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Undergraduate Degree

Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Languages and Cultures Requirements

For the lower division, two years of Chinese, Japanese or Korean language are required. For the upper division, 32 units, including the third year of language, are required. The 32 units of upper division courses must also include one civilization course, one literature course and four upper division elective courses (16 units) in Chinese, Japanese or Korean. One lower division course may be counted toward the 16 units of upper division electives. One East Asian course from another department may be included in the 32 unit requirement, if approved by an advisor.

Honors Program

Candidates for the B.A. in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures may receive a designation on their transcripts of departmental honors. Admission to the honors program is required.

Prerequisites: 3.33 overall GPA, 3.5 GPA or better in courses in the major, completion of at least one upper-level EALC course requiring a seminar paper at the time of admission, submission of an application form to the undergraduate faculty advisor.

Required for departmental honors: maintain GPA requirements stated above and complete EALC 495ab Undergraduate Honors Thesis.

East Asian Languages and Cultures Minor Requirements

For the lower division, two years of language in one of three languages (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) are required. For the upper division, four 4-unit courses, including one civilization course, one literature course and two upper division elective courses in Chinese, Japanese or Korean are required.

Cultures and Politics of the Pacific Rim Minor Requirements

This interdisciplinary minor introduces stu­dents to the cultural heritage and political contexts of the United States' most important trading partners on the Pacific Rim. Students study East Asia and Latin America, and the cultural, economic and ­political dimensions of international trade. It is intended for students who are interested in or considering diplomatic or commercial careers that require knowledge about the people and cultures of the Pacific Rim.

As with all minors, students must choose at least four classes dedicated to this minor and four classes outside their major department, which may be the same four courses.

Requirements (five courses, 20 units)Units
International Trade (choose one course from the list below)
ECON 450International Trade (Prerequisite: ECON 303 or BUAD 351)4
IR 325Rich and Poor States in the World Political Economy4
IR 330Politics of the World Economy4
IR 470Comparative Regionalism (Prerequisite: IR 210)4
POSC 345International Law4
POSC 451Politics of Resources and Development4

Area Studies (choose two courses, each from a different list below)
Latin America
AHIS 319Mesoamerican Art and Culture4
ANTH 314The Nature of Maya Civilization4
ANTH 328Culture Change and the Mexican People4
ANTH 425Peoples and Cultures of Latin America4
GEOG 335Geography of Latin America4
HIST 372Modern Latin America4
HIST 374History of Mexico4
HIST 451The Mexican Revolution4
HIST 473Colonial Latin America Seminar4
IR 364The Political Economy of Latin American Development4
IR 365Politics and Democracy in Latin America 4
POSC 350Politics of Latin America4
SPAN 320Iberian and Latin American Cultures: Readings on Society (in Spanish)4
SPAN 321Iberian and Latin American Cultures: Readings on the Arts (in Spanish)4
SPAN 372Modern and Contemporary Latin American Fiction (in Spanish)4
SPAN 380Literature of Mexico (in Spanish)4

East Asia:
ANTH 323Regional Ethnology: Southeast Asia4
ECON 343Economic Development of East Asia (Prerequisite: ECON 203 or ECON 205)4
GEOG 306Asia and the Global Economy4
IR 358The Asia Pacific in World Affairs4
IR 360International Relations of the Pacific Rim4
IR 361South and Southeast Asia in International Affairs4
IR 384Introduction to Asian Security4
POSC 352Politics of Southeast Asia4
POSC 355Politics of East Asia4
POSC 377Asian Political Thought4
POSC 453Political Change in Asia4
REL 331Religions of East Asia4

Country Study (choose two courses from the lists below)
China:
AHIS 384Early Chinese Art4
AHIS 385Later Chinese Art4
ANTH 324Regional Ethnology: China4
EALC 350Chinese Civilization4
EALC 352Chinese Literature and Culture4
EALC 354Modern Chinese Literature in Translation4
EALC 355Studies in Chinese Thought4
EALC 375Women and Gender in China: Past and Present4
HIST 338China to 960 A.D.4
HIST 339China, 960-1800 A.D.4
HIST 340History of China since 18004
IR 333China in International Affairs4
POSC 356Politics in the People's Republic of China4

Japan:
AHIS 386Early Japanese Art4
AHIS 387Later Japanese Art4
EALC 340Japanese Civilization4
EALC 342Japanese Literature and Culture4
EALC 365Studies in Japanese Thought4
EALC 460Love, Self and Gender in Japanese Literature4
HIST 335History of Japan to 15504
HIST 336History of Japan, 1550-19454
HIST 337Japan since 19454
HIST 438Seminar in Pre-Modern Japanese History4
HIST 464Culture, Money, and Power: Japanese-American Relations since 18534
IR 442Japanese Foreign Policy4
POSC 354Japanese Politics4

Korea:
EALC 332Korean Literature in English Translation4
EALC 335Literature of the Korean People4
EALC 345Korean Civilization4
HIST 333Korea: The Modern Transformation4

Study Abroad Programs

East Asian Languages and Cultures majors and minors are encouraged to take advantage of the numerous semester and year-long study abroad opportunities sponsored by the Office of Overseas Studies. Currently, the office offers programs in China (Beijing and Nanjing), Taiwan (Taipei), Korea (Seoul), and Japan (Tokyo, Nagoya). Each of the programs is affiliated with a world class institution, such as Waseda University in Tokyo, National Chengchi University in Taipei or Yonsei University in Seoul. Contact the Office of Overseas Studies at (213) 740-3636 for further details or visit them online at college.usc.edu/overseas-studies.

The majority of course work offered by these programs may be counted toward the EALC major or minor requirements. Students who receive major credit from any of these programs must still take at least eight units of non-language courses within EALC at the upper division level while at USC (specifically an EALC civilization and an EALC literature course). Students interested in attending one of these programs must meet with an EALC academic advisor to ensure that the courses enrolled in overseas will meet EALC major or minor requirements.

Chinese Summer Program in Beijing

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures offers its Chinese language summer courses in Beijing. Participants will be able to transition seamlessly to the next level courses upon returning to campus.Cultural visits and excursions will be included in the tuition fee. All courses count toward a major and minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Bachelor of Arts with a Combined Major in Linguistics/East Asian Languages and Cultures

See Department of Linguistics.

Progressive Degree Program in East Asian Languages and Cultures

The progressive degree program permits exceptional undergraduate students to receive both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in East Asian Languages and Cultures within five years. It is intended for students with extraordinary EALC preparation and performance who demonstrate a superior level of overall scholarship.

Admission
Applicants may apply after the completion of 64 units of course work applicable to their undergraduate degree since graduating from high school. (AP units, IB units and course work taken prior to high school graduation are excluded). Applicants must submit their applications before completing 96 units of course work. Normally, the application is submitted in the fall semester of the third year of enrollment at USC. The application for admission to a progressive degree program must be accompanied by a departmentally approved course plan proposal and two letters of recommendation from USC faculty members in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Awarding of Degrees
Progressive degree program students must fulfill all of the requirements for both the bachelor's degree and the master's degree, including a master's thesis. The unit requirement for the master's degree can be reduced by as much as one-third. The degrees may be awarded separately, but the master's degree will not be awarded before the undergraduate degree.

Time Limits
The time limit for completing a progressive degree program is 12 semesters.

Further details about progressive degrees can be found here.