Best Colleges for students interested in East Asian Studies and Chinese?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm trying to find the best East-Asian Studies undergrad programs. I would ideally like to continue mastering Chinese (currently in AP Chinese as Junior, not sure what I'll do senior year) and study the political economy of the region (Not just limited to China). </p>

<p>Apart from the strength of Chinese/EAS programs at the schools, I care about finding a school with a strong economics/IR department, a vibrant gay community, and many opportunities for internships and on-campus recruitment. </p>

<p>So far these are my top schools (in no particular order):</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Brown
Columbia
Stanford
Tufts
Vassar
Georgetown </p>

<p>I've been equivocating between Columbia, Yale, and Brown as my first choice for quite a while now, and further research and visits have (for the most part) affirmed that stance.</p>

<p>Any suggestions, comments, or feedback? Thank you :)</p>

2

<p>University of Hong Kong?</p>

3

<p>University of Shanghai bro…good luck with the application</p>

4

<p>Yale is probably most known for a strong program in those two fields.</p>

5

<p>I’m not sure if the first two replies were serious or not, but I’m planning to stay in the US for college haha. That said I do want study abroad programs with China, preferably to Beijing.</p>

6

<p>The language flagship schools all offer excellent programs in Chinese, and all but three are residential schools [The</a> Language Flagship - Chinese](<a href=“http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/chinese]The”>http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/chinese) Besides finances (assuming you’re not instate for any of these schools), the main concern I’d have if I had the stats for Harvard would be that the colleges may not be rigorous enough. </p>

<p>Generally speaking, West Coast schools put a stronger emphasis on East Asian affairs than their Midwest or East Coast counterparts, probably due to the higher percent of Asian immigrants and closer economic ties to Asia. Of course this is a very very general statement, so please no, oh look at Harvard’s program.</p>

7

<p>Oberlin - taking a cue from your screen name, maybe you want a strong music option as well?</p>

8

<p>Indiana Bloomington has the Chinese Flagship, which is a super-accelerated Chinese learning process that culminates in a study abroad year with half of it as classes and half of it as an internship with a Chinese company.</p>

9

<p>Well, if you’re willing to look outside the east coast, might want to check out Washington university in St. Louis. The business and East Asian programs are both well regarded, and I find the gay life pretty good.</p>

10

<p>I plugged in my financial data into the net price calculators for both IU and Washington U in St. Louis and the offers were nowhere near manageable.</p>

<p>Ideally, I am looking for a highly selective school on the east or west coast. Does anyone have any experience with the Chinese/EAS departments at some of the universities on my list?</p>

11

<p>Columbia University
Cornell University
Harvard University
Indiana University-Bloomington
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Pennsylvania</p>

12

<p>If you are a junior and not an Indiana resident, there is a fantastic scholarship opportunity called the Wells scholarship that you will be able to directly apply for. It is a full-ride-- it has an early deadline (Sept. 20 for materials), but if you were really interested in the Flagship, it’s worth a shot.</p>

13

<p>Yale the best</p>

14

<p>University of Wisconsin</p>

15

<p>Hey !!! COLUMBIA!!!
I’m also majoring in East Asian Studies. Actually, I also took AP chinese as a Junior in high school and I’ve been to the Chinese Bridge Competition (if you’ve heard about it).
Here are several reasons why I think Columbia fits your needs

  1. Internships and jobs? lol…NYC
    Some try to say that it’s not true because companies won’t want to give jobs to students. UNTRUE. I have an econ major friend who has a job downtown (and we are both only freshman).
    Jobs on campus are also available. Interestingly, I’m an intern at Columbia’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute.</p>

<ol>
<li>Vibrant Gay community? Columbia lol duh again. Of course.</li>
<li>Poli sci/intl relations/econ. Columbia is also VERY strong in all of those.</li>
</ol>

<p>The East Asian Studies department here though is very strong. We really are a global university and our programs with East Asia are actually well sought out. ex: summer internship program in Shanghai (learn chinese and have an internship…I’m actually doing this too).
Anyway, of course all the other colleges are great as well…I’m probably just biased. hahah</p>

16

<p>Middlebury has an excellent Chinese language program and abroad programs in China. There is an international studies major that can be more anthropology or art history based as well as international politics. If you want a smaller school with this specialty, definitely consider Middlebury.</p>

17

<p>Oberlin (not on coast)
Wesleyan U
Claremont McKenna
USC</p>

18

<p>I strongly second the recommendation of Penn. One of the top East Asian Studies programs in the country, and one of the first universities in the country to offer such studies:</p>

<p>[Center</a> for East Asian Studies](<a href=“http://www.ceas.sas.upenn.edu/about.shtml]Center”>http://www.ceas.sas.upenn.edu/about.shtml)</p>

<p>And East Asian Studies at Penn are supported by such estimable resources as the Center for the Study of Contemporary China ([cscc.sas.upenn.edu](<a href=“http://cscc.sas.upenn.edu/]cscc.sas.upenn.edu[/url]”>http://cscc.sas.upenn.edu/)</a>) and the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies ([Kim</a> Program in Korean Studies](<a href=“http://www.sas.upenn.edu/koreanstudies/]Kim”>James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies)). Plus, plans have just been announced for even greater engagement by Penn with China over the next few years:</p>

<p>[University</a> of Pennsylvania plans centers in Philadelphia and China - Philly.com](<a href=“Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes”>Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes)</p>

<p>Finally, Penn is often ranked as one of the most–if not THE most–gay-friendly schools in the country:</p>

<p>[The</a> Daily Pennsylvanian :: Penn tops gay-friendly ranking](<a href=“http://www.thedp.com/article/2011/07/penn_tops_gayfriendly_ranking]The”>Penn tops gay-friendly ranking | The Daily Pennsylvanian)</p>

<p>Definitely a school that aligns with your interests. :)</p>

19

<p>For language and area studies, there is nothing like real-life immersion, which is why I recommend Queens College in NYC. Located right in Flushing, Queens, the biggest East Asian community in the northeast, it has a fantastic program and you will be have a plethora of choices for internships, research and real-life experiences right outside the campus. Being in NYC, it has a vibrant gay community, I’m not sure how strong is the Economics program however.</p>

20

<p>Also consider this for either summer or academic year training.
[Programs</a> - Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies, UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://ieas.berkeley.edu/iup/programs.html]Programs”>http://ieas.berkeley.edu/iup/programs.html)</p>