Academic Program in East Asian Studies
Program Requirements
Overview
Globalization is strengthening our ties with such Asian countries as Japan and China. East Asian studies majors ready themselves through coursework, intense language study, internships, fellowships, and special projects. Majors take two years of language study and five levels of Japanese and Chinese, all of which produces students who are well versed in non-Western cultures and proficient in a language of the region.
Our students learn in a nurturing and inspiring environment. The Paul and Edith Cooper International Learning Center , a state-of-the-art computer lab specializing in foreign languages, offers high-tech tools to master a variety of foreign languages, from digital connections with native speakers from around the globe to a multilanguage computer that scans headlines from Chinese or Russian newspapers, for example. Students frequent the lab to improve their speaking, listening, and pronunciation skills.
We encourage study abroad through accredited programs in Beijing, China; Kyoto, Japan; or Seoul, Korea. Faculty members help to ensure students receive a quality academic and homestay experience, whether for a semester or a year.
Oberlin Shansi Fellowships
More than 90% of our majors study or conduct research in Asia, many on funded fellowships thanks to Oberlin Shansi, a nonprofit, nongovernmental educational and cultural exchange organization housed on the Oberlin campus.
At Oberlin, students may live in Asia House, one of the college’s theme-based residence halls, to garner year-round exposure to programming related to Asia.
Our graduates attend top graduate schools to pursue advanced degrees in business, literature, law, sociology, history, art history, or religious studies. Others enter the workforce, obtaining jobs with the State Department, or in law, library science, journalism and publishing, arts, music, banking, and translation work.