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Course Requirements

The RSEA program is designed to be flexible and individualized, permitting students to pursue their own particular East Asia-related interests, whether wide-ranging or relatively focused, within the guidelines of the RSEA requirements. There many courses relating to East Asia across the many Harvard schools. The Harvard courses may be found at courses.my.harvard.edu.

In a two-year program of study, students usually take sixteen four-credit courses. Some students may choose to take some courses in subjects related to their academic interests but outside the East Asian studies field.

All first-year RSEA students are required to take “RSEA 350: Topics in Regional Studies East Asia: Proseminar,” which is graded Sat/Unsat.

All students must graduate with at least eight RSEA-approved four-credit courses. These eight approved courses must meet the following conditions:

  • All courses must receive a minimum letter grade of B or better (RSEA 350 & RSEA 300 with SAT grades are exceptions and may be used to fulfill courses requirements).
  • At least six courses of the eight courses for graduation must be courses taken in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).
  • At least six of the eight courses used to count towards the degree must be content courses on East Asian topics, as indicated by the course descriptions and syllabi or approved by the RSEA Committee. Courses that deal with East Asia as part of a broader context or that provide the theoretical underpinnings of a disciplinary approach may be petitioned for use as an East Asian course.
  • Only two East Asian language courses at the fourth-year level or above may be used to fulfill the RSEA course requirement (however, language courses cannot count among the six East Asian content courses).

Students must consult their Faculty Academic Advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) regarding their proposed course of study. Any exception to the above rules must be approved in advance of taking the course by the Faculty Academic Advisor in writing, then approved by the DGS and filed in the RSEA office.

 

Current students should refer to the RSEA Program Sharepoint for additional details and specific policies.