East Asian Studies 2015

[ashlee_liu31]

It seems that no one has created an EAS thread for this year so I decided to do it. Let's get in touch with other EAS people! You don't have to be applying in the 2014-2015 admission cycle to post. I would love to get to know those who are already in grad schools.

Please let us know what and where you study and other related things you would like to share!

My name is Ashley and I am studying at McGill in Canada. I am applying to a bunch of American school this year this but I have never been to the states >< 

I have very broad research interests and I hope to get into a school that accommodates my interests. I have been doing quite a bit of research on Song-Yuan Chinese intellectual and literary history and my interests extend far beyond that, I know Chinese (modern and classical), Japanese (modern and some classical), and Korean and am definitely interested in studying Sino-Japanese-Korean literary and cultural exchange in grad school. The only school I know of that can has competent Chinese, Japanese, and Korean faculty and resources is Harvard (and maybe Columbia). My top choices of grad school include Harvard, Columbia, and Stanford. Anyone here studies or has studied in these schools? =)

My preparation of the grad school application is going well but I have a few concerns. The first is the fact that I don't already have a M.A degree and I am worried about funding. I'm not sure how possible it is for undergrad students to get direct PHD entry offers, especially at schools like Harvard or Stanford; and M.A programs don't have much funding. In other words, I am worried that as an undergrad student, I might be disadvantaged in the funding game =( I have taken 2 graduate level classes in Chinese history and gotten As in them and the language skills of a PHD student. I'm hoping that these can make up for my lack of M.A degree and give me some advantages. 

My second concern is the scope of my research interests and how to match them with an adviser. I have some POI interests in mind who study literary and intellectual history of the middle period in China (e.g Peter Bol and Stephen Owen at Harvard, Ronald Egan at Stanford) but I haven't finalized a list. I am waiting to talk to my profs once school starts. As expected, I can't find any prof that studies Song-Yuan history AND Korea and Japan and I am not sure how I should approach this dilemma and how to phrase my statement of purpose. Any advice?

 

[yytk]

Hey Ashlee, thanks for getting the thread started this year. It's never too early to stress out about grad apps!

 

I thought I might be able to help you out a bit with some of your questions. I'm currently finishing an MA and getting ready to reapply to PhD programs. I have some contacts in the departments that you are interested in, so I may be able to give you an idea of what to expect. I'm not in the same period/area, so you will have to take this with a giant grain of salt. Still, the more information the better, right!

 

My impression is that the Chinese side of Harvard EALC isn't particularly interested in working cross-culturally. Stephen Owen is very, very good at what he does, but the direct quote from one of my friends there is "they are predisposed just to generally ignore your program." That said, the department as a whole has produced some amazing scholars that work across cultures, one of whom (though working in the modern period) is still in the department, Karen Thornber.

 

I know less about Ronald Egan, but do know some of his students personally, and I get a similar impression from their work. They focus on a narrow period, but the research they do is fantastic.

 

If you are really focused on working cross-culturally--which I think you should be, because that looks like the direction that the field is moving more generally--Columbia may be a better fit, though I'm not sure who specifically you are looking to work with. Another option that you may look at is UCLA. Jack Chen works in a slightly different period, but I've heard good things about him--although I also hear his most recent book wasn't so well received by some of the "ranking" members in the field. Shu-mei Shih edited a book called "Minor Transnationalism" which is fantastic and has been used regularly in my graduate seminars. There is a large and well-respected Korean studies department and John Duncan may have produced works that would interest you. On the Japanese side is Michael Emmerich, who seems to have his hand in every area of Japanese studies and also has wide-ranging interests.

 

Again, all of these are impressions that I have heard from former classmates/department-mates which are now being recounted third-hand. I know that past gradcafe posters are now in these programs, so if they are still hanging around they may be able to put a clearer perspective on it.

 

Something that I can talk about from personal experience is funding: Get it. It can be really alluring to go to Harvard/Columbia/Stanford etc etc because of the draw that their faculty and name have, but don't pass up a funded MA because of it. Funded MAs exist out there, sometimes at smaller schools that you haven't thought of before. Talk to people in your department, especially grad students, about where those programs are and which ones fit with what you want to do. So many PhD applicants are already going to have one, three, five, ten years of graduate training or professional experience already (I'm almost to double digits, and I'm one of the young ones in my department. I'm still clinging to a 2 for a first digit, hahaha!) That can be hard to compete against. It's not impossible to get a fully-funded PhD offer straight out of undergrad, but always try to have a few back-up plans. I ended up at a back-up plan the first go around, and I couldn't be happier.

 

Hope that helps!

[ashlee_liu31]

 

Hey Ashlee, thanks for getting the thread started this year. It's never too early to stress out about grad apps!

