East Asian Studies (PHD) Graduate Program of Study at The University of Arizona

General Information

Program/Degree: East Asian Studies (PHD)
Program Description: East Asian Studies PHD

The Department of East Asian Studies offers two areas for Doctoral degrees. Candidates may focus on either China or Japan.

Candidates for admission to the doctoral program must have the support of one faculty member within whose general area the student proposes to work. Information on requirements and procedures for admission is available from the Graduate College and the department.

The department may admit a student with a B.A. directly into one of the Ph.D. programs if that student shows exceptional promise in his or her field and if there is strong backing from at least one faculty member. In such cases, the student is responsible for fulfilling all normal requirements for the appropriate M.A. program before beginning work for the Ph.D.
Department/Academic Unit(s): East Asian Studies

The Department of East Asian Studies is dedicated to the study of the cultures and languages of China and Japan. The rich cultural heritages of the region are covered by courses in literature, history, society, religion and thought, linguistics and other aspects of culture.

EAS offers a wide range of courses in Chinese and Japanese language. Understanding the languages and cultures of these two nations—the second (China) and third (Japan) largest economies in the world—is essential for anyone working globally today.

EAS offers programs leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.), and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees with a major in East Asian Studies.
College: College of Humanities
Campus where offered: University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
Contacts: Admissions Contact

Frank Whitehead
520-626-8123

Graduate Program Coordinator

Frank Whitehead
520-626-8123

Director of Graduate Studies

Feng-Hsi Liu
520-621-5479

Graduate College Degree Counselor

Kristi Davenport
520-626-1930
Tuition and Fees: Please refer to the UA Bursar's Office Tuition and Fees Calculator for up-to-date information about tuition and fees.
Please refer to the UA Registrar's's Office Special Course Fees for up-to-date information about special course fees.

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

GPA 3.5
English proficiency exam for international students. See list of acceptable exams and scores here.
GRE (required of domestic applicants and applicants from English speaking countries, e.g. U.K., Canada, etc.)(not required for other international
students)
Two (2) letters of recommendation
Statement of purpose (Must specify the area you are applying for: Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, and speciality (example: linguistics)
Sample of written work (Ph.D. applicants only)
Official sealed Transcripts
Department Financial Aid Application

Standardized Tests

Required test(s) required for Domestic applicants: GRE
Required test(s) required for international applicants: English proficiency exam.* See list of acceptable exams and scores here.

*Note: International applicants who do not meet the minimum English proficiency requirements may be considered for conditional admission to this program at the department’s discretion.

Funding Opportunities

Teaching Assistantships
Graduate College Fellowships
Tuition and Registration Scholarships
Graduate and Professional Student Travel Funds

Admissions Deadlines

Domestic Applicants:

Fall: January 15

International Applicants:

Fall: January 15

International Conditional Admission

International applicants may be considered for conditional admission to this program at the department's discretion.

Other Information

The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

ETS Major Field Code(s) for this program: 2601

NRC Taxon(a) for this program: Language, Societies, and Cultures

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

Core Coursework Requirements

The only course all EAS PHD students are required to take: 6-unit Grad Colloquium (EAS 595a)

The equivalent of at least six semesters of full-time graduate study is required for the Ph.D. A minimum of 36 units of coursework in the area of the major subject, 9 units in the minor subject, and 18 units of dissertation must be completed.

All students must fulfill 6 units of the three-part EAS 595a Graduate Colloquium, to be taken in the first two semesters if possible.

China-Area Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. program is offered in Chinese History, Religion and Thought, Literature, Linguistics, and Cultural Anthropology. Two of these fields constitute the major; one constitutes the minor. One field may be taken in the student’s major discipline but focused upon another country or cultural area.

