East Asian Library at WashU

Graduate Placement

Washington University in St. Louis has been training graduate students in East Asian languages and cultures for over fifty years and through a variety of degree programs. East Asian Languages and Cultures offers three MA degrees—Chinese, Japanese, and East Asian Studies—and four PhD tracks. Two of our degrees are joint with Comparative Literature, the other two focus on the literary tradition of either China or Japan. EALC faculty contribute richly to the interdisciplinary East Asian Studies MA degree.

One strength of our graduate curricula is our ability to tailor programs to individual student interests. We provide a solid and significant grounding in the traditions of our disciplines while at the same time remaining flexible and cognizant of the changing academic and geo-political climate. As a result, our graduates are extremely successful. Nearly 50% of our PhD graduates claim a tenure-track position within the first year following graduation; most spend time in postdoctoral positions or as Visiting Assistant professors. All land employment.

Most of our MA graduates continue on for a PhD, either in our programs or elsewhere. In recent years we have seen our MA graduates admitted to PhD programs at:

  • Columbia University
  • Princeton University
  • University of British Columbia
  • University of California, Irvine
  • University of Kansas
  • University of Washington

We are proud of the strong graduate programs we have in East Asian Languages and Cultures and the way our students are continuing and growing our legacy. And we are rightfully proud of our graduates.