The East Asian Studies Major

Penn State

The East Asian Studies (EA ST) Major

Rebekka Egger, Professional Advisor (Click here for a web-based calendar you can use to schedule an appointment with Dr. Egger.)

Below are the requirements for the East Asian Studies major and the standard courses that fulfill them. Additionally, appropriate courses numbered x96 or x97 might also fulfill certain major requirements if approved for that purpose by the faculty member in charge of the major or the advisor for the major. After the list of requirements, there are some additional points to consider.

For the B.A. degree in East Asian Studies, a minimum of 124 credits is required.

GENERAL EDUCATION: 46 credits
(All PSU students study the same GenEd curriculum. Click here for more details.)
ELECTIVES: 24 credits
BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS: 24 credits
(A wide variety of courses now count toward these requirements.)
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR^§ / ADDITIONAL COURSES (30 credits)
- Language: Select 3 credits beyond the 12-credit level of proficiency in an East Asian language:
  CHNS 110, JAPNS 110, or the equivalent
- Select 9 credits with 3 credits from each of the three categories (HIST, RL ST, CMLIT/PHIL) below:*
  - HIST 174 or 175 <<HIST 172 can substitute for 174 or 175.>>
  - RL ST 003, 104, or 181
  - CMLIT 004, or PHIL 111 <<PHIL 007 can substitute for 111.>>
- "Related Areas." Select 18 credits from the following, at least 12 credits of which are to be at the 400 level. Additional credits in language studies may be permitted up to 6 credits.* Courses with lines through them may continue to exist in the master catalog but have not been offered in recent years. Of the remaining courses, some are offered on a regular basis, others only occasionally:
  - ART H 120, 320
  - CHNS 401, 402, 496
  - CMLIT 004, 404
  - ~~EA ST 401~~
  - ~~ECON 474~~
  - ~~GEOG 443~~
  - HIST 172, 174, 175, 480, 481, 483, 485W, 486
  - JAPNS 401, 402, 496
  - PHIL 111
  - PL SC 145, 458, 468
  - RL ST 003, 104, 181, 409, 481, 483,
  - THEA 406
  - Several recently-created courses are not on the master list above but will count toward the major. However, EA ST majors taking these courses must notify the advisor or faculty member in charge of the major of this fact so that the course(s) can be placed in the proper category on the transcript manually (it will not happen automatically). Furthermore, ad hoc offerings (x96; x97) must be applied to the major manually. These courses include:
    - JAPNS 120, 403W, 452, 453
    - PHIL 007
    - Any course numbered x96 or x97 that deals with China, Japan, and/or Korea in any discipline
    - Any PSU course not listed above that deals with China, Japan and/or Korea
    - Any course dealing with China, Japan and/or Korea from another institution that appears on a student's PSU transcript as transfer credit
    - Any course dealing with China, Japan and/or Korea taken while participating in a PSU-sponsored study abroad program. Non-PSU study abroad programs require prior approval before their courses can be applied to the major.
STUDY ABROAD: Not required but encouraged. Click here for more information.

§A student enrolled in this major must receive a grade of C or better, as specified in Senate Policy 82-44.

*Credit received for a specific course will not count in more than one category.

Other Important Points:

Students should check their degree audits regularly on e-Lion--at least once a semester. Notify the faculty member in charge of the major promptly if anything seems amiss.
Remember to fulfill the Writing Across the Curriculum ("W") GenEd requirement by taking a "W" or "Y" (or "M" for honors students) course offered by a department in the College of the Liberal Arts (university-wide master list).
Substitutions for GenEd and BA courses are approved by the College of the Liberal Arts, but are submitted by an advisor for the major. Students should take care of such substitutions promptly by consulting an advisor.
Substitutions for major requirements are approved by the faculty member in charge of the major.
All substitutions and any course listed above in white type must be entered into a student's record manually by a staff member. Doing so is not difficult, but the substitution will not happen automatically. Students must notify the faculty member in charge of the major or an advisor for the major in such cases.

To enter the major:

If you have any questions about the East Asian Studies major, please contact Rebekka Egger, the professional advisor for the Weaver Building. (Click here for a web-based calendar you can use to schedule an appointment with Dr. Egger.) Adding East Asian Studies as a second major often makes sense for students interested in East Asia in majors such as Japanese, Comparative Literature, History, or Religious Studies. Dr. Egger will be happy to explain the details.

Home