<p>Could someone please comment on the caliber of the East Asian Studies department at Yale, more specifically China studies? Please compare with other top programs at schools such as Stanford, Harvard, Michigan, and Berkeley.</p>
<p>Oh baby, something I can actually help out with. Hope it's not too long-winded. Sorry in advance (also, I know a lot more about China-related stuff than anything Japanese or Korean)...</p>
<p>I spent my junior year of high school in Beijing, and the quality of a school's East Asian Studies program was the single most important issue for me when I was applying last year. After talking to students and China scholars at Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Penn, I decided to apply to Yale early. I'm now in Advanced Chinese and am trying to get into Modern China with Jonathan Spence this coming semester.</p>
<p>From what I gathered last year and what I've experienced over the fall, Yale's East Asian Studies program is superb because--unlike a lot of other schools--it excels in all three key aspects: language, History, and Political Science/International Studies. On top of that, there are certain intangibles that are a little harder to explain but perhaps even more important: Yale gives East Asian Studies kids massive grants to travel/study abroad through the Light Fellowships; Pres. Levin is obsessed with China and has greatly increased collaboration between Yale and top Chinese schools like BeiDa, Tsinghua, and Fudan; and Yale has an exceptionally large but tight-knight group of students from Mainland China (as well as a good number from Hong Kong and Taiwan).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Language--Yale has very strong Chinese language instruction, but my one complaint would be that teachers focus too much on reading and writing at the expense of speaking. That said, most of the kids in Advanced Chinese (CHNS 150, third-year) still have pretty good accents, in addition to being great (much better than me) at reading and writing. Princeton might have a slight edge in pure language instruction. Even so, Yale dominates in terms of Chinese literature--scholars include the writers Kang Zhengguo and Su Wei, as well as the luminary Taiwanese poet Zheng Chouyu (who just retired).</p></li>
<li><p>History--Jonathan Spence. He's preeminent China historian in the English-speaking world. Though he's getting older, he still teaches the History of China and advises students who live in TD.</p></li>
<li><p>Political Science/Int'l Studies . Yale has fantastic political science in general, and many graduates work for the departments of state, defense, or different intelligence services. Pierre Landry is Yale's main expert on the Chinese gov't, and I haven't taken any of his classes yet, but a couple friends from CHNS 150 say he's very good.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The intangibles...</p>
<p>***Money--the Light Fellowships are unbelievable. Yale basically throws money at students who want to study in China or Japan. They will pay for your entire summer program or semester abroad. <a href="http://www.yale.edu/iefp/light/%5B/url%5D">http://www.yale.edu/iefp/light/</a></p>
<p>***Administrative Support--If you give Pres. Levin a microphone, he'll give you a speech about China. He travels there constantly, is working on partnerships with the best Chinese universities, and has encouraged the faculty to work more with Chinese counterparts. This might seem trivial, but it isn't at all. It sets the tone for how Asian Studies is regarded at Yale and guarantees lots of funding.</p>
<p>***The Mainland Chinese community. In large part because of Levin's insistence, Yale has begun recruiting heavily in Mainland China. There are 12-15 Mainland Chinese students in the class of 2008, not to mention a slightly smaller group from Hong Kong and Taiwan. My roommate is from China, as are many of my good friends. There is a tangible hope/expectation that many of them will become leaders in business and other fields when they return. Yale also has lots of South Koreans, but not tons of Japanese. Obviously there is a huge number of Asian-Americans.</p>
<p>***Yale-China. The history goes way, way back. Read about the Yale-China organization: <a href="http://www.yalechina.org%5B/url%5D">www.yalechina.org</a></p>
<p>As for your question about how Yale stacks up against other schools, East Asian Studies is exactly the sort of area where Yale's size works perfectly: it is small enough to be very personal (a la Princeton), yet large enough to have a substantial number of scholars and very, very serious East Asia-related graduate programs. Since Asian languages (or any language, for that matter) are best studied in small classes, I would assume that Michigan and Berkeley are not ideal places for East Asian Studies (though they might have good grad schools). In the same way, Harvard felt extremely impersonal when I visited, though, of course, they have good East-Asia related grad programs (I hear a lot of negative stuff about their language instruction, but I can't speak to it from personal experience). I really don't know much about Stanford's East Asian stuff.</p>
<p>Anyway, Yale has absurdly strong resources in this field (which doesn't hold true for all its deparments), and it has vastly exceeded my expectations.</p>
<p>I hope that helps. Good luck.</p>
<p>I have a friend majoring in East Asian Studies-- specifically Chinese-- at Yale. While I don't know that much about the department, I do know that he's getting an amazing education there.
