Graduate Degrees

Master of Arts in East Asian Languages and Cultures

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures offers instruction in the languages, literatures and cultures of East Asia. The graduate program offers the master's degree in Chinese and Japanese. Programs of study may emphasize foreign language teaching, applied linguistics, literature, thought, religions or area studies.

Admission Requirements
Prerequisites

An applicant for admission will normally have the equivalent of an undergraduate major in East Asian languages and cultures at USC, but programs may be arranged for promising students who do not have the prerequisites. Such students may be required to make up the deficiencies.

Criteria

All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examinations verbal and quantitative General Test and submit their complete undergraduate record: at least three letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose should be sent to the chair of the department. Applicants are urged to submit written materials as supporting evidence.

Degree Requirements

These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to the Requirements for Graduation section and the Graduate School section of this catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

Foreign Language Requirement

Competence is required in either Chinese or Japanese.

Course Requirements

Six courses, four of which must be at the 500-level or above, plus the thesis, are required. Those students whose concentration is in language and literature should take a fourth year of language.

Thesis

The thesis must demonstrate the student's ability to use source materials in the Asian language of his or her area.

Doctor of Philosophy
East Asian Linguistics Concentration

Course Requirements

A student's total graduate course work must be at least 60 units including the doctoral dissertation. Students must have: at least 24 units of courses from the East Asian linguistics core curriculum; at least four years of the student's East Asian language of specialization (or equivalent); and at least two years (or equivalent) of a second East Asian language. Note that only the fourth year of the language of specialization (8 units) may be applied to the 60 units.

Screening Procedure

Before a doctoral guidance committee can be established for students in the Ph.D. concentration and prior to the completion of 24 units of graduate work or the fourth semester of degree candidacy (whichever comes first), students must pass a screening procedure. This procedure consists of a review of the student's graduate work by a three-person committee of the departmental faculty and will be based on the following criteria: course work, including grades and papers; faculty recommendations; performance on a take-home examination; and evaluation of a research paper. The screening procedure is completed by the formation of a Ph.D. guidance committee. Refer to the Graduate School section of this catalogue for specific direction on forming a guidance committee.

Petition to Take the Qualifying Examination

Sixty days prior to the proposed examination date, a petition to take the examination must be filed with the guidance committee chair and the Graduate School; the student cannot take the examination without approval of his or her Ph.D. guidance committee. The petition should include specification of two or three areas which must be related to the area of the student's specialization in which the student wishes to be examined. Prior to the qualifying examination, the student must submit to each member of the guidance committee a dissertation prospectus and an original research paper.

Qualifying Examinations

Ph.D. qualifying examinations are both written and oral. Once a student's petition to take the examinations has been approved, the guidance committee will set and administer the written examination. The areas to be examined are set by the guidance committee in terms of the choice of specific languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and the choice of linguistic concentrations, such as phonetics, morphology, syntax and historical studies. The written examination consists of a number of questions over the approved fields. Students will receive the qualifying paper and will have 30 days to answer the questions. An oral examination will be scheduled by the guidance committee two weeks after the written examination has been completed.

Foreign Language Requirements

All doctoral candidates must demonstrate competence in two East Asian languages. One can be satisfied by at least four years of the language of specialization and the other by at least two years of a second East Asian language. Additional language work may be required by the guidance committee in view of the student's proposed field of research. All language requirements must be completed at least 60 days before the qualifying examination is taken.

Dissertation

A dissertation must be submitted according to the policies and procedures described in the Graduate School section of this catalogue.

East Asian Linguistics Core Curriculum

Requirements		Units
EALC 470	Introduction to East Asian Linguistics	4
EALC 537	Structure of the Korean Language	4
EALC 547	Structure of the Japanese Language	4
EALC 557	Structure of the Chinese Language	4
EALC 560	Comparative Syntax of the East Asian Languages	4
EALC 561	Topics and Issues in East Asian Linguistics	4
EALC 558	History of the Chinese Language	4
EALC 562	Teaching of the East Asian Languages	4
EALC 580	Readings in East Asian Linguistics	4
EALC 620	Seminar in East Asian Linguistics	4
EALC 794abcdz	Doctoral Dissertation	2-2-2-2-0

Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995
univpub@stuaff.usc.edu