Best Accredited Universities for Doctoral Phd program in Japanese Studies

The Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies (RIJS) will offer a limited number of summer grants to A.M. students and Harvard doctoral candidates in the humanities or social sciences for language study. Intended study must be directly related to a thesis Ph.D. dissertation in Japanese studies, which cannot be conveniently pursued during the academic year.Please Note: Preference will be given to GSAS students in Japanese studies.

This grant is for graduate students who require third-year Japanese or additional Japanese language study, or for graduate students in the field of Japanese Studies who are pursuing a second language. If you are a GSAS doctoral candidate planning to study first or second year Japanese, we strongly urge you to consider the Harvard Summer School AND submit an application for the GSAS Tuition Waiver. Japanese language study at Harvard Summer School provides an excellent foundation for future Japanese language study at Harvard. RIJS graduate summer language grants are not typically awarded for modern Japanese language study at the 1st and or 2nd year level. The exception is for graduate students in Japanese Studies who plan to pursue specialized language training (e.g. Classical Japanese, Kanbun, Komonjo.).

Please note, if applying to than one RIJS graduate funding application, you must apply via separate CARAT applications.

The East Asian Languages and Cultures offers a PhD program in Japanese Language. The department only admits students into the PhD program.

Students who do not have BA or MA degrees in East Asian Languages and Cultures (or Japanese) or in similar fields can be considered for admission. If admitted, these students are often required to make up deficiencies in their course work. This can result in a lengthening of the normative time to degree (seven years).

The department only admits students into the PhD program. You must indicate that a PhD is your degree goal on the application materials. Students who have not completed an MA degree before beginning study at Berkeley will have to complete the requirements for the MA before proceeding to the PhD program. After completion of the MA requirements (coursework and thesis), students are evaluated for permission to proceed to the PhD portion of the program. Students who have completed an MA degree before beginning study at Berkeley may apply for admission directly to the PhD program. After one year in the PhD program, such students will be evaluated before being permitted to continue in the program.

However, they do not complete the Graduate Application.

The length of time needed to complete an advanced degree in the department depends on financial considerations, the extent of the student earlier preparation, and other factors. Under optimum conditions, the MA can be earned in two years and the PhD in an additional four to five years.

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:.

If the applicant has completed a basic degree from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 on a 9-point scale (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these) and.

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates, but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without the need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Unofficial transcripts must contain specific information including the name of the applicant, name of the school, all courses, grades, units, degree conferral (if applicable).

Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, by the recommender, not the Graduate Admissions.

Evidence of English language proficiency:All applicants who have completed a basic degree from a country or political entity in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement:.

Courses conducted in a language other than English,.

Courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and.

Official TOEFL score reports must be sent directly from Educational Test Services (ETS). Official IELTS score reports must be sent electronically from the testing center to University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Division, Sproul Hall, Rm 318 MC 5900, Berkeley, CA 94720. TOEFL and IELTS score reports are only valid for two years prior to beginning the graduate program at UC Berkeley. Note: score reports can not expire before the month of June.

Those chosen are recommended to the Graduate Division, which sets the number of students the department can admit, makes a final review of the applications, and issues an official letter of admission to the student. The number of students the department can admit is usually very small and standards for admission are highly competitive.

The graduate application is submitted electronically the online application becomes available in September for admission effective the following year. All applicants must use the online application.

Transcripts. Applicants will submit unofficial transcripts, GRE scores, and other admissions materials online as part of the application. Admitted students will be required to submit two copies of all official transcripts in envelopes sealed by the issuing institutions at a later date.

Letters of Recommendation. Three letters of recommendation are required. Letters in languages other than English should be translated into English, but the original letter, in the original language, must be included. Letters from nonacademic referees are rarely helpful.

Academic Writing Sample. A writing sample in English must be included with the online application. An ideal writing sample will be around 20 pages on a topic related to East Asian studies, but a paper on another topic or of a different length may be acceptable.

Applicants from Abroad. International applicants are urged to examine closely the requirements for certification and translation of records and TOEFL requirements provided in the graduate application and the information on legal residency and fees.

All prospective graduate students must apply for the PhD program. The department does not offer terminal MA degrees instead, an MA degree may be earned while progressing toward the PhD.

Normative Time to Advancement: The total normative time to advancement is five years. Normative Time in Candidacy: The total time in candidacy is two years. Total Normative Time: The total normative time of the program is seven years.

Three JAPAN seminars (four units each) for a letter grade before proceeding to the PhD.

Two JAPAN seminars and one seminar outside your area in a cognate discipline for a letter grade (four units each) after proceeding to the PhD.

Fluency in modern and classical Japanese. The classical Japanese requirement must be satisfied by completion of a classical Japanese seminar taken for four units for a letter grade. Students entering the program without having taken an introduction to classical Japanese elsewhere are expected to take J120 as well.

Competence will normally be demonstrated by three years of language study at Berkeley or its equivalent. (Coursework must be taken for a letter-grade.) Native speakers of a language other than English do not automatically fulfill the language requirement the language must be appropriate to advanced research in the program.