I. PhD in Chinese Studies

Emphasis: Chinese Religion

Major courses—Required units: 36

EAS 595a Colloquium 6 unit

CHN 515 Advanced Chinese 3 units

CHN 517 Advanced Chinese 3 units

CHN 522 Literary Chinese 3 units

(CHN 515 and CHN 517 are waived for native speakers of Chinese)

RELI 550          Theories and Methods for the Study of Religion                   3 units
EAS/RELI 584 History of East Asian Buddhism                                                3 units
EAS/RELI 585 East Asian Buddhism in Regional Perspective              3 units
EAS 596A         Topics in East Asian Buddhism                                                3 units
JPN/RELI 585 Japanese Religions: Ancient                                                     3 units
JPN/RELI 586 Japanese Religions: Medieval                                      3 units
RELI/EAS 582 Tantric Buddhism                                                                      3 units
IA 597 Mindful Teaching and Learning:                                                3 units

A Course in Theory and Applied Practice

Emphasis: Chinese Linguistics

Major courses—Required units: 36

EAS 595a Colloquium 6 unit

CHN 515 Advanced Chinese 3 units

CHN 517 Advanced Chinese 3 units

CHN 522 Literary Chinese 3 units

(CHN 515 and CHN 517 are waived for native speakers of Chinese)

CHN/LING 519 Linguistic Structure of Modern Chinese I 3 units

CHN/LING 510 Linguistic Structure of Modern Chinese II 3 units

EAS 596c Topics in East Asian Studies 3 units

CHN 585 Chinese Sociolinguistics 3 units

EAS 579/580 Second/Foreign Language Teaching 3 units

and Learning

Teaching East Asian Languages in North America

EAS 577 Qualitative methods 3 units

LING 507 Statistical Analysis for Linguistics 3 units

Emphasis: Chinese Modern Literature

Major courses—Required units: 36

EAS 595a Colloquium 6 unit

CHN 515 Advanced Chinese 3 units

CHN 517 Advanced Chinese 3 units

CHN 522 Literary Chinese 3 units

(CHN 515 and CHN 517 are waived for native speakers of Chinese)

CHN 565 Chinese/English translation: Theory and Practice 3 units

CHN 596g Modern Chinese Literature: Sinology 3 units

CHN 596g Modern Chinese Literature: Theory 3 units

Other courses chosen from other fields depending on student interests

Japan-Area Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. program is offered in Japanese Anthropology, History, Linguistics, Literature, and Religion.

II. PhD in Japanese Studies

Emphasis: Japanese linguistics

Major courses—Required units: 45

EAS 595A Graduate Colloquium 6 units

JPN 511 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics 3 units

JPN 512 Advanced Japanese Linguistics 3 units

JPN 536 Japanese Sociolinguistics 3 units

EAS 580/579 Teaching East Asian languages in North America 3 units

JPN 505 Classical Japanese 3 units

JPN 596c Topics in Japanese Linguistics 3 x 3 times = 9 units

2 courses from Anthropology, normally

ANTH 583 Sociolinguistics 3 units

ANTH 678 Ethnographic Discourse Analysis 3 units

ANTH 680 Foundations in Linguistic Anthropology 3 units

ANTH 681 Keywords in Linguistic Anthropology 3 units

ANTH 696c Linguistic Anthropology 3 units

2 courses from Linguistics, normally

LING 503 Foundations of Syntactic Theory 3 units

LING 510 Foundations of Phonological Theory I 3 units

1 statistics course

LING 507 Statistical Analysis for Linguistics 3 units

Emphasis: Japanese literature (modern and pre-modern)

Major courses—Required units: 39

EAS 515a Graduate Colloquium 6 units

JPN 521 Advanced Practice in Japanese Language 3 units

JPN 522 Advanced Practice in Japanese Language 3 units

JPN 505 Classical Japanese 3 units

(JPN 521 and JPN 522 are waived for Japanese native speakers)

