A student concentrating in a department other than East Asian Studies may earn a language and culture certificate in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean by completing seven language courses, three or more of which must be beyond the 2nd-year level, and one or more East Asian Studies or cognate courses. East Asian studies concentrators focusing on one language may earn a language and culture certificate in the other, but may not also earn a Program in East Asian Studies certificate. Courses taken on a Pass/D/Fail (P/D/F)* basis will not be counted. Students must also complete a substantial piece of research (20-25 pages) based at least in part on Chinese, Japanese, or Korean sources dealing with aspects of East Asia. The paper could be either an original piece of research or a junior paper or senior thesis. If such a junior paper or senior thesis is written for another department, at least half of the work must be on East Asia. Students interested in earning a certificate should apply at the department office (or via email, if this is not possible) by the end of their junior year.

• Students placing into higher-level language courses may still qualify for the certificate by substituting EAS-prefixed and cognate courses for language work. Such exceptions will be made in consultation with the EAS Director of Undergraduate Studies.
• Courses taken abroad in summer language programs (i.e. Princeton in Beijing or Princeton in Ishikawa) or over the course of a semester or year at other institutions may count towards certificate requirements. However, pre-approval for such coursework must be obtained from the EAS Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Written Work 

The written work requirement can be a paper written exclusively/independently for the language and culture certificate, another piece of work (i.e.: a senior thesis, J.P., or substantial seminar paper), or a hybrid (i.e.: a previous paper which is independently expanded to meet all criteria).

Criteria: the written work: 

• must be at least 50% about an East Asian subject.
• as a stand-alone, must be no less than 20-25 pages, double-spaced.
• may have either a humanities or social science methodological orientation.
• should aim at producing new knowledge and generating creative ideas through careful research and reflection.
• must draw substantially on original language sources.
  • Students are encouraged to consult material in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean that furnishes perspectives, information, and insights not readily available through English-language research. These sources should be central and meaningful and not simply peripheral to the project.

Procedure

A student must first submit the East Asian Studies Language & Culture Certificate Application form to the EAS Undergraduate Program Administrator when their intention to complete the certificate is first decided. The application form should be updated by the student as they complete the requirements. Each student will also need to find an adviser who will supervise the progress of the written work and assess whether it fulfills the requirements outlined above. Students should consult the EAS Director of Undergraduate Studies about any difficulties in finding and working with an adviser. If the written work is deemed acceptable, the adviser will complete the Written Work form. The student is responsible for ensuring that this form and updates to their application are submitted to the EAS Undergraduate Program Administrator as soon as each remaining requirement has been completed, and, at the latest, by the deadline of one week before Dean's Date in the spring of their senior year.

Students who have met all the requirements will receive upon graduation with their diploma, a certificate of proficiency in the language and culture of their specialization.

*In light of the COVID-19 related changes, courses taken on a Pass/Fail (P/D/F) basis from the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters will be allowed to be counted towards the certificate.