Anyone in East Asian History?

[aec09g]

Hi (;

I'm a bit new to Grad Cafe but I have been stalking the forums for quite a while. So far, I haven't seen anyone who has an interest in Asian history or East Asia, which is my primary focus, and I want to know if anyone else around here has a similar interest! (;

Anyways, I would like to get a PhD in East Asian history, but because I have a 3.4 GPA and middle ground 154 Verbal Score on the GRE, I have been debating if I should also apply to a Master's program just to get my foot in the door.. However, my professor for my honor's thesis thinks I should definitely try to put a few applications in at the top East Asian history programs, like Princeton and Columbia. The reasoning is that because my field is so small, I wouldn't be competing against as many people.

I'm not sure how that really would work out for me though.

The point: Anyone else in a program? Wanting to be in a program? Have thoughts about a MA/PhD in East Asian history?

[alleykat]

Hello eac09g,

I applied for PhD programs in East Asian History (EAH) a few months ago and I am going to attend one of them this coming Fall. Your professor is right about the smaller pool of applicants trying to get into EAH programs. However, those interested in EAH like us do not have as many choices as those in other fields. You can clearly see that US history and European History are still dominant fieds. Universities that offer graduate degrees in EAH, which often happen to be highly selective ones, accept a very small cohort of new student each year in comparison with ones of other fiends. So the competition is, in fact, extremely stiff. And our chances for getting funding are significantly more limited as well. My program, for example, offers funding for only one PhD student in EAH. Most, if not all, universities give funding priority to coming students of other fields rather than EAH.

I think you should definitely go ahead and apply to some top programs if your writing sample, SOP, LOR, and research experience are really strong. And do not foget to apply to some lower-ranked programs. If not, an MA is not a bad idea given how it would make you become a much more prepared and competitive applicant. Some universities require that all applicants must complete an MA before applying for their PhD programs.

Edited June 13, 2012 by alleykat

[kyjin]

Hi there!

I'm currently an MA student in an East Asian Studies program, focusing on Pre-Modern Japanese History. When I applied for entry in 2011, I applied to a mix of MA and PhD programs. In the end, I did not get into the top PhD programs I wanted, but did gain entry to a fantastic MA program, fully funded, with a professor I really wanted to work with. I'll be applying for PhD programs again this fall for entry in 2013, but I feel much more prepared now with most of my MA under my belt, and some stronger grades and recs to add to it.

I'd definitely recommend applying to a couple top programs; you never know what may happen! But keep an eye out for MA programs as well. Some PhD programs may knock you down to MA consideration if they think you're not ready for the PhD program (this happened with me for Columbia), so there's always that too.

While there is certainly less competition for East Asian History in general, just remember that you usually are fighting for one or two spots at any program in history. A history department at a top University may have a dozen spots for Americanists and a dozen for Europeanists, but Asianists may only have a single spot in the department. Don't get discouraged though; if you find an advisor who is willing to fight for you, it can all work out.

Be sure to stop by the History board and the Asian Studies thread in the Interdisciplinary forum. You're not alone!

[aec09g]

I never met anyone else interested in East Asian history, since it is such a small field, so it's pretty fantastic to meet both of you. Thank you for your advice. (; I'll definitely pop into the other forum areas.

I'm definitely going to try for a few master's programs. I hadn't really considered doing an East Asian Studies master's program until this month since I wasn't sure if it would be something that a History department would like to see on an East Asian history applicant. But now I'm thinking I might apply to a few, so thanks. (:

Edited June 17, 2012 by aec09g

[kyjin]

In my case I'm doing an MA in East Asian Studies for language study. I had four years of Japanese in college and another year afterwards, but since I study 11th and 12th century Japan, I also need classical and kanbun. A general history degree wouldn't give me the specialized language training I need, so I went with a program that would specifically help me in that area. (And also give me more experience in history studies as well. Helpful to have an advisor who is a historian!) Just an option anyway.

[aec09g]

I'm a little lucky in that sense. My main focus area is 20th century Japan, which is still "modern Japanese." Since I like more 1900-1950s, the real challenge is knowing all the kanji that aren't used currently but are used all the time in documents back then. When I graduate I will have taken all of the available undergraduate Japanese language classes (aka up to Japanese 6). I am also translating some, well, untranslated seized Japanese documents from World War II/Occupation of Japan, so I'm getting some language training.

I still worry that my Japanese skills won't be up to the par I want them to be. Plus, I would like to start learning Korean soon.

