Foreign Language Requirement
The program language requirement may be satisfied in any of the following ways:
Language Courses
A minimum of three years of an East Asian language, either Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, or demonstrated equivalency is required in addition to the nine courses required to complete the degree. Three years of an East Asian language is equivalent to UCLA courses: Chinese 100C, Japanese 100C, Korean 100C (with a grade of B or higher)
Language Placement Exam
Students who took language courses in non-UCLA programs and would like to continue taking the language course at UCLA, must take a placement exam before enrolling in the course. Language placement exams are offered by Asian Languages and Cultures department during week 0 of Fall quarter and week 1 of Winter quarter.
Native Speaker Exemption
Native speakers of Chinese, Korean, or Japanese may be exempt from taking language courses to fulfill the EAS MA program language requirement. Exemption petitions are approved on individual basis by program's chair. Please note that the ALC department placement exam is required to enroll in any of their courses that have a language course prerequisite.
After completing the program’s language requirement, submit the Division of Graduate Education (DGE) language petition form to the staff academic advisor. Please refer to the DGE website for download instructions and follow the steps provided.
For the Thesis plan, the language requirement must be completed no later than the end of the quarter preceding the expected graduation quarter. The DGE language petition forms must be submitted by Week 2 of the expected graduation quarter, along with an unofficial transcript showing the final course grades.
For the Capstone plan, the language requirement must be completed by the end of the expected graduation quarter. The DGE language petition form must be submitted by Week 2 of the expected graduation quarter, along with an unofficial transcript showing the in-progress course.
Additional Information
Some students enter the program already proficient in their East Asian language of choice, and may therefore be able to complete the degree in a shorter period of time. For those students seeking further language development, the East Asian Studies MA is a great way to pursue an additional year (or perhaps two for some students) of language study while simultaneously engaging in graduate level coursework. Taking such language courses will, however, inevitably lengthen the time necessary to complete the degree. Finally, students who have mastered one East Asian language are free to use their time to study a second East Asian language, but such classes will be purely electives and will not count toward the degree. Students requiring significant language study are encouraged to do intensive summer work either at UCLA or abroad.
Students should be advised that some graduate level classes require advanced proficiency in an East Asian language (or perhaps its ancient variant such as classical Chinese or Japanese) in order to enroll. While such enrollment requirements are not the norm, they are not uncommon.