Other top East Asian Studies departments include Harvard, Wisconsin, and Oberlin.</p>
<p>The top east asian studies program is columbia, they have the largest east asia related library and professors that found japanese studies and chinese studies in the united states. Princeton has an awful program and Harvard has a great one only if you applied grad. A chinese professor I met with, Chen Laoshi, told me the Harvard program was awful when she taught there and she taught there recently. You missed out on Brown, and Cornell, adn Columbia the ones with the best programs</p>
<p>To: Matt7</p>
<p>We're signing on and posting this specifically to let you know that although we have just come upon your message concerning East Asian studies at Yale (which you posted on December 24) your message is, indeed, most appreciated.</p>
<p>A strong and dedicated East Asian studies department -- (particularly viz China and Chinese language related studies) -- is THE most important criteria in our child's college selection process. Yale's website is quite informative concerning the school's 2 East Asian programs of study, course offerings, study abroad programs (including the great tutorial on study abroad -- and culture shock), the Light scholarships, etc. However, your first hand insight adds a most valuable perspective, and we thank you very much for having taken the time to share it.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best with your studies,
Mom of a possible Yale applicant</p>
<p>My D is interested in East Asia Studies with a focus on the role of arts in influencing past, present and future socio-economic aspects in that region. She’s a keen/critical sense of arts but doesn’t think that she has the talents to practice arts and is totally interested in the culture of East Asia. Plans to take AP Chinese exam in junior year and then learn Japanese. Any insights on how to go about her college years to fulfill this interest?</p>
<p>^ “Any insights on how to go about her college years to fulfill this interest?”</p>
<p>Well, if I understand your question correctly, the first thing is for your daughter to consider possible majors. For her interests, the most likely possible majors include Chinese or Japanese language & literature; an interdisciplinary East Asian Studies major; or, Art History. She could also do a double major or major-minor in these areas. </p>
<p>Whether or not she majors in a language, it is assumed she will continue with language studies, possibly including introductory coursework in classical Chinese or Japanese, especially if she has interests in art history or plans to pursue graduate studies. (For graduate studies in Asian art history, a reading knowledge of French and/or German is also important.)</p>
<p>Relevant coursework might be found in several different departments: East Asian language departments often offer coursework (in English) in popular culture & arts and in cinema if her arts interests extend to those areas. Courses on Chinese and Japanese “high” art usually are found in Art History depts. For other arts, check music or ethnomusicology depts (e.g., UCLA, Indiana, Wesleyan) for courses on East Asian music, theatre and/or dance depts. for courses in those areas, and film studies programs for Asian cinema courses. Coursework in Asian philosophy and religions are important for understanding the aesthetics and iconography of traditional Asian visual arts.</p>
<p>Some art history depts offer a subspecialty in Asian Art (e.,g., Wisconsin, Princeton, Harvard), though this isn’t common at the undergrad level. Some language depts or East Asian Studies majors offer a track in Asian humanities and arts (e.g., Minnesota, Michigan), though usually coursework is required in both the humanities and social sciences. Almost all art-related programs focus on historical-critical aspects, rather than art practice, though occasionally one sees courses on calligraphy, the tea ceremony, etc. Many large universities have Asian cultural associations or arts events and universities in larger cities with significant Asian populations provide another resource for exposure to Asian arts. Universities in or near larger cities also will provide better access to art museums with good Asian collections. Of course, your daughter should plan on a period of studying abroad in China or Japan.</p>
<p>There is a wide range of universities for her to consider where she could pursue aspects of her interests in Asian arts. Some of these include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Chicago, Stanford, Penn, Cornell, Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio State, U Washington, Washington U (St. Louis), Hawaii, and, Wesleyan. Since you’re apparently from Washington State, U Washington is strong in Asian Studies with extensive course offerings in the area.</p>
<p>^ Wow, so much valuabe info, much to digest, thanks so much!! My D doesn’t want to stay in WA, she wants to go to the East Coast. She’s in an independent school which doesn’t offer AP classes. Do you think she should self-study and take the AP art history exam on top of AP Chinese. I was told that admission counselor doesn’t necessarily like to see kids from private schools taking a whole bunch of self-study AP exams as long as they take the most challenging coursework. Does that make sense? She is a freshman right now and might be doing study abroad next spring in China.</p>
<p>^ As to your question about AP Art History…
Clearly, the AP Chinese is much more important, so focus on that. </p>
<p>In many art history programs, a one or two semester survey course is a the initial course for the major. While passing an AP test might get her out of that course, it’s not necessarily worth it. I think many depts probably like their prospective majors to take the dept.'s own course, as they might introduce some additional topics like how to write about art, etc. Also, some schools might have different instructors teach the period in which they are expert, which serves to introduce various faculty members to prospective majors. On the other hand, the introd course might just have all the faults of typical survey courses. Still, a selective school might not accept AP credit, or only do so, if she scored a 4 or 5. </p>
<p>The introductory survey tends to focus on Western art, and even if your daughter go to a school that permits her to emphasize Asian art in her studies, she’ll still have to take courses in Western art for comparative purposes. Usually, the introd survey is a prerequisite for other courses. Sometimes, a school also offers an introd survey of Asian art which could serve as the pre-requisite for other Asian art courses should she not major in art history, but still want to choose electives in Asian art.</p>
<p>^ thanks again! I know many colleges do not accept AP credit, my larger question is since she goes to a private school and it doesn’t offer AP classes, I was told that admission counselors do not necessarily like seeing students doing self-study AP exams if they are in private schools, just 1-2 is OK, anything more than that will raise a flag. Does that make sense? My thinking is if she takes the AP art history, she gets a sense of what she might study if she goess for East Asia Studies with a focus on arts. Does that make sense??</p>
<p>HI,
I am interested in masters program in Art History but specifically East Asian art particularly Chinese both modern and traditional. I already have a bachelor degree (in a totally unrelated field) and currently working on MFA in interior design (art is what I love, even though at this point is a second career for me). I eventually would like to work with clients who are art collectors to integrate their collection with their interiors; or build interior to house their collection in both residential and perhaps gallery / museums. My family in China is in the auctioning business (traditional mostly) so I could possibly have a leeway into the field in that region. My question is which school would be the best graduate program for me to study East Asian art history given my situation and needs as mentioned above including any/all schools that are outside of the U.S. that would have a strong program in this field.</p>
<p>Your thoughts and comments would be much appreciated! </p>
<p>thanks!</p>