Master of Arts Program Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program
Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines
The Department of
East Asian Languages and Literatures offers programs of study leading to
the degrees of master of arts (M.A.) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) in
East Asian languages and literatures. Students may choose to specialize
in Chinese or Japanese literary studies.
In addition to departmental requirements, graduate students must fulfill
the general requirements of the Graduate School listed in that section of
this catalog.
The Chinese and Japanese literature programs, which prepare students to
work in a variety of professional and academic fields, provide intensive
training in linguistic and textual analysis and an extensive exposure to
literary theory and comparative and cultural studies. The department encourages
students to develop their specialization in Asian literatures in broader,
more comparative, and more interdisciplinary perspectives than has been
the case in traditional programs. The faculty's research and teaching interests
cover the major fields, genres, and chronological divisions of Chinese and
Japanese literature. They encourage creative connections and challenges
to conventional disciplinary boundaries by exploring the relationships between
literature and such areas as cinema, law, history, politics, religion, philosophy,
sociology, theater and performing arts, and women's and gender studies.
Comparative Literature. Several members of the department's faculty participate
in the Comparative Literature Program. For more information, see the Comparative
Literature section of this catalog.
Complete details and answers to specific questions about graduate programs
in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures are available
from the department graduate secretary.
An applicant for admission to the M.A. program should have completed an undergraduate major in Chinese or Japanese language, literature, or linguistics, or have equivalent experience.
An applicant for admission to the Ph.D. program should have completed an MA degree in either Chinese or Japanese language, literature, or linguistics, or have equivalent experience.
Application. The University of Oregon offers two different ways to apply to Graduate School: 1) applying directly online; 2) downloading an online application.
Additional Application Instructions and Requirements:
Applications are due by January 15. New students are typically admitted to the program for fall term. A departmental faculty committee reviews the completed file and notifies the applicant of its decision.
All credentials become the property of the University of Oregon and will not be returned.
To minimize lost documents and incomplete applications, we use a self-managed application process. You, the applicant, are responsible for gathering all documents required to complete your application and submitting them together.
A number of graduate teaching fellowships (GTFs) are available each year for new graduate students in the department. Students must apply to the department by January 15 for admission and appointment the following fall term. Applicants should fill out the U of O Graduate School Application for Graduate Teaching Fellowship and should indicate their request for appointment on the Report on Graduate Applicant Forms. During each term of the appointment, graduate teaching fellows must register for and complete at least 9 credits of course work that can be applied to the degree program.
CRITERIA FOR GTF AWARDS AND ASSIGNMENTS
First year GTFs must attend an orientation and training workshop during the week prior to the beginning of fall term.
Master of Arts Program Requirements
Chinese
Option One.
This is the usual option for students seeking the M.A. degree in East Asian
languages and literatures with a specialization in Chinese literature, and
it prepares students for study at the doctoral level. This option requires
successful completion of a minimum of fourteen graduate-level courses including
Issues in Early Chinese Literature (CHN 523); Issues in Medieval Chinese
Literature (CHN 524); Issues in Modern Chinese Literature (CHN 525); two
advisor approved graduate courses in literary theory or another literature; Chinese
Bibliography (CHN 550); one approved course in language pedagogy, Asian history,
or another field
relevant to the student's career objectives; and five Chinese seminars.
With the adviser's approval, one course in Reading and Conference (CHN 605)
may be counted as one of the fourteen courses. Students must pass a comprehensive
written examination at the end of study or write a master of arts thesis.
Students who elect to write a thesis must register for 9 credits of Thesis
(CHN 503).
Option Two. A master's student may, in consultation with the student's adviser, apply for early entry to the Ph.D. program. Such applications are typically made in spring term but, in any event, only after at least two terms at the university. Applications must include transcripts, three recommendations, and a statement of the student's prospective course of study. Students who elect this option are awarded the master's degree upon completion of the course work for the Ph.D. degree. This option requires successful completion of a minimum of twelve 4-credit graduate-level courses including Issues in Early Chinese Literature (CHN 523); Issues in Medieval Chinese Literature (CHN 524); Issues in Modern Chinese Literature (CHN 525); two advisor approved graduate courses in literary theory or another literature; Chinese Bibliography (CHN 550); one approved course in language pedagogy, Asian history, or another field relevant to the student's career objectives; and five Chinese seminars. With the adviser's approval, one course in Reading and Conference (CHN 605) may be counted as one of the twelve courses. Students must pass a comprehensive oral examination that covers the student's primary areas of study.
