East Asian Languages and Literatures Minor Degrees

The East Asian Languages and Cultures Department offers two undergraduate minor degrees:

Minor Option I: East Asian Culture

Minor Option II: East Asian Language

 

Please note: As of Fall 2025 our minor requirements have changed. If a student declared a minor option before Fall 2025, they will complete the minor with the requirements listed for the 'Before Fall 2025' options. 

Requirements for the Minor

Students selecting the EALC minor must complete one of the following options:

Minor Option I: East Asian Culture (18 credit hours) – As of Fall 2025

  • EALC 130 or ECIV 104/304/305 
  • One course on pre-modern culture 
  • One course on modern/contemporary culture at the 300-level or above
  •  One course in pre-modern or modern/ contemporary at the 300 level or above 
  •  Any two EALC courses at the 300-level or above 

Note that the East Asian Culture minor does not have any prerequisite courses. Click here to view in the KU Catalog. 

 

Minor Option II: East Asian Language (18-19 credit hours) - As of Fall 2025

  • CHIN 204-208 (10 credits) /or JPN 204-208 (10 credits) /or KOR 204-208 (10 credits) 
  • CHIN 504 (5 credits) /or JPN 504 (5 credits) / or KOR 504 (5 credits) 
  • Elective courses
    • Option 1: CHIN 508 (5 credits) /or JPN 508 (5 credits) / or KOR 508 (5 credits)/ and one EALC course at the 300-level or above 
    • Option 2: Three EALC courses at the 300-level or above 

Click here to view in the KU Catalog. 

Pre Fall 2025 Minors:

Minor Option I: East Asian Languages and Cultures (19 credit hours) - Before Fall 2025

Advanced Language Requirement for Minor Option I:

Must complete the third year of one of the following languages: Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. Satisfied by JPN 504 and JPN 508 (10 credit hours), or CHIN 504 and CHIN 508 (10 credit hours), or KOR 504 and KOR 508 (10 credit hours)

Required Electives for Minor Option I: 

Students must also complete three elective courses:

  • Six of these elective hours must be at the 300 level, or above, focusing on the country of the language being studied.
  • Three hours may be a course that covers East Asia broadly.
  • Three hours may be a 100 level course.

 

Minor Option II: East Asian Languages and Cultures (18 credit hours) - Before Fall 2025

Language Skills Requirement for Minor Option II: 

Students must complete the Intermediate level of one of the following languages: Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. Satisfied by JPN 204 and JPN 208, or CHIN 204 and CHIN 208, or KOR 204 and KOR 208

Required Electives for Minor Option II: (18 credit hours)

Twelve of these 18 hours must be Junior or Senior level courses:

  • Pre-Modern Culture: Satisfied by the completion of one junior/senior level (300+) course on the pre-modern culture of the country of the language being studied (3 credit hours). 
  • Modern Culture: Satisfied by the completion of one junior/senior level (300+) course on the modern culture of the country of the language being studied (3 credit hours). 
  • East Asian Studies Electives: Satisfied by the completion of four courses on: Japan, China, Korea, or East Asia. Six hours may be 100 level courses.

 

Minor Hours & Minor GPA

While completing all required courses, minors must also meet each of the following hour and GPA minimum standards:

Minor Hours: Satisfied by 18-19 hours of minor courses.

Minor Hours in Residence: Satisfied by a minimum of 9 junior/senior (300+) hours of KU resident credit in the minor.

Minor Junior/Senior Hours: Satisfied by 12-16 hours from junior/senior courses (300+) in the minor.

Minor Graduation GPA: Satisfied by a minimum of a 2.0 KU GPA in all departmental courses in the minor. GPA calculations include all courses in the field of study including F’s and repeated courses. See the Semester/Cumulative GPA Calculator.