 

I thought I might be able to help you out a bit with some of your questions. I'm currently finishing an MA and getting ready to reapply to PhD programs. I have some contacts in the departments that you are interested in, so I may be able to give you an idea of what to expect. I'm not in the same period/area, so you will have to take this with a giant grain of salt. Still, the more information the better, right!

 

My impression is that the Chinese side of Harvard EALC isn't particularly interested in working cross-culturally. Stephen Owen is very, very good at what he does, but the direct quote from one of my friends there is "they are predisposed just to generally ignore your program." That said, the department as a whole has produced some amazing scholars that work across cultures, one of whom (though working in the modern period) is still in the department, Karen Thornber.

 

I know less about Ronald Egan, but do know some of his students personally, and I get a similar impression from their work. They focus on a narrow period, but the research they do is fantastic.

 

If you are really focused on working cross-culturally--which I think you should be, because that looks like the direction that the field is moving more generally--Columbia may be a better fit, though I'm not sure who specifically you are looking to work with. Another option that you may look at is UCLA. Jack Chen works in a slightly different period, but I've heard good things about him--although I also hear his most recent book wasn't so well received by some of the "ranking" members in the field. Shu-mei Shih edited a book called "Minor Transnationalism" which is fantastic and has been used regularly in my graduate seminars. There is a large and well-respected Korean studies department and John Duncan may have produced works that would interest you. On the Japanese side is Michael Emmerich, who seems to have his hand in every area of Japanese studies and also has wide-ranging interests.

 

Again, all of these are impressions that I have heard from former classmates/department-mates which are now being recounted third-hand. I know that past gradcafe posters are now in these programs, so if they are still hanging around they may be able to put a clearer perspective on it.

 

Something that I can talk about from personal experience is funding: Get it. It can be really alluring to go to Harvard/Columbia/Stanford etc etc because of the draw that their faculty and name have, but don't pass up a funded MA because of it. Funded MAs exist out there, sometimes at smaller schools that you haven't thought of before. Talk to people in your department, especially grad students, about where those programs are and which ones fit with what you want to do. So many PhD applicants are already going to have one, three, five, ten years of graduate training or professional experience already (I'm almost to double digits, and I'm one of the young ones in my department. I'm still clinging to a 2 for a first digit, hahaha!) That can be hard to compete against. It's not impossible to get a fully-funded PhD offer straight out of undergrad, but always try to have a few back-up plans. I ended up at a back-up plan the first go around, and I couldn't be happier.

 

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the input! 

2 of the profs who will be writing recommendation letters for me are from Harvard, the other one is from Stanford, so i have a decent amount of access to information about these schools. (all of them study China) I never heard about Harvard's particular reluctance toward cross cultural studies, but I never specifically asked about it either. I just assumed that EAS students generally are encouraged to develop knowledge in more than one country since PHD students are required to have more than one or two areas of expertise. 

At this point, I am not sure to what extent I want to do cross cultural studies because I have never done it. My research experience is exclusively on premodern China. My knowledge of Japanese has been useful only when I read Japanese scholarship on China. I am also aware that most scholars who study premodern China, especially the pre-Ming and Qing period, focus exclusively on China. (I literally can't think of any Song-Yuan studies scholars who also study Japan or Korea). So if I were to stick with my current research interests in the Song-Yuan period, I don't think I'll find an adviser who personally does cross cultural studies on Korea and Japan. I am not looking for a prof who studies the Song-Yuan period AND Japan and Korea because they probably don't or barely exist. What I am hoping for is to study with a Song-Yuan scholar but have some freedom to do some cross-cultural studies with the help of other faculty members; that's why I want a comprehensive department like Harvard. Although I would really like to study Japan and Korea on the side, I think I would still be very happy with a top Song-Yuan scholar who doesn't do cross cultural studies as long as s/he doesn't disallow me to explore my own interests. I am also open to studying with scholars who focus on cross cultural studies like the ones in UCLA you mentioned and Karen Thornber, but the problem is that I have never read their works and am unfamiliar with the field because I have only done research on China.

Talking about Karen Thornber, I know that she mainly writes about modern literature, but do you know if she's interested in students of premodern literature at all? Her official Harvard page says that she also reads classical Chinese and Japanese, which makes me wonder if she could be a POI to me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[yytk]

I should definitely rephrase what I said before. I wouldn't say that Harvard EALC as a department has any reluctance to cross-cultural training. If anything, the department as a whole seems geared toward that kind of research. But you really summed it up best, already:

 

 

 

I am also aware that most scholars who study premodern China, especially the pre-Ming and Qing period, focus exclusively on China. (I literally can't think of any Song-Yuan studies scholars who also study Japan or Korea). So if I were to stick with my current research interests in the Song-Yuan period, I don't think I'll find an adviser who personally does cross cultural studies on Korea and Japan. I am not looking for a prof who studies the Song-Yuan period AND Japan and Korea because they probably don't or barely exist. 

