What majors and minors are offered in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures?
Majors are available in Chinese, Japanese and East Asian Studies; minors are available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and East Asian Studies.

What is the main difference between a major in East Asian Studies and a major in Chinese or Japanese?
The East Asian Studies major requires a minimum of 2 years of language studies rather than the 4 years required for the Chinese and Japanese majors. However, it also requires two lower-level civilization courses in two different East Asian cultures, and selection of upper-level courses from more than one cultural area and academic discipline. Which one you choose depends largely on your interests and what you plan to do with your degree after you graduate.

Can I major in Chinese or Japanese and major or minor in East Asian Studies or vice versa?
Yes, However, please keep in mind that the Chinese and Japanese major requires 27 units of advanced coursework (300 level or above) that are unique to the major and cannot be "double-counted."  The Chinese, Japanese and Korean minor requires 18 units unique to the minor.  The Eas Asian Studies major requires 24 upper-level units unique to the major, and the East Asian Studies requires 18 units unique to the minor.

Can I major or minor in just Chinese, Japanese or Korean language?
No. While language study is the foundation of the EALC curriculum, we consider a solid knowledge of the literature, history and cultures associated with these languages to be very important as well.

How do I declare a major or minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures?
You may request to declare a major/minor through WebStac. You will then be asked to arrange a meeting with the EALC Director of Undergraduate Studies, Prof. Beata Grant. Please bring a hardcopy of your unofficial transcript from WebStac to the meeting. When your request is approved, you will be assigned an appropriate major or minor advisor.

If I declared a major or minor before July 1, 2011, do I need to fulfill the new major/minor requirements?
Only students who declare a major or minor after July 1, 2011 are required to follow the new requirements. If you declared a major or minor before July 1, 2011, you have the option of following either the old or the new requirements. Please note, however, that all majors must fulfill the Capstone requirement.

Am I required to meet with my assigned advisor?
Majors will need to check in with their advisors at least once a semester, since you must have your advisor’s authorization before preregistering for the following semester’s courses. You should also meet with your advisor whenever you have any questions about fulfilling the requirements for the major or other academic-related issues. Minors do not need their advisor’s authorization for preregistration, but should plan on meeting with their advisors at least once or twice in the course of the academic year.  

May courses taken at Washington University through Summer School or University College count toward the majors or minors in EALC?
With the approval of your advisor, Summer School courses may be counted toward the majors and minors.  However, no more than one University College course may be counted towards the EALC major or minor.

Must I register through the EALC number (L03, L04, L05, L51) to get credit toward my EALC major or minor even if a cross-listed course is home-based in another department?
If a course home-based in another department is cross-listed with EALC, it normally means that it can be used towards your major and minor. When possible, we ask you to enroll under the EALC course number to better ensure that all of the courses you intend to count toward your major or minor will be properly credited. If a course you wish to take is not cross-listed with EALC, you will need the approval of your advisor and/or the Director of Undergraduate Studies in order to count it towards your major or minor.

May I use two different languages to satisfy my language requirement?
You are encouraged to study more than one language at WU, but in order to satisfy the requirements for the major, you will need to demonstrate competence in one language through the fourth-year level. The minor requires a minimum of two years of a single language. For details on the language requirement, please consult the descriptions of each major and minor.

Can I take language courses Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit?
No. All courses for the major or minor, including language classes, must be taken for a letter grade. Moreover, a B- minimum is required in order to advance from one level to the next.

Can I take audit language courses?
Given the highly interactive and participatory nature of our language instruction, the auditing of EALC language courses is normally not allowed.

As a transfer student, do language courses taken at my previous school count toward the language requirement for an EALC major?
Normally, credit for previous language study is awarded only after you have taken the EALC language placement exam and earned at least a B- in the course into which you have placed.

Is there a study abroad requirement?
There is no study abroad requirement. However, you are strongly encouraged to participate in one of the several Washington University-approved study-abroad programs in East Asia, such as the Washington University Program at Fudan University in Shanghai, the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies in Japan and the Seoul National University program in Korea.

Can non-language courses taken abroad count toward an EALC major or minor?
Up to 6 units of non-language courses taken at a Washington University-approved study abroad program may be counted toward the major; 3 units can be counted towards the minor.

Can Independent Studies courses be used to fulfill the EALC major or minor requirements?
Normally, no more than 3 units of Independent Study may be applied towards an EALC major. Independent Study courses cannot be applied to an EALC minor.

Do I need to satisfy a Capstone requirement for an EALC major?
Yes. You may fulfill the Capstone requirement by taking an approved 400-level seminar course during your senior year. These courses will be designated as such in the Course Listings and may vary in topic from year to year. Alternatively, if you have earned an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher, and EALC is your prime major, you may choose to write a senior’s thesis, which will not only fulfill your capstone requirement but also qualify you for Latin honors. Note that the 3 units of the 400-level seminar may be included in the 3 required upper-level non-language courses apart from the literature survey. However, the 6 units of Senior Honor’s Thesis research are in addition to the required 27 upper-level units. All seniors, regardless of whether they are writing a thesis or taking a 400-level seminar, are required to make a brief presentation of their thesis research or their seminar paper/ project at the Senior Symposium held at the end of the spring semester.

Am I required to participate in the EALC Senior Symposium?
All EALC majors, both prime and second, are required to participate in the Senior Symposium.  Prime majors will give a 10-minute presentation of either the research paper they wrote for their 400-level Capstone course, OR their senior honors thesis.  Second majors will give a 10-minute presentation based on a term paper or major project completed for any upper-level (300 or above) East Asia-related course.

What is the Senior Exit Dossier?
All EALC majors, both prime and second, are required to submit a Senior Exit Dossier before graduation.  Refer to this page for details.

What if I still have questions about the EALC majors and minors?
For further information, contact Prof. Beata Grant, the EALC Director of Undergraduate Studies.