JPN 546a Pre-modern Japanese Literature 3 units

count literature to 1330

JPN 546b Japanese Literature Survey: Medieval 3 units

and Early Modern

JPN 550 Introduction to Contemporary Japanese Literature 3 units

JPN 596a Japanese Literature 3 x 3 times = 9 units

One of the following three in Japanese religion:

JPN 585 History of Japanese Religions: Ancient 3 units

JPN 586 History of Japanese Religions: Medieval 3 units

JPN 589 History of Japanese Religions: Modern 3 units

For Modern Lit, one of the following

ENG 514 Advanced Scientific Writing 3 units

ENG 515 History of Criticism and Theory 3 units

Languages

Students in the China-Area/Japan-Area Program must attain fluency in Chinese/Japanese language. Depending on the student's course of study, attainment of proficiency in another language may also be required.

For Literature Major (Japanese Focus):
- 4 survey courses in Japanese Literature (2 in modern, 2 in pre-modern: JPN 546A, JPN 546B, JPN 547A, JPN 547B)
- 3 seminars in Japanese Literature (JPN 596A).
- 1 course in Japanese Religion: JPN 585, JPN 586, JPN 589.
- 2 courses in Modern Japanese Reading: JPN 521, JPN 522. This requirement is waived for native speakers and non-native speakers who have fulfilled this requirement through testing or previous coursework.
  - Modern literature specialists must take either: ENG 515 or ENG 554
For Religion Major (Japanese Focus):
- 4 survey courses in East Asian thought and religion, including at least 2 with a focus on Japan.
- 3 seminars in East Asian thought and religion, including at least 2 with a focus in Japan.
- 2 courses in Japanese history and literature, to be selected in consultation with the advisor
- 1 course in Classical Japanese (JPN 505)
- 2 courses in Modern Japanese reading (JPN 521, JPN 522)

Substitutions permitted: Substitutions to core curriculum may be made only with the approval of the chair of the student’s Committee.

Elective Coursework

Substitutions to core curriculum may be made only with the approval of the chair of the student’s Committee.

Additional Requirements

PhD must be completed within 10 years of the earliest coursework listed on the student’s Plan of Study
Qualifying Examination: Conducted by doctoral committee, which entails a discussion of the student’s program strengths and weaknesses.
Languages-Chinese focus: Students must attain fluency in Chinese and Japanese proficiency is required for students in the pre-modern period and can be demonstrated by completing a written examination, or completing required number of Japanese courses with a B or higher.
Languages-Japanese focus: Fluency in Japanese. Depending on the student’s course of study, attainment of proficiency in another language may be required.
*Chinese Major and Japanese Linguistics Major are also available, there is just not a breakdown of required courses available as this is decided with the student’s advisor. *

Minor Requirements for Doctoral Students in this Program

The minor field(s) must be chosen from any of the fields of study acceptable to the Graduate College. (See the College’s list, “Major Fields for Doctoral Degrees;” the minor must be drawn from the same list.) The minor could be taken from a department other than the student’s home department, and it must be discipline based. The minor department/program sets the minimum number of units of work required.

Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers

Program-level Information
Application Acceptance Rate	36%
Med. Time-to-degree (years)	5.75

Department-level Information
Enrollment Percent Male	34.55%
Enrollment Percent Female	65.45%
Enrollment Percent International	80%
Enrollment Percent URM	3.64%

All application, admit, and enrollment data are from Fall 2020.
Median Time to Degree calculates how long graduates in the last 5 years (2015-2019) took to complete their degrees, counting back to the first semester entering their program. This measure uses the methodology established in the 2011 Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs by the National Research Council.
Underrepresented Minorities (URM) includes domestic students of ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education: African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders.

Persistent link: https://grad.arizona.edu/catalog/programinfo/EASPHD

Last revised 07 Oct 2020

APPLY NOW

Graduate Program: East Asian Studies (PHD)

General Information

Admissions Contact

Graduate Program Coordinator

Director of Graduate Studies

Graduate College Degree Counselor

Admissions Information

Completion Requirements

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers