East Asian Studies Certificate

The Undergraduate Certificate in East Asian Studies is a 24-credit course of instruction designed to provide specialized knowledge of the cultures, histories, and contemporary concerns of the peoples of China, Japan, and Korea. It will complement and enrich a student's major. The curriculum focuses on language instruction, civilization courses, and electives in several departments and programs of the university. It is designed specifically for students who wish to expand their knowledge of East Asia and demonstrate to prospective employers, the public, and graduate and professional schools a special competence and set of skills in East Asian affairs.

Upon satisfactory completion of the courses, with a grade of C- or better in each course, and recommendation by the Coordinator of the Certificate Program, a certificate will be awarded. Begining with Fall 2012, to be awarded a baccalaureate degree, students must have a minimum C (2.0) cumulative grade point average across all courses used to satisfy undergraduate certificate requirements. A notation of the award of the certificate will be included on the student's transcript. The student must have a bachelor's degree awarded by Maryland (must be College Park campus) previous to or simultaneously with an award of the certificate.

Core Values of the Program:

      Vision: See the U.S. and East Asia as parts of one globalized world with cultural varieties.

Knowledge: Acquire language skills, spatial and chronological thinking skills, and creative prowess through interdisciplinary study.

Integrity: adhere to the University’s Code of Academic Integrity and professional ethics.

The Certificate will equip students to develop successful careers through teaching excellence and study abroad programs.

Certificate Requirements

The student is required to take:

1. HIST 284 East Asian Civilization I
2. HIST 285 East Asian Civilization II
3. Six semester hours of introduction to one of the following East Asian languages (Chinese, Japanese, or Korean):

CHIN 101 Elementary Chinese I
JAPN 101 Elementary Japanese I
KORA 101 Elementary Korean I
KORA 102 Elementary Korean II
KORA 211 Introductory Reading for Speakers of Korean I
KORA 212 Introductory Reading for Speakers of Korean II

Students with language competence equivalent to these language courses are exempted from the language requirement; such students are required to complete an additional six hours of electives in East Asian courses to fulfill the 24-credit requirement for the certificate.

Electives: Students must complete at least 12 hours of electives selected from four regular approved courses on East Asia in such disciplines as:

1. art history
2. business
3. ethnomusicology
4. government and politics
5. history
6. language, linguistics, and literature
7. music
8. plant science and landscape architecture
9. sociology and  
10. women's studies.

An overall GPA of 2.0 in the certificate is required for graduation.

Nine of the 12 hours of electives must be upper division (300-400 level courses). A maximum of three credit hours of special topics courses on East Asia will be allowed with the approval of the certificate coordinator. No more than nine credits from any one department or from the student's major may be applied toward the certificate. In addition, no more than nine credits of the courses applied toward the certificate may be transferred from other institutions. Students are asked to work with the coordinator in ensuring that the electives maintain an intercollegiate and interdisciplinary focus (at least three disciplines are recommended). Interested students should contact the Coordinator of the Certificate Program, Dr. James Z. Gao, Department of History, 2111 Taliaferro Hall, jzgao@umd.edu (website at www.ceas.umd.edu ).

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