Degree Requirements

Complete East Asian Studies M.A. requirements are outlined on the Stanford Bulletin website. The Bulletin is the official record of program requirements; any typographical errors or omissions on this page do not supersede the bulletin text.

M.A. Degree Requirements At A Glance 

1. Language Proficiency:

Students must demonstrate proficiency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language equivalent to Stanford's first three full years of language training.  This requirement may be fulfilled by one of three methods:

1. Completing the third-year course sequence at Stanford;
2. Examination (i.e., testing into 4th year in the target language) administered by the Stanford Language Center. Students who demonstrate partial completion via this method (for example; testing into 3rd year Chinese, 2nd quarter) need only complete those courses remaining to fulfill the regular year-long course sequence; 
3. By possessing a degree from a university where the language of instruction is in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

Students completing their language proficiency requirement while attending Stanford must adhere to these policies:

• All language courses taken at Stanford used toward fulfilling the language requirement must be for letter grades and completed with a grade of 'B' or higher.
• Conversation classes cannot be used for meeting this requirement.
• The language used to meet the language proficiency requirement should match the student's country/region of focus.
• Units from language courses numbered 1-99 do not count toward the 46 units required for the degree. Language courses numbered 100 and above (i.e 3rd year and above) can be used toward meeting the 46 units minimum for the degree, but cannot be used toward fulfilling the content courses requirement.
• Students entering the program without any language preparation must complete first-year language courses during the first year of residence at Stanford.   
• Other Asian languages may be accepted by petition to fulfill degree requirements.

Language courses are listed under the following subject codes on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site: CHINLANG, JAPANLNG, and KORLANG.

2. Unit Requirements:

Students must complete minimum 46 units at Stanford, comprised of:

A) Minimum nine (9) non-language East Asia content courses , at least 30 units of which must be at the graduate level (200 level or above in most courses and 300 level for HISTORY and other select departments), and which also meet the following requirements:  

• Includes EASTASN 330 core course, 3 units, offered in autumn quarter. Students starting their program in autumn must take this class during their first quarter at Stanford.
• Are on the approved East Asian Studies course list, or have been approved by petition (maximum 3 petitions)
• Are minimum 3 units (excluding certain pre-approved exceptional courses)
• Are taken for a letter grade (if available), and completed with a 'B' or higher ("P" or higher in GSB courses and Law courses)
• Include at least three courses either i) in the same department; or ii) within the same thematic focus (view sample thematic options under "Sample Theme 1, 2, 3"). 

B) Additional academic courses (lectures, seminars, colloquiums, etc.) as necessary to reach a total of 46 units, which are:

• An academic content course, such as a lecture, seminar, lab or colloquium (no activity courses, studio courses, EFS language classes, etc.)
• At least level 100 or above (above 200 for HISTORY courses), with students strongly encouraged to enroll in graduate-level courses whenever possible.  Content courses numbered 1-99 do not count toward required units.
• Taken for a letter grade when possible

General policies applicable to all coursework:

• Language classes must be numbered at level 100 or above; language courses numbered 1-99 may not count towards overall units required.
• The cumulative grade point average (GPA) for all courses must be 3.0 or higher.
• No transfer units are accepted, with the exception of courses for exchange credit at the University of California, Berkeley, with approval of advisor and the Office of the University Registrar. 

3. Master's Thesis:

Students must submit a master's thesis representing a substantial piece of original research with a minimum of 10,000 words in the main body (excluding references, citations, appendices, etc.). With the adviser's approval, the master's thesis requirement may be satisfied by expanding upon an existing research paper written for an advanced course. The M.A. thesis is due the quarter in which the student applies to graduate by the date and time specified on the official Stanford Academic Calendar. No filing extensions are permitted. (view past thesis topics)