Japanese Literature and Film
The M.A. degree in East Asian languages and literatures with a specialization in Japanese literature and film requires successful completion of a minimum of twelve graduate-level courses including:
Inquire at the department office about required courses taught under generic numbers and titles. Students must pass a comprehensive examination at the end of study.
Terminal M.A. Students
1. Those students who are not planning to go on to the Ph.D must successfully pass a two-part written examination based on a reading list of approximately 20 works in Japanese literature, and/or 20 works in Japanese film, 10 in general literary theory and criticism, and/or film history and theory, and 10 in a specialized area of the student's own choosing. The first of these categories should provide comprehensive coverage of major periods, writers, and genres of Japanese literature or film, with the other sections devoted to more specialized works of the student's choosing in consultation with the committee. The faculty will provide a model reading list for the comprehensive part of the exam, although it is expected that each student will individualize the list in accordance with her or his needs.
2. The faculty committee shall develop questions for the exam. The first part shall include questions pertaining to broad issues in the field of Japanese literature and/or film which should demonstrate the student's ability to present the essentials of major periods, writers, genres, etc. The second part of the exam, to be administered a week later, shall cover more specialized questions deriving from sections two and three of the student's reading list. Here the focus should be on how well the student can formulate the research issues at stake and demonstrate their ability to bring to bear their specialized reading as well as the relevance of theoretical works they have read.
3. For each part of the exam, the coordinator shall assemble the questions and circulate them among the committee for final approval. The coordinator shall see that there is appropriate balance among the questions and no undue overlap. The student shall have forty-eight hours for each part to produce the final typed, double-spaced exams of approximately 10–12 pages each.
4. The committee shall determine whether the candidate has successfully fulfilled the requirements for the M.A. degree, and shall confer one of the following grades: distinction, clear pass, marginal pass, or failure. Should the committee determine that the candidate has not been successful, it may recommend that the student be given one additional opportunity to pass the exam during the next academic term.
M.A. Students Seeking Entry to Ph.D. Program
If the student, in consultation with the departmental committee, also decides to seek admission into the Ph.D. program, the M.A. exam administered shall include the following components.
1. The first part of the exam should proceed as for terminal M.A. students, with one difference: that one required question should test the student's ability to formulate a pedagogical approach to a period, genre, or topic appropriate to the student's career goals.
2. In place of the second part of the written exam, the M.A. candidate planning to apply to the Ph.D. program shall submit one or more seminar papers for review and evaluation by the committee. Along with the papers, the student should submit a one-two page justification for the choice (and in the case of two or more, the relationship) of the seminar paper(s). After reviewing the paper(s), the committee shall ask the student to complete an assignment involving revision or expansion of their written work, and designed to demonstrate requisite abilities for carrying dissertation work to successful conclusion.
3. An oral examination shall take place no later than the seventh week of the term in which request for the degree has been made. It shall consist of a 1-2 hour interview with the student's committee, and shall include evaluation of the following: a) the student's written examination (part one only); b) the paper option; c) a discussion of career options and prospects.
4. The committee shall determine whether the candidate has successfully fulfilled the requirements for the M.A. degree, and shall confer one of the following grades: distinction, clear pass, marginal pass, or failure. This determination is independent of the student's candidacy to the Ph.D. program (see below). As in the case of terminal M.A. students, should the committee determine that the candidate has not been successful, it may recommend that the student be given one additional opportunity to pass the exam during the next academic term.
Sample Bibliography for the Comprehensive Section of the M.A. Exam
This bibliography is merely one example. The student's list need not duplicate it exactly. Each student should put together a comprehensive list that draws on her or his own strengths and interests in consultation with her or his advisor and other faculty in the Japanese literature and film program.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program
The Ph.D. program
in East Asian languages and literatures is designed to provide students with
a high level of competence in their area of specialization and a familiarity
with applicable methodologies and theories. The program has four components:
course work, comprehensive examination, prospectus for the dissertation,
and the dissertation itself.
