The East Asian Studies program is interdisciplinary and interdepartmental. It includes both a major and a minor. The primary purpose of the program is to introduce undergraduates to the knowledge, language skills, and research methods they will need to enter various academic and professional paths relating to China, Japan, and Korea. Majors in East Asian Studies engage in intensive Chinese, Japanese and/or Korean language study through the Center for Language Education and work with faculty on such topics as China in the global economy, nationalism in East Asia, Korean politics, modern Japanese history and politics, Chinese urban history, and women in modern China. Students are encouraged to pursue original research projects in East Asia with the support of intersession and summer travel grants, stipends for conference presentations, a senior thesis honors option, and seminars that bring together research scholars, faculty, graduate students and undergraduates in a manner that is distinctly Hopkins. Many students choose to combine the major in East Asian Studies with another major. Alumni of the program are making their mark around the world in business and finance, academia, law, international development, medicine and public health, engineering, media, public service, and the arts.

Student Learning Objectives of the EAS Major

• Develop proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing at least one East Asian language.
• Demonstrate specialized content knowledge of East Asia through in depth study.
• Apply the approaches of one selected discipline to the study of China, Japan, and/or Korea.
• Acquire knowledge of historical developments in the region.
• Develop the ability to conduct in-depth research on a humanities or social science-related topic, using both English and East Asian language research and primary source materials. East Asian studies majors have the option of capping their four years of study with a senior honors thesis.

Honors in East Asian Studies

Students may earn honors in the East Asian Studies major by maintaining a 3.7 average in the major and completing a senior honors thesis. Students who intend to write an honors thesis are required to complete the year-long Senior Thesis Seminar: East Asian Studies (AS.310.431 and AS.310.432).

Students must secure the mentorship of an adviser among the EAS faculty and submit a completed application form to the Director of the EAS Program before the end of the spring semester of their junior year.