 

 

Premodern scholars, especially those trained in the generation defined by "area studies,"are often reluctant to work on other countries or periods. This is one of the reasons why fit is so important to graduate school and graduate schools applications. We all have to make ourselves appealing to whatever professor we are applying to work with, but we also have to stay true to our own research interests. If we don't, we set ourselves up to burn out before we ever hit comps because we are so frustrated by the work we aren't doing. Now comes the tricky part of selling yourself to those potential advisors, while also accurately representing your long-term research interests.

 

I think you are absolutely right to be looking at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and other top schools. I hope I wasn't making it sound like they were impossible. McGill is a quality program and you can demonstrate some graduate level work already. But make sure you have some programs on your list that fund MAs--try to avoid the one-year cash cows, if possible--and offer terminal degrees. The general feeling is that an MA (especially if you have funding and/or teaching experience) from even a middling program will trump a BA from top programs. Your best source of information will be the graduate students already in your department. Most grad students love to talk shop--and put off their work--so don't be afraid to ask them questions directly.

 

I don't think that Karen Thornber works extensively in premodern, but it never hurts to ask!

 

Also, I feel like we may get more activity on the thread as people start really working on applications if you re-list this as "Asian Studies 2015" to include all of the students working on near-east, south, southeast, pacific rim, indian ocean rim, etc etc asian studies.

 

Good luck on your apps!

[ashlee_liu31]

I should definitely rephrase what I said before. I wouldn't say that Harvard EALC as a department has any reluctance to cross-cultural training. If anything, the department as a whole seems geared toward that kind of research. But you really summed it up best, already:

 

 

 

Premodern scholars, especially those trained in the generation defined by "area studies,"are often reluctant to work on other countries or periods. This is one of the reasons why fit is so important to graduate school and graduate schools applications. We all have to make ourselves appealing to whatever professor we are applying to work with, but we also have to stay true to our own research interests. If we don't, we set ourselves up to burn out before we ever hit comps because we are so frustrated by the work we aren't doing. Now comes the tricky part of selling yourself to those potential advisors, while also accurately representing your long-term research interests.

 

I think you are absolutely right to be looking at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and other top schools. I hope I wasn't making it sound like they were impossible. McGill is a quality program and you can demonstrate some graduate level work already. But make sure you have some programs on your list that fund MAs--try to avoid the one-year cash cows, if possible--and offer terminal degrees. The general feeling is that an MA (especially if you have funding and/or teaching experience) from even a middling program will trump a BA from top programs. Your best source of information will be the graduate students already in your department. Most grad students love to talk shop--and put off their work--so don't be afraid to ask them questions directly.

 

I don't think that Karen Thornber works extensively in premodern, but it never hurts to ask!

 

Also, I feel like we may get more activity on the thread as people start really working on applications if you re-list this as "Asian Studies 2015" to include all of the students working on near-east, south, southeast, pacific rim, indian ocean rim, etc etc asian studies.

 

Good luck on your apps!

Great idea about changing the title of this thread, but I don't think it can be done =(

[阿明32]

Berkeley offers everyone accepted to the Asian Studies MA program funding. Likewise you have a good shot at a GSI (TA in Berkeleyspeak) or GSR (RA) position during your second year.  It also happens to be in the top 3 in Chinese/Japanese studies.   Cal is by far the best value for a terminal MA. They accept 6 applicants per year, so put on your war paint. 
http://ieas.berkeley.edu/gas/grad_ma.html

Edited September 21, 2014 by 阿明32

[ashlee_liu31]

wow thanks, that sounds wonderful. I honestly havent really been thinking about berkeley because i thought they dont have much fundings. now i'm interested!

[MastersHoping]

Hello everyone!

I'm probably going to be applying to East Asian Ph.Ds next year (so after you guys). I'm very interested to see how it turns out for you all! 

[Authorization]

I'm in the M.A. program in Asian Studies at Florida State University. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask! 

[yytk]

Thanks for dropping in MastersHoping and Authorization! Anything that you'd like to share about the application process? Or a plug for your MA program? I feel like it would be good to try to organize as many funded MA programs as we can for current and future applicants. Funding always seems like a huge issue each year. In addition to Berkeley, I can think of a few schools that offering funding for MA students:

 

Michigan's International Institute (CJS and CCS) - FLAS, fellowships, and tuition wavers

University of Colorado - TAships for almost all graduate students, often for every year attending

University of Illinois - University fellowships and (few) TAships

University of Alberta - Only heard there is funding second hand, anyone have additional information?

 

If I find out about others I'll pass those along also.

