Joint BA in History/MA in East Asian Studies
The combined B.A./M.A. program provides students with guidance from their undergraduate through graduate programs in a well-coordinated fashion to lay a firm foundation in history and an East Asian language. Coursework at the undergraduate level will be planned to facilitate entry into OSU’s East Asian Studies Interdisciplinary M.A. Students admitted to the program spend Years 1, 2 and 3 in undergraduate courses like their peers; Year 4, however, will be a combination of undergraduate courses plus graduate courses, followed by full-time graduate study from Year 5. Total time to complete the M.A. degree is one or more years after the B.A. requirements are completed, depending largely on the intensity of the student’s study of an East Asian language.
Application Procedures
Undergraduate students who are interested in the combined degree program should confer with an undergraduate faculty advisor who specializes in East Asian History (Professors Levi, Reed and Zhang) at the earliest opportunity so that they complete the appropriate coursework before applying for the combined degree program.
Late in their second year or early in their third year of undergraduate work, students will complete a “pre-application” to the combined degree program. This step will serve as an indicator of their interest to apply formally during their third year. The applicant’s major field faculty Undergraduate Adviser (who should be an East Asian specialist) will review the pre-application and, if necessary, discuss course requirements that need to be met for the major before formally entering the combined degree program. In addition, the Graduate Studies Committee for the Interdisciplinary M.A. Program in East Asian Studies will review the pre-application. The Committee will provide additional guidance to the student prior to submission of a formal application for admission to the M.A. program.
During their third year in the B.A. program, students will apply to the M.A. program in the Graduate School through our online application system. At the time of application they will need to have met the requirements for eligibility outlined above. This step will involve completing the Graduate School combined degree program approval form available online at GradForms. Once submitted, the form will route electronically to the Undergraduate Studies Committee Chair in the student’s major program and the Graduate Studies Committee Chair in the EAS M.A. Program, and the Graduate School for final approval.
See a sample program [pdf] that shows how a student interested in Chinese history might select courses that fill all of the requirements for the History Major (B.A.) and the Interdisciplinary M.A. in East Asian Studies. Note that this program illustrates the value of beginning study of an East Asian Language early in one’s course of study!
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