EA LANG 200, Proseminar: Approaches to East Asian Studies is required, normally in the first year.

A minimum of three graduate seminars (four units each) in the Japanese language field in the department will be required, for a letter grade. EA LANG 200 will not count toward the three required seminars. The department also encourages students to take a Materials and Methods seminar as part of the MA program.

All courses required for the degree must be finished by the last day of the semester in which the student expects the degree to be conferred.

Students will have the option of taking additional seminars beyond the three required for the MA degree for two units, in which case no seminar paper is required. Each EALC seminar is structured with a 4 unit norm and 2 unit option.

Students who will need to acquire a second language from scratch to satisfy PhD requirements (q.v.) will be advised to begin work on that language as early as possible.

MA Thesis An MA thesis, usually based on a previous research paper and limited to 50 pages, is required. If the MA thesis involves a translation, the translation may be added as an appendix, which will not count toward the page limit.

Mechanism for Continuation or Termination at the MA Level A review of graduate students will take place in the middle and at the end of their first year and annually thereafter, and conveyed to the students in writing.

Two JAPAN graduate seminars for four units and for a letter grade in the department are required after completion of the MA, as well as at least one course outside the department in a cognate discipline, also for four units and for a letter grade.

Three written examinations on fields within the department.

One written examination on a field outside the department.

Expand all course descriptions [+]Collapse all course descriptions [-].

JAPAN C225Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts2 or 4 Units.

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021 This seminar serves as an introduction to a broad range of Japanese Buddhist literature belonging to different historical periods and genres, including liturgical texts monastic records, rules, and ritual manuals doctrinal treatises biographies of monks and histories of Buddhism in Japan. Students are required to do all the readings in the original languages, which are classical Chinese (Kanbun) and classical Japanese. It will also serve as a tools and methods course, covering basic reference works and secondary scholarship in the field of Japanese Buddhism. The content of the course will be adjusted from semester to semester to accommodate the needs and interests of the students.Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts: [+].

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts: Read Less [-].

JAPAN 230Seminar in Classical Japanese Poetry2 or 4 Units.

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Spring 2020 Topics run from Japan earliest extant poetic anthologies in Chinese (Kaifuso) or Japanese (Man'yoshu) to medieval linked verse (renga) and Edo haikai.Seminar in Classical Japanese Poetry: [+].

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Seminar in Classical Japanese Poetry: Read Less [-].

JAPAN C231Japanese Studies: Past, Present.

Requirements will include completion of course readings and preparation of a research prospectus.Japanese Studies: Past, Present.

Japanese Studies: Past, Present.

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2010, Spring 2006 An introduction to research tools for Japanese studies. Internet access is required.Japanese Bibliography: [+].

Prerequisites: Reading ability in modern Japanese classical Japanese helpful but not required.

JAPAN 234Seminar in Classical Japanese Drama2 or 4 Units.

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2013, Fall 2004 Topics may include examples from the Noh, Kyogen, Joruri, or Kabuki theaters.Seminar in Classical Japanese Dram [+].

Seminar in Classical Japanese Dram Read Less [-].

JAPAN 240Seminar in Classical Japanese Texts2 or 4 Units.

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020 Topics may include works of Heian fiction such as The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) and memoirs such as The Pillow Book (Makura no soshi).Seminar in Classical Japanese Texts: [+].

Seminar in Classical Japanese Texts: Read Less [-].

JAPAN 255Seminar in Prewar Japanese Literature2 or 4 Units.

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2018 Reading and critical evaluation of selected texts in prewar (roughly the 1860s though the 1940s) Japanese literature and literary and cultural criticism. Texts change with each offering of the course.Seminar in Prewar Japanese Literature: [+].

Seminar in Prewar Japanese Literature: Read Less [-].

JAPAN 259Seminar in Postwar Japanese Literature2 or 4 Units.

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2018, Spring 2015 Reading and critical evaluation of selected texts in postwar (roughly the 1940s through the present) Japanese literature and literary and cultural criticism. Texts change with each offering of the course.Seminar in Postwar Japanese Literature: [+].

Seminar in Postwar Japanese Literature: Read Less [-].

JAPAN 298Directed Study for Graduate Students1 12 Units.

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2016, Fall 2015 Special tutorial or seminar on selected topics not covered by available courses or seminars.Directed Study for Graduate Students: [+].

Directed Study for Graduate Students: Read Less [-].

JAPAN 299Thesis Preparation and Related Research1 12 Units.

Prerequisites: Consent of thesis supervisor and graduate adviser.

JAPAN 601Individual Study for Master Students1 8 Units.

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015 Individual study for the comprehensive or language requirements in consultation with the graduate adviser.

Individual Study for Master Students: Read Less [-].

JAPAN 602Individual Study for Doctoral Students1 8 Units.

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015 Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare for various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D.Individual Study for Doctoral Students: [+].

Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read Less [-].

The BLC encourages and supports the learning and teaching of languages on the Berkeley campus. Find out lecture series, workshops, reading groups, journals, travel grants, and their library.

Through art and film programs, collections and research resources, BAM PFA is the visual arts center of UC Berkeley.