2003

Daily Life in Tokugawa Japan: A Study Set in Old Ibaraki Prefecture, by Geritz, Laura, 2003

Provincial Reform and Local Elite Participation: The Case of Yuan Shikai and Zhili, by Dewell, Christopher, 2003

Regional Variations in the Number of Protests and Strikes in China, by Atkeisson, G., 2003

A Study of Objectivity and Detachment in Soseki's Vision, by Cleveland, Brian, 2003 (Honors)

Adaptations of the Rokujo Character from "Genji Monogatari" by the noh Playwrights Zemi & Zenchiki in the noh Plays "Aoi no Ue" & "Nonomiya: A Literary Noblewoman Becomes a Loquacious Ghos.", by Dolembo, Marie, 2004

The Spectacle of School Girls: Enjo Kosai Through a Tokugawa Lense, by Goodison, Arlene, 2004 (Honors)

The Search for Moral Coherence in Contemporary China, by Pine, Charles, 2004

Modern Japanese Human Right Law and the Otaru Omsen Case, by Grieb, Owen, 2005

Chinese Migration to Slovakia, by Repkova, Katarina, 2005

Chasing the Sheep of History: War & Memory in the Fiction of Murakami Haruki, by Ward, Michael, 2006

Game Centers: A Historical and Cultural Analysis of Japan's Video Amusement Establishment, by Eickhorst, Eric, 2006 (Honors)

Hunting the Xiezhai: Mythology, Methodology and an Alternate Explication of Fa, by Caldwell IV, Perry Ernest, 2006

Punishment & the Preface to the Tale of the Heike, by Mayo, Christopher, 2007 (Honors)

Venerable Fazan & His Influence on Life & Education at the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Institute, by Sullivan, Brenton, 2007 (Honors)

Anti-Americanism and national identity in South Korea, by Duncan, Ben, 2009.

Methods to Market Mario: An Analysis of American and Japanese Preference For Control in Video Games, by Cook, Geoffrey M., 2009

The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: Wang Anyi’s Tale of Shanghai, by Schneider, Nancy, 2011

Acquisition of Semantic and Pragmatic Meaning of the Quantifier Nanko-ka by Adult Learners of Japanese, by Takami, Naoko, 2011

Sex and Silence: Ochiai Keiko’s “The Rape” Within a Historical Context, by Brown, Aun-Drey Reynaldo, 2012

Rebel With a Cause: Ishihara Shintaro, A Case Study of a Japanese Nationalist, by Akaike-Toste, Eriko Maria, 2013

Romantic Relationships and Urban Modernity in the Writings of Han Bangqing and Zhang Ailing, by Kauffman, Andrew, 2013

The Middle Class in the Middle Kingdom: Regime Support for the Chinese Leadership?, by Paden, Eric, 2013

Pollution and Environmental Concern in Rural China, by Brandes, Julia, 2013 (Honors)

Queer Comrades, Queer China: Hybrid Lesbian Identities in an Age of Social Media, by Brennan, Cammie Allison, 2013

South Korean “New Wild Geese Mothers” Studying in the U.S.: Balancing between Studenthood and Motherhood, by Lee, Ji-Yeon, 2013.

Rethinking the Axial Age in Ancient China: The Role of Religion in Governance from the Shang to the Early Han, by Bollig, Peter, 2014

Revisioning Literature and History: An Annotated Translation of Two Short Stories by Jin Renshun, by McCormick, Evan Randolph, 2014

Conscientious Rule: Policital and Moral Philosophy in “The Way of Conscientiousness and Trustworthiness” (Zhong xin zhi dao), by Chung, Hsiao-Tung, 2015

A Failure to Communicate: Li Shangyin’s Hermetic Legacy, by Bowden, Emily, 2015

Hollywood in China: The Chinese Reception of Titanic as a Case Study, by Dillon, Kaylin, 2015

Hot Economics, Cold Politics: The Influence of Anti-Japanese Protests on Japanese Foreign Direct Investment in China, by Tsuyumu Vencalek, Emi, 2015

Cross-Script Cognate Priming Effects on Visual Word Recognition: Effects of Japanese Loanword Cognates in L2 Japanese Learners, by Higashitani, Noriko, 2015

Multiple Challenges in Fundraising for North Korean Refugees: The Case of a South Korean NGO, by Kohlbeck, Justin, 2015.

Cold War in Asia: China’s Involvement in the Korean and Vietnam War, by Becker, Stefanie, 2015

China’s soft power investment in African nations, by Nagao, Haruka, 2016 (Honors)

Gender Dynamics in China’s Legal System: Comparative Analysis with the United States, by Considine, Kasey, 2016

Turquoise-Inlaid Bronze Plaques from the Erlitou Culture: Origin and Transmission, by Sun, Mao, 2017

"Jogakusei:" A Cultural Icon of Meiji Japan, by Hori, Yoko, 2017

Seeking "suzhi" through Modernization and Development, by Moramarco, Krista , 2017

Recentering Taiwan: Colonialism, The Nation, and Identity in Taiwanese Fiction and Film, by Hill, William Zachary, 2017

Transforming the Spirit: Wang Wei's Encomium on a Pure Land "Bianxiang," by Aghdaie, Taraneh, 2017

A Critical Approach to Human Trafficking in Japan: Rethinking Sex Tafficking Policy Through the Examples of Filipino Migrant Entertainers, by Gridley, Marlaena A, 2019

Murakami Haruki's Short Fiction and the Japanese Consumer Society, by Clements, Jacob, 2019.

Sorry but Not Sorry: Politics of Apology over Comfort Women between Japan and South Korea, by Shiomi, Masanori, 2019