MA in East Asian Studies

The MA in East Asian Studies is a challenging, interdisciplinary graduate degree ideal for students preparing for further study in a PhD program or for those seeking to deepen their regional knowledge and launch a professional career.

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The program introduces students to essential research methods and emerging topics used in multiple academic disciplines, providing ample opportunity for tailoring a curriculum to meet individual needs.

Information on these pages is provided for current students as well as prospective students. 

After reviewing the program requirements, options, and features, please contact the APSI staff with any questions about the MA in East Asian Studies.

Degree Requirements

Ten total courses (30 semester hours) taken at the graduate level are required for the MA degree

• At Duke, graduate courses are 500-level and higher
• Courses must be from at least two different programs or departments; cross-listed courses can satisfy this requirement
• EAS 700 (East Asian Studies: Fields and Methods) is the required core course for all East Asian Studies MA students; it is taken during the fall semester of the first year of study

In addition to coursework, students must demonstrate proficiency in an Asian language and complete a milestone project.

^{*an independent study course taken with an APSI core faculty member may count toward the MA degree requirements}

View and download sample curriculua based on milestone options:

Any student wishing to apply an independent study course (IS) to their degree must submit a separate application for research independent study for each IS course; an independent study course taken with an APSI core faculty member may count toward EAS-listed requirements.

Courses not listed as an East Asia course may be petitioned to count toward the MA degree if at least 1/3 of the graded work (e.g.: exams, weekly writing assignments, major papers) is on East Asia.

Students may also enroll in up to one course per semester at UNC-Chapel Hill; details on receiving credit via inter-institutional registration can be found on the Registrar's website.

_{note: Undergraduate courses (100-, 200-, 300- and 400-level) cannot be applied toward MA degree requirements; graduate students wishing to take an undergraduate-level course must obtain DGS approval and return the completed Permission to Enroll in A Course Below the 500 Level Form to the Graduate School before 5:00 p.m. two business days before the last day of the drop/add period}

Asian Language proficiency

• All MA in East Asian Studies students are required to demonstrate proficiency in an East Asian language
  • minimum required proficiency is equivalent to successful completion of the full 3rd-year language sequence at Duke
  • students who have fulfilled the language requirement may elect to begin or continue study in a second Asian language
• Graduate students who would like to study an Asian language through AMES and apply graduate-level credits to their MA degree must review the policy outlined on the AMES DUS website
  • East Asian languages currently offered at Duke include Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
  • Up to two regional language courses taken at the graduate level may be applied towards the 10 required courses for the MA degree

Milestone Requirements

Students pursuing an MA in East Asian Studies are given the option to either write an MA thesis or revise and submit two research papers originally developed during coursework to satisfy milestone requirements for the degree.  

Students are required to declare their milestone option (via this form) by September 30th of the second year.

Thesis Option

Students who intend to pursue a PhD after completing the MA program are strongly encouraged to select the thesis option. A thesis is an original scholarly work, rooted in one or more relevant academic disciplines, that is crafted under the supervision and guidance of a thesis advisor. Theses in EAS are typically 40-60 pages in length, not including references.

Thesis milestone requirements

• The MA thesis must follow all guidelines stipulated by the Graduate School and must be defended before an examination committee of at least three faculty
  • The committee chair and at least one other committee member must be APSI core faculty
• Students are required to form their thesis committee by September 30th of their second year

Students who elect to write an MA thesis have the option to complete 1–2 independent study courses with a thesis advisor to develop the thesis project, ideally taken during the second and/or third semester.

Thesis students may enroll in up to one additional independent study with an APSI core faculty member to count toward EAS listed course requirements. Students must submit a separate application for research independent study for each course. 

Research Paper Option

Students who anticipate pursuing a career outside of academia are encouraged to consider this option, which allows students to revise and submit two significant academic research papers developed during coursework to an examination committee. 

Research Paper milestone requirements

• The two research papers must be defended before an examination committee at least three faculty
  • The committee chair and at least one other member must be part of the APSI core faculty
• In addition to the papers, students must write a 4-5 page introduction to the research papers demonstrating the role the research has played in the students’ MA program of study
• Both research papers must have received a letter grade ‘B’ or above in the course for which they were originally submitted and must be revised from the original based on faculty comments from the course
  • Students are required to share faculty comments on each paper as early as possible with their committee chair

English Language Support

Duke's English Language Support Program (ELSP) courses support all graduate and professional students who may benefit from language support, including international students, U.S. permanent residents, and U.S. citizens. The program also provides services for faculty, postdoctoral researchers and associates, visiting scholars, and spouses/partners.

• International graduate students whose first language is not English are required to take oral and written English placement exams administered by the ELSP program upon matriculation
• More than 300 international graduate and professional students from across the university take EIS courses each semester
• Students who place into lower-level courses (GS 720, GS 721) are required to complete them in their first year of study
• Students register for ELSP courses through DukeHub
• ELSP courses carry three credits per course and are graded on a credit/no credit basis
  • ELSP classes may be required for graduation but cannot be applied towards the MA in East Asian Studies degree requirements
  • ELSP classes do count towards the full-time enrollment requirement for international students on an F or J visa