Admission Requirements
- Applicants must satisfy the Graduate School’s Minimum Admission Requirements.
- Applicants are also expected to have 4 years of college-level training or the equivalent in their primary research language, as well as significant coursework in a relevant humanistic field. Students lacking such preparation may be admitted to the MA program provisionally, with the understanding that they will be required to make up for the deficiencies during their first year of residence.
MA Degree Requirements
At the time of their graduation, students in the MA program must satisfy the Master’s Degree requirements set by the Graduate School and the Department.
- A minimum of 45 credits.
- For the non-thesis option, University of Washington coursework of (1) at least 18 credits at the 500 level and above; and (2) at least 18 graded credits of 400- and 500-level coursework, excluding 499 and transfer credit. For the thesis option, University of Washington coursework of (1) at least 18 credits at the 500 level and above; (2) at least 18 graded credits of 400- and 500-level coursework, excluding 499 and transfer credit; and 9 thesis credits (ASIAN 700).
- Either (1) two seminar or research papers (non-thesis option) or (2) a Master's thesis (thesis option)
- A 3.0 cumulative GPA
- MA Final Examination certified by the Supervisory Committee
I. Special Coursework Requirements
The student will propose a set of specific courses for their supervisory committee’s approval to satisfy the course requirements for the Asian Languages and Cultures track MA. Requirements are met by completing courses designated by the department as fulfilling one (or more) of the following categories: methods, language and textual analysis, and cultural context. See below for a link to the lists of Asian L&L department courses that fulfill each category. A single course can, when appropriate, fulfill more than one category, although a given course may only be used to fulfill one category at a time.
- A minimum of 10 credits of Methods coursework
- A minimum of 10 credits of Language and Textual Analysis coursework
- A minimum of 10 credits of Cultural Context coursework
Asian Languages and Cultures MA track course lists
II. MA Final Examination
After the student has completed an amount of course work that is sufficient in the opinion of the supervisory committee to provide a general foundation, the student shall arrange with the supervisory committee to take a two-part examination that will test the student’s general knowledge of the area. Each part of the exam can be administered and evaluated by a non-committee member. The exam results must be certified by all members of the supervisory committee. https://asian.washington.edu/departmental-ma-and-phd-policies-and-procedures#section2
The MA and the PhD
No student is admitted directly to the Ph.D. program. Students lacking an M.A. in their field of study must first earn one in this department before being allowed to petition to proceed to the doctoral program. Students who have earned M.A. degrees in their field of study elsewhere may bypass the M.A. requirements with approval from the Department, but must still complete at least 45 credits before petitioning to proceed. For regulations on proceeding to the Ph.D. program, see sections 3.4.0 through 3.4.3.f of the departmental M.A. and Ph.D. Policies and Procedures.