Taper Hall of Humanities 226A
(213) 740-3707
FAX: (213) 740-9295
Email: ealc@usc.edu
www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ealc/

Chair: Dominic C.N. Cheung, Ph.D.

Professors: Dominic C.N. Cheung, Ph.D.; Mieko S. Han, Ph.D.; Nam-Kil Kim, Ph.D.; Peter Nosco, Ph.D.

Associate Professors: Bettine Birge, Ph.D.; George A. Hayden, Ph.D.; Hajime Hoji, Ph.D. (Linguistics); Audrey Li, Ph.D.

Assistant Professors: David Bialock, Ph.D.; Jin Hee Kim, Ph.D.; Edward Slingerland, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professors: Laurence G. Thompson, Ph.D.; Henry H.Y. Tiee, Ph.D.

Emeritus Associate Professor: Sumako Kimizuka, Ed.D.

East Asian Languages and Cultures offers undergraduate and master’s programs in Chinese, Japanese and Korean studies and a Ph.D. with a concentration in either East Asian Linguistics or East Asian Literary and Cultural Studies. The department offers courses in East Asian languages, literatures, thought, religions and cultures. The department is distinct from the East Asian Studies Center, which is responsible for the administration of various programs related to East Asia.

Areas of concentration, leading either to the B.A. or M.A. degree, include one of the East Asian languages (Chinese, Japanese or Korean), applied linguistics, foreign language teaching, literature or area studies. Language competence and communication are stressed for all degrees. Directed readings are also offered.

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 upper division courses must include one civilization course and one literature course in either Chinese, Japanese or Korean. One lower division course may be counted toward the 32 upper division unit requirement. One East Asian course from another department may be included in the 32 unit requirement, if approved by an advisor.

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 and one literature course in either Chinese, Japanese or Korean are required.

The following courses from the Year-in-Japan Program at Waseda University may be applied toward the major requirement in the department as upper division credit:

1. Japanese History before 1868;
2. Religions of the Far East;
3. Contemporary Japanese Literature;
4. English and Japanese in Contrast: Language and Culture;
5. Modern Japan in Asia;
6. Japanese Literature in Translation of the Meiji and Taisho Periods;
7. Western World and Japan in the Modern Century;
8. Social Structure in Modern Japan;
9. Contemporary Japanese Family;
10. Japanese Kinship Systems and Society;
11. Performing Arts in Japan: Theatre.

Those who receive major credit from this program must still take at least eight units of non-language courses within EALC at the upper division level.

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.

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.

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.

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

Competence is required in either Chinese or Japanese.

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.

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

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.

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 for specific direction on forming a guidance committee.

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.

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.

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.

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

A student’s total graduate course work must be at least 60 units including the doctoral dissertation. Of the 60 units, students must have: at least 24 units from the list under the East Asian literary and cultural studies core curriculum; and eight units earned from 400 Classical Chinese I and 402 Classical Chinese II. Students with M.A. degrees who have already been credited with 24 units or six courses (four of which must be at the 500 level or above) must accumulate 28 additional units before being admitted to the oral examinations. All students must have at least four years (or equivalent) of their language of specialization. Only the fourth year of the language of specialization may be applied to the 60 units. No more than five courses at the 400 level may be applied to the total requirement of 60 units. Students are encouraged (with advisor’s approval) to take courses from other departments.

The screening procedure for continuation of candidacy for the Ph.D. degree consists of recommendations to the Literary and Cultural Studies Screening committee from those regular faculty who have instructed the candidate in his or her graduate course work to date; a student is either allowed or not allowed to continue in Ph.D. candidacy on the basis of cumulative course and examination work and these recommendations. The screening procedure must be completed prior to the student’s completion of 24 units of graduate course work or fourth semester of degree candidacy (whichever comes first). The successful procedure is completed by formation of a Guidance Committee.

The qualifying procedure (which permits a graduate student to advance to the dissertation stage) consists of three field examinations and an oral dissertation topic presentation to the graduate faculty accompanied by a written dissertation proposal of 25-30 pages. In the qualifying examination, candidates will ordinarily select three of the following fields:

1. Topics in Pre-modern Chinese Literature:
2. Topics in Pre-modern Japanese Literature;
3. Topics in Modern Chinese Literature;
4. Topics in Modern Japanese Literature;
5. Topics in Chinese Thought and Civilization;
6. Topics in Japanese Thought and Civilization.

If approved by the Guidance Committee, students may be allowed to define one of their three fields from outside the above list. The qualifying procedure is completed by the formation of a Dissertation Committee.

All doctoral candidates must have:

5. four years of their language of specialization;
6. one year of Classical Chinese (EALC 400, EALC 402);
7. a reading knowledge of French or German.

Chinese majors must also complete two years of modern Japanese. The successful completion of EALC 400 and EALC 402 Classical Chinese satisfies the second language requirement for students of Japanese. 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.

Successful completion of the qualifying examination constitutes approval of the dissertation topic. The final copy of the dissertation must conform to the regulations of the Graduate School. The defense of the dissertation takes place after the readers have approved the dissertation in its final form. The format of the defense will be determined by the student’s committee but normally consists of a brief lecture presenting the thesis and its conclusions followed by questioning from the committee.

The certificate in Foreign-Language Teaching provides certification in the theory and practice of second or foreign language teaching for student language teachers concurrently enrolled in graduate degree programs in foreign languages or related graduate programs at USC; for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages; for external candidates concurrently enrolled in similar programs at accredited colleges or universities; or for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages. The certificate is meant to supplement graduate study in the literature or linguistics of foreign languages. It is also meant to supplement classroom teaching. Refer to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese for course work requirements.