Our Program

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies is dedicated to the study of the civilizations of China, Japan and Korea ina ll their richness and diversity. Study involves not only East Asia's recent and increasingly vital role on the world scene, but also an examination of the complex and profound features of its long history.

The department offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in three areas: Asian Studies, Chinese, and Japanese. All majors include course work East Asian cultural studies (involving one or more East Asian countries). Following is a brief description of each major, to see additional information on a particular major go to the major's web page from the links above.

Some careers that our East Asian Languages majors are currently working in are banking, diplomacy, international business, law, public service, research, teaching and the arts.

(1) Asian Studies Major

Is an interdepartmental program administered by the East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies Department. It offers an undergraduate major leading to the B.A. degree and a graduate program leading to the M.A. Both the undergraduate and the graduate programs enable students to study East Asia (China, Japan, or Korea) through two or more academic disciplines and, at the same time, to acquire at least two years of training in a language relevant to the area of study. The disciplines that contribute most to Asian studies at UCSB are anthropology, art history, literature, history, philosophy, political science, and religious studies. The languages which may be taken at UCSB in conjunction with Asian studies courses are Chinese (Mandarin and Classical), Japanese (Modern and Classical), and Korean. Any literary Asian language, however, can serve to fulfill the language prerequisite if the student can demonstrate competence by exam equivalent to two years of study. For the major requirements click here. To learn more about this major go to the Asian Studies major webpage here or from the link above.

Interdisciplinary study of an Asian culture, together with language training, provide an excellent basis for graduate work at the M.A. or Ph.D. level.

(2) Chinese Major

This major provides an opportunity for extensive language training and interdisciplinary course work, concentrating on the humanistic fields of literature, history, and religious studies.

The major in Chinese begins with work in modern Mandarin, the standard speech of the Beijing area, and moves on at more advanced levels to Classical or Literary Chinese, which was the dominant literary medium until the twentieth century. To see the requirements for this major click here. To read more about the Chinese Major go to the this major's web page from the link above.

(3) Japanese Major

Like the Chinese major, the Japanese major includes extensive language training and interdisciplinary course work. This major permits a concentrated study of the standard Japanese and encourages an acquaintance with Classical Japanese and Classical Chinese (Kanbun). In addition to language training, both of these majors focus on the humanistic fields set within a broad social and historical context. To see the requirements for the Japanese major click here. For more on the Japanese major visit the Japanese Major web page.

The Chinese and Japanese majors are more geographically and culturally specific than is the Asian studies major, and they require considerably more advanced language training in Chinese or Japanese. Students should examine the different majors to determine which best suits their objectives.

Students are encouraged to complete an academic year of study abroad through the university's Education Abroad Program in China, Japan, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. For certain EAP programs, students can go abroad after two quarters of a language depending on the program. For more information, please visit the EAP's website.