www.arts.cornell.edu/asian/gradEAL.html
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The Field of East Asian Literature is designed primarily for students who wish to obtain a Ph.D. degree. Students entering with only a B.A. degree (or with an M.A. degree in another field) earn their M.A. degree in East Asian Literature in the course of working towards the Ph.D. degree. An M.A. thesis in East Asian Literature is required before proceeding to the Ph.D. degree. Highly qualified students wishing to work only toward an M.A. degree are sometimes accepted, but Cornell funding for such students is rare.Students whose B.A. degree is from an institution where English is not the language of instruction should obtain an M.A. degree from an English-speaking university before applying for a degree in East Asian Literature. Students may apply for an M. A. degree in Asian Studies or in a literature field at Cornell, as well as programs at other English-speaking universities.
Applicants should have a good reading and speaking knowledge (a minimum of three years of course work) of Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese. Prior work in literature is desirable. Applicants with less language training might consider applying for the M.A. program in Asian Studies at Cornell, and then applying to East Asian Literature for the Ph.D. degree after the M.A. program has been completed.
Applicants are required to submit a sample of academic writing of approximately 25 pages and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Advanced subject tests are not required. Applicants whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL test and score at least 600 (625 is preferable). The absolute deadline for completed applications and test scores to reach the Graduate School is January 10 for students desiring financial aid. However, earlier applications are encouraged to enable us to consider each applicant carefully.
The Director of Graduate Studies and appropriate faculty members are happy to talk to or meet with applicants, but interviews are not required for admission. We encourage applicants to make personal contact to learn more about our program.
Most students who are accepted into the Ph.D. program are offered a multi-year financial aid package that combines guaranteed fellowships and teaching assistantships. In order to apply for fellowships (which are highly competitive) simply check the appropriate boxes in the "Financial Support Application" part of the application form. Students are also urged to apply for any national or regional fellowships for which they may be eligible, e.g. Mellon Fellowships.
The first two to three years of the Ph.D. course are spent taking classes, learning to teach, and writing an M.A. thesis. Students take four or five general courses covering both premodern and modern aspects of their chosen literature and eight or nine specialized seminars in areas of interest. The M.A. thesis usually develops out of a paper written for a seminar. Students have the opportunity to participate in teacher training workshops and to teach for at least two semesters in introductory courses, language courses and freshmen seminars.Most students go to East Asia during their third or fourth year to do dissertation research and then return to Cornell for at least a year to finish writing the dissertation and to search for a job. The Ph.D. course of study requires five to seven years depending on prior training and language ability.
Language requirements
Fluency in one East Asian language. This means reading, writing and speaking fluency in the modern language and at least a year of classical language study.
At least a reading knowledge (a minimum of two years of course work) of a second Asian language and of one European language.
A Exams
Each student chooses three areas of specialization -- usually two in the major literature and one in another literature, a theoretical field, or a different discipline -- and chooses one faculty member to represent each subject. The student works with this faculty committee to define the three areas and to prepare appropriate readings lists. By the end of the third year the student must past written and oral examinations in each subject (this is called Admission to Candidacy Exams or A Exams).
Terminal M.A. degree
Students must complete at least six semester courses (excluding language training) and write a thesis. They are expected to be fluent in one East Asian language and to have begun work in a second by the time their degree is awarded. Financial support is seldom available for terminal M.A. students.
East Asian Literature students are members of the East Asia Program which provides a wide range of programs, opportunities for research and training, and competitive fellowships for travel, language training and research.East Asia Program website