The more I think about it though, the more I am going to focus my net on Master's programs. I think I will start to look more avidly at East Asian Studies because an MA in East Asian Studies would give me a stronger Asian history background, cause I feel like my transcript has a little bit too much European focus since my college literally has two Asian history classes. /: (I took as many 20th century classes as possible and then made all my papers be about Japan. xd)

[kyjin]

I'm a little lucky in that sense. My main focus area is 20th century Japan, which is still "modern Japanese." Since I like more 1900-1950s, the real challenge is knowing all the kanji that aren't used currently but are used all the time in documents back then. When I graduate I will have taken all of the available undergraduate Japanese language classes (aka up to Japanese 6). I am also translating some, well, untranslated seized Japanese documents from World War II/Occupation of Japan, so I'm getting some language training.

I still worry that my Japanese skills won't be up to the par I want them to be. Plus, I would like to start learning Korean soon.

Haha, this is why I'm jealous of modernists. If you are worried about language training, one option to look at might be IUC, the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama. It's sponsored by a number of US institutions, with administration by Stanford, and is generally for graduate students who need further language training. Most people go partway through their MA or PhD, but there were a few of us my year who came straight out of undergrad. Certainly gave me the confidence boost I needed in my Japanese, especially for reading academic texts.

I think most of us have that European history focus problem. ^^; Most of my undergrad history courses were on medieval Europe. The Japanese side was more literature that anything, but at least I had one premodern literature course in there as well as my thesis. But hey, if you focused most of your papers on Japan, more writing samples!

Good luck on the MA program search!

[aec09g]

Haha, this is why I'm jealous of modernists. If you are worried about language training, one option to look at might be IUC, the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama. It's sponsored by a number of US institutions, with administration by Stanford, and is generally for graduate students who need further language training. Most people go partway through their MA or PhD, but there were a few of us my year who came straight out of undergrad. Certainly gave me the confidence boost I needed in my Japanese, especially for reading academic texts.

I think most of us have that European history focus problem. ^^; Most of my undergrad history courses were on medieval Europe. The Japanese side was more literature that anything, but at least I had one premodern literature course in there as well as my thesis. But hey, if you focused most of your papers on Japan, more writing samples!

Good luck on the MA program search!

Whew. I'm glad I'm not alone then, because looking over my record.. it's sort of pathetic how few of my history classes are truly about Asia. ):

But I actually have been looking into that program! I need to look into funding options though, since it's expensive, and I definitely don't have the money to do it without any aid. The area of their website that gives the information regarding financial aids is down, so I can't even really get an idea right now either. >.< But I'm working on it.

[kyjin]

But I actually have been looking into that program! I need to look into funding options though, since it's expensive, and I definitely don't have the money to do it without any aid. The area of their website that gives the information regarding financial aids is down, so I can't even really get an idea right now either. >.< But I'm working on it.

The money issues is really intimidating with IUC. They do have a ton of scholarships available and financial aid. When I first got admitted, I received nothing. Then between April and September (after acceptance to before arrival), they slowly added more money. By the time I arrived in Japan, I had free tuition. I also found a scholarship available for alumni from my undergrad that provided for most of my living expenses. They tend to give money to PhD students first, then MA, and then to the rest. There is also one scholarship available (I forget the name, sorry) that four or five people get each year that covers everything: tuition, living expenses, plane, etc. One of my best friends got that one my year, and was able to live in Shibuya and travel in every day since she could afford it.

[OregonGal]

While I'm not going for an East Asian History MA... I can certainly sympathize with you feeling the dearth of EA History courses in undergrad. I wanted to focus in Japanese history and my major didn't even really allow it because it was structured as a generalist degree, which led me down academic paths which changed my career trajectory (I went into college wanting to go into East Asian History as a career). We had two Japanese history professors, one for pre-modern and one for modern Japan, and I wasn't able to get into a capstone with either of them so I wrote my history capstone on American public health in the early 20th century >.<*

If you're still looking for programs, you might want to look at more West Coast schools. Coming from looking for international relations programs that have strong regional tracks for East Asia, it can be hard to find schools on the East Coast that aren't still experiencing a tenure hangover from the Cold War. I ended up choosing a relatively young program (25-30 years old) in CA that doesn't even have a Europe or Africa concentration; they solely focus on the history, politics and economy of the Pacific rim (Asia/America/Latin America). One school off the top of my head that I think of as having a strong Asian focus is the University of Washington, either a Japan Studies MA from the Jackson School of International Studies or a history MA from the history department.