Graduate – East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies

Program Overview

Our program is designed to prepare students for academic and other professional careers that increasingly demand research and expertise across traditional disciplinary boundaries within the humanities and the social sciences. At this historical juncture, we are especially interested in building bridges between national, regional and transnational studies.

We offer an M.A. Program with two different tracks and a Ph.D. Program for which students can apply either with a B.A. or an M.A.

The following graduate program emphases are offered by the department:

In addition, students in the EALCS graduate program may also participate in the interdepartmental Ph.D. emphasis in Translation Studies and the interdepartmental Ph.D. emphasis in Environment and Society.

All students will complete coursework in East Asian cultural studies (involving one or more East Asian countries). For course listings, see the Course Catalog. For a detailed description of the graduate program, see the Graduate Handbook. To read about our current students’ research, see the Graduate Students page.

Graduate Resources

Graduate Handbook
Annual Review form

Graduate Student Activities

GEARS

The Graduate East Asian Research Society (GEARS) is an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary organization for graduate students studying East Asia at UCSB hosted by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies. GEARS members plan and participate in various professionalization workshops, social events, and campus activities. The 2024-25 leadership includes Sabra Harris and Nirupama Chandrasekhar.

Visit our group page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/452534278198206.

Past leadership:

Natalya Rodriguez and Leslie Huang, 2022–23
Soohyun Lee and Winni Ni, 2021-22
Yiming Ma and Daigengna Duoer (Department of Religious Studies), 2020-21;
Kaitlyn Ugoretz and Linshan Jiang, 2019-20;
Kaitlyn Ugoretz and Kandra Polatis (Department of History), 2018-19;
Kai Wasson and Elizabeth Kataoka, 2017-18;
Kai Wasson and Carl Gabrielson, 2016-17.

Graduate Student Japanese Language Club

Since 2017, Keita C. Moore, Winni Ni, and Wona Lee have convened an informal Japanese conversation club to promote the graduate community and as a space to maintain, polish, and improve spoken language skills. Although presently on hiatus, there are plans to resume post-COVID.

Graduate Conferences

“Imaging ‘East Asia’: Constructing Knowledge through the Visual,” January 25-26, 2019
https://www.eac.ucsb.edu/graduate-conference/

The most recent graduate conference was organized by Kaitlyn Ugoretz (EALCS) and Colin Raymond (History of Art and Architecture). Participants were invited to examine how ‘East Asia’ has been imagined and is being reimagined through visual culture, as well as the mechanisms and media through which these imaginings further animate various identities, ideologies, economies, and interpermeations. The East Asia Center proudly welcomed keynote speaker and scholar of Japanese media Professor Thomas Lamarre (McGill University), as well as twelve graduate students from around the country and a wide range of disciplines who presented their original research.

In October 2017, the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies hosted the UCSB Graduate Student Research Symposium in Korean Studies. Designed to explore and grow graduate interest in Korean Studies, five students presented on topics such as contemporary K-pop, war memory in Korean cinema, and the transnational legacies of Chinese art in 17th century Korea.

Contact

Questions? Contact the Graduate Academic Advisor:
Ariella Lassiter: alassiter@hfa.ucsb.edu
Graduate Division Website: http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/