Specific courses and projects used to fulfill requirements must be approved
by the student’s adviser, who works with the other faculty members to
develop the student’s program.
Timeline for Completion of the Ph.D. Program
Course work: two years
Comprehensive examination and prospectus approval: one year
Dissertation writing and defense: two years
Additional Course Work
Depending on the student's background when admitted to the Ph.D. program, additional course work may be required.
Chinese
The Ph.D. degree in East Asian languages and literatures with a specialization in Chinese literature requires completion of a minimum of six 4 credit graduate-level courses beyond those required for the M.A. degree. Depending on the student's background or preparation at the time of admission to the Ph.D. program, the number of required courses may be nine or twelve. Courses must be chosen in consultation with the student's adviser.
1. Complete successfully
2. Choose one of the following options:
Japanese Literature & Film
The Ph.D. with a specialization in Japanese literature and film requires students to successfully complete nine graduate courses beyond the number required for the M.A. degree. These courses must be chosen in consultation with the student's adviser. Appropriate courses in related fields (e.g., Japanese history, religion) may be substituted with the adviser's approval.
Comprehensive Examination
Candidates for the Ph.D. must pass a comprehensive examination, which consists of six questions covering the student's major fields of study. A committee is chosen by the student in consultation with his or her adviser, which consists of three faculty members, at least two of whom are members of the department. With input from the student, the committee prepares questions based on an approved bibliography. Each student is given five days in which to write and submit answers to four of the six questions. If the committee finds that the student has not performed adequately on one question, the student may, at the discretion of the committee, be allowed one opportunity to retake the examination in that subfield before the end of the following term. Students who fail more than one question have their status as doctoral students terminated.
Prospectus and Dissertation
Immediately following successful completion of the comprehensive examination, a dissertation committee is formed by the student and the graduate secretary. This committee advises the student on writing the dissertation and approves the completed dissertation. The student presents to this committee, within one month, a dissertation proposal with a bibliography. After approval of this prospectus, the student becomes eligible to enroll in Dissertation (CHN or JPN 603).
Graduate Time Line for Thesis and Dissertation
Advising M.A. and Ph.D. students is among the most important responsibilities of faculty; reading multiple drafts of theses and dissertations can be extremely time consuming. Different advisors and committee members will have different preferences and work styles in terms of how many drafts they prefer to read and how much time they need to read and comment on each one. It
is the student's responsibility 1) to have appropriate and timely communication with advisors to make sure that the student is on track, and 2) to understand and meet all Graduate School deadlines. The guidelines below represent the minimum amount of time students should give their advisor and committee to read and respond to drafts. If a number of students plan to defend during any given term, the advisor/committee members may ask the student to turn in work to them at an even earlier date. Those students who cannot honor these deadlines may be asked to defer graduation one term.
A "clean copy" means a draft needing only minor technical and editorial corrections,
not one needing substantive revisions.
M.A. Thesis or Project
1) Two terms before graduation, meet/correspond with advisor during first week of term to set up a committee and a schedule for submitting thesis or project drafts (i.e. first week of winter term if planning to graduate spring term).
2) At least six weeks before the date of the thesis or project defense, submit a draft to main advisor for approval. The advisor is expected to return comments within two weeks. There will then be a continuing dialogue between the student and advisor until the manuscript is considered complete. If approval is not obtained at this point, there is no guarantee that the student will be able to graduate that term.
3) Submit clean copy of thesis or project to advisor and committee members either two weeks before defense or four weeks before filing date for approved thesis as published by Graduate School.
Doctoral Dissertation
1) Two terms before graduation, meet/correspond with advisor and committee members during first week of term to coordinate student and faculty schedules (i.e. winter term if planning to graduate spring term).
2) At least six weeks before the date of the final oral defense, submit a complete draft to main advisor for approval. The advisor is expected to return comments within two weeks. There will then be a continuing dialogue between the student and advisor until the manuscript is considered defendable. If approval is not obtained at this point, there is no guarantee that the student will be able to graduate that term.
3) Submit clean copy of dissertation to primary advisor and committee members two weeks before confirming defense date with Graduate School.