MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale
MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale
Council on East Asian Studies

East Asian Studies Major Requirements

The EAS major consists of 13 term courses, including 6 term credits in an East Asian language course, and 7 area courses, including the senior essay. Prerequisite to the major is the completion of elementary level II of an East Asian language taught at Yale or the equivalent.

Students are held to the requirements in effect when they declare their major. However, with DUS approval, beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year, all students, regardless of the year they declared the major, who have placed out of L5 study at Yale, may replace these language credits with content courses on East Asia.

Prerequisite Completion of elementary level II (L2) of an East Asian language taught at Yale or the equivalent
Language

Intermediate level II (L4) of an East Asian language and one year of advanced study (L5) with readings in the language (6 credits) 

In some cases, advanced students may choose to start work on a second (or third) East Asian language.
Breadth At least one course (but not more than two) with focus on East Asia outside of the country or area of concentration (1 credit)
Pre-modern

At least one course which focuses primarily on the pre-modern era of the country or area of concentration (1 credit)

  • China: before 1600
  • Japan: before the mid-19th century
  • Korea: before the mid-19th century
Disciplinary Focus At least two seminars (but not freshman seminars) on related subjects, ideally about the same region and in the same discipline, which will help students to formulate the senior essay topic (2 or more credits)
DUS approval required.
Additional Courses Courses focusing on the country or area of concentration in the disciplinary area of concentration (2 or more credits)
Senior Essay

All students must satisfy a senior requirement undertaken during the senior year (1 credit).  Details are available here.

Prior to enrolling in the course in which the senior requirement will be met, students must have completed the two seminars related to their concentration requirement.
 

Courses

A list of courses pre-approved to apply to the East Asian Studies major can be found here.

Courses with no explicit focus on East Asia may also apply to the major if the final paper in the course is on East Asia.  Permission of the DUS is required before the course can be applied. Please contact the DUS or Registrar if you have any questions.

Credit/D/Fail

Only one course taken Credit/D/Fail may be counted toward the requirements of the major, with the permission of the DUS.

Helpful Guides

Simultaneous B.A./M.A. Degree in East Asian Studies

While it is possible to pursue a simultaneous B.A./M.A. degree in East Asian Studies, it is a very rigorous process. By pursuing a simultaneous bachelor’s and master’s degrees in East Asian Studies, a student is extending his or her undergraduate program into the graduate level of study. Study at this level requires significant preparation before entering the program and a high degree of dedication on the part of students, who must be able to complete advanced courses while meeting the general requirements for graduation from Yale College.

Students who apply to this program should note that their work toward the master's degree will likely limit the opportunities for a wider distribution of studies over different subjects. For this reason, students who are accepted into candidacy and have a second major should strongly consider dropping their second major.