 

I'm going to steal a format from a previous year's thread to help get a bit more conversation started:

 

1. What kind of program are you applying to?

2. Where are you applying?

3. What is your background?

4. What do you do when not worrying about graduate school?

 

Here's my go at them:

 

1. I'm applying to modern Japanese lit PhD programs. I work on post-war to contemporary lit and media with a focus on critical interpretations of nation and transnational resistance.

 

2. Not totally finalized, but: Berkeley, UCLA, Chicago, Michigan, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton.

 

3. I have an English major, Japanese minor from small liberal arts college with pretty average grades. I lived and worked in Japan for five years, on both JET and as a full-time teacher at a private high school. I left Japan with pretty average GRE scores. Now I'm finishing an MA from a decent public university.

 

4. Beer! I make it, drink it, love it. I've been homebrewing for a while (still waiting to save enough money to move over to a real all-grain system) and spend most of my free time at breweries. I just came back from one, actually! I have also come to terms with making peanuts in a bottling line if I can't make peanuts in a graduate program.

 

I'll likely be in and out of the thread depending on work (I'm completing coursework, TAing, and writing my MA thesis all at the same time, AHH!!!), but will stop in when possible.

 

Cheers all!

[Quyuan00]

Yale also offers full funding (full tuition waiver + c. $20k living stipend) for two or three East Asian Studies M.A. students every year. Or at least it used to! 

[kyjin]

Confirming the UAlberta funding- I graduated from the MA there in 2013, and was fully funded with TAing. I only had about 14K stipend in addition to tuition/insurance etc (not sure about exact numbers; I think that's about the amount), but I had another small job and I managed it. They do not offer this to everyone however. 

 

Good luck to everyone applying this year!

[yytk]

Good to know about Yale and Alberta. Do the majority of students get TAships, Kyjin?

[kyjin]

Good to know about Yale and Alberta. Do the majority of students get TAships, Kyjin?

I'm not sure what the current situation is, but in my cohort of 13, most of us had TAships. There were also one or two students who did not have full stipends but were offered a one-semester TAship since they had spots. 

[hakubiwashuu]

Hey folks,

 

Long-time lurker and first-time poster here. Also a little late on the bandwagon in deciding that I want to try for an East Asian Studies MA for this application cycle, but I figure I still have time

 

My main concern is trying to find a program with funding available for a terminal MA, so I really appreciate the suggestions above. I really hope it's not a pipe dream. I know taking out loans is almost inevitable these days but I am trying to avoid it if possible. I've saved money from my job, but holy moley is grad school expensive.

 

My background: History major, concentration in East Asian Studies at a selective LAC, GPA 3.5, GRE 164/154 V/Q. Studied abroad in Beijing in undergrad and have had various other work/internship experiences related to Chinese. I would like to continue studying Chinese as well as taking some introductory Japanese courses during my Master's degree. Particularly interested in film/media studies and cultural studies.

 

Good luck everyone!

Edited October 31, 2014 by hakubiwashuu

[kyjin]

Ah, I forgot to mention, but USC's EASC* MA has some funding available as well. They offer TAships to some of their incoming TAs, which also includes tuition and medical insurance in addition to a stipend. (Not as much as PhDs in the same school are offered, but still pretty good.) 

 

*Not to be confused with EALC, which only offers PhDs. 

[hakubiwashuu]

Thanks for letting me know Kyjin! Looks like a great program, I'll definitely be adding it to my list.

 

If you wouldn't mind taking a guess, based on what I wrote in my last post, do you think I would be a competitive applicant for a TAship in that particular program? I appreciate any insight

[kyjin]

If you wouldn't mind taking a guess, based on what I wrote in my last post, do you think I would be a competitive applicant for a TAship in that particular program? I appreciate any insight

Unfortunately I really can't say. I know this year they only had four TA spots available. Three of them went to second year students, one to a first year. I assume they will have those four spots next year, and assume at least one going to a second year. I'm sure you have a chance!  

[hakubiwashuu]

Wow! Good to know. Thanks kyjin

[kindkw123]

Hello everyone. My name is Kevin. I'm currently an MA student in UCLA's East Asian Studies program. I also work in the program office. Please feel free to ask me anything about the program.

[yytk]

Hey all, seems like we have all been pretty busy. I just got the last of my applications in (YEAH!) and have officially entered application hibernation mode. How's everyone else doing?

[ashlee_liu31]

i just submitted my last application! i feel so relaxed =) haven't felt this way in a long time

[yytk]

Congrats! Did you find an advisor or program that seemed to be a good fit for your research?

[ashlee_liu31]

i got a phone call from Upenn =) So early!

[yytk]

That's awesome! I think you've won the earliest response in Asian Studies history award! Was the call for an interview/visit or full acceptance? MA or PhD?