<p>I have a strong interest in East Asian studies, specifically regarding studying Japanese and Korean culture & language. Colleges have enough to say about themselves and how strong their departments are, but how do you compare them to each other? If not specifically for that major, then just in general?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Here are some good ways to check; grad school admittance, % graduating in four years, degrees held by professors (and where from), jobs held by alumni, prestige of school/ program, how that department is ranked compared to other schools, rigor of classes, etc.</p>
<p>There are plenty of ways to find out, it will just take some digging.</p>
<p>Browse the online course catalog. See if the school has a rich variety of courses in those areas. Relatively few schools offer 3-4 years of Korean language instruction; almost all of them are large research universities
([aatk.org</a> | schools offering Korean](<a href=“http://www.aatk.org/web/schools]aatk.org”>http://www.aatk.org/web/schools)).</p>
<p>You can look at college rankings such as US News to get some idea of how schools compare on various factors such as selectivity, academic reputation, and graduation rates. Look up average class sizes in the “academic life” section of the US News online descriptions of each college. Visit schools and arrange to talk to students majoring in those subjects. Ask how many graduates go on to get advanced degrees in Asian Studies or related fields.</p>
<p>Check out the following thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/589784-best-colleges-political-science-east-asian-studies-major.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/589784-best-colleges-political-science-east-asian-studies-major.html</a></p>
<p>You can start with the universities that have national resource centers in East Asian Studies:
Brigham Young University: East Asia Consortium
Columbia University: East Asian National Resource Center
Cornell University: East Asia Program
Duke University: Asian/Pacific Studies Institute
Georgetown University: Georgetown East Asia Center
Harvard University: Harvard University Asia Center
Indiana University-Bloomington: Illinois/Indiana East Asia National Resource Center Consortium
Michigan State University: Asian Studies Center
Ohio State University: East Asian Studies Center
Stanford University: Stanford East Asia Center
University of California-Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies
University of California-Los Angeles: Joint East Asian Studies Center
University of Hawaii at Manoa: East Asian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Illinois/Indiana East Asia National Resource Center Consortium
University of Kansas: Center for East Asian Studies
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: East Asia National Resource Center
University of Oregon: University of Oregon East Asia Center
University of Pennsylvania: Center for East Asian Studies
University of Southern California: Joint East Asian Studies Center
University of Utah: East Asia Consortium
University of Virginia: Virginia East Asia Center
University of Washington: East Asia Center
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Center for East Asian Studies
Yale University: Council on East Asian Studies</p>
<p>OSU gets $9.6M State Department grant for Asian language programs</p>
<p>[Ohio</a> State gets $9.6M million U.S. State Department grant to set up Asian language programs - Columbus - Business First](<a href=“http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/11/01/ohio-state-gets-96-million-us.html]Ohio”>http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/11/01/ohio-state-gets-96-million-us.html)</p>
<p>Go Bucks!! :)</p>
<p>Beware of relying upon the course catalog to see the selection of courses. At many colleges, many of those courses are not offered on a regular basis Instead, look at the online listing of courses that are actually offered for one fall and one spring semester.</p>
<p>Try to contact current students–CC is great for that. Admissions officers may also be willing to put you in touch. Google the faculty and see what they’ve done. See if they have strong study abroad programs in East Asia that you could take advantage of.</p>