PhD Program

Minimum Admission Requirements

• Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of East Asian Studies' additional admission requirements stated below.

• Normally, completion of the MA program in the Department of East Asian Studies, or its equivalent from a recognized university, with an average grade of at least A–.

• Statement of approximately 500 words (two pages) setting out the student's main fields of interest and proposed course of study.

• Three letters of recommendation from scholars who have knowledge of previous academic work.

• Programs are based on the study of original texts. This presupposes knowledge of the relevant languages.

• A 10- to 15-page sample of the applicant's academic writing in English.

• Applicants educated outside Canada whose primary language is not English, and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English, must provide results of an English-language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of their application. Applicants taking the Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) must achieve a minimum score of 100/120 and 22/30 on the writing and speaking sections. Comparable scores on similar tests are also acceptable.

Completion Requirements

• Coursework. Students must successfully complete a total of 4.0 non-language full-course equivalents (FCEs), including at least 2.0 FCEs in EAS courses, to be selected in consultation with the Graduate Associate Chair. 2.0 FCEs must be completed in Year 1, with an average grade of at least A–. The remaining courses are normally completed by the end of Year 2, maintaining an average of at least A–.

  • EAS2020H Critical Approaches to East Asia is a required course if not taken previously. If EAS2020H has previously been taken, students are required to take an additional 0.5 FCE.

  • Students are permitted to take some of their courses in other departments.

• A comprehensive qualifying examination, undertaken with the guidance of a supervisory committee, must be taken by November 30 of Year 3. The committee will provide the student with three questions (in a Major, Minor, and Adjacent field), for which the student must provide written answers within seven days. Within one week after submitting the answers, the student will meet with the committee to provide an oral defence of the answers. The committee will decide whether the student has passed or failed in each of the three fields on the basis of the written answers and oral defence taken together. If the student fails the Major field, he or she will be given one more chance to pass an entirely new examination, within three months of the first attempt. If the student passes the Major field but fails either one or both of the Minor and Adjacent fields, then he or she will be given one more chance to take an examination consisting of new questions in the fields failed, within six weeks of the first attempt. Third attempts are not permitted.

• An appropriate level of proficiency in at least one language (other than English) relevant to the student's areas of study must be demonstrated by November 30 of Year 3; the language(s), level of proficiency, and method of evaluation are to be determined by the Graduate Associate Chair, in consultation with the student's supervisor. Students will take a language placement test (or multiple tests, depending on the area of study) at the beginning of their program. Upon receiving the placement result, students must meet with their supervisor. If the appropriate level of proficiency has not been demonstrated, the student and their supervisor will devise a plan for achieving proficiency by November 30 of Year 3. The plan will be approved by the Graduate Associate Chair.

• Within one to three months after completing the comprehensive examination, students are required to produce a dissertation prospectus to be approved by their supervisory committee. The committee will meet to consider the dissertation prospectus and provide the student with feedback. The student will make the revisions and submit the prospectus to his/her supervisor for final approval, which must be given by the end of the student’s third year. After the dissertation prospectus is approved, the student advances to candidacy.

• After completing all of the above requirements, students are required to produce a doctoral dissertation with the guidance of their supervisory committee. The completed dissertation must be defended at a Doctoral Final Oral Examination.

Mode of Delivery: In person
Program Length: 4 years full-time (typical registration sequence: Continuous)
Time Limit: 6 years full-time

 

PhD Program (Direct-Entry)

Minimum Admission Requirements

• Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of East Asian Studies' additional admission requirements stated below.

• Admission to the PhD program normally requires completion of the MA program in the Department of East Asian Studies, or its equivalent from a recognized university, with an average grade of at least A–. However, departmental assessment may also permit registration directly from a BA degree in the most exceptional cases where, for instance, there is a very high grade point average or a well-documented demonstration of capacity for original research.

• Statement of approximately 500 words (two pages) setting out the student's main fields of interest and proposed course of study.

• Three letters of recommendation from scholars who have knowledge of previous academic work.

• Programs are based on the study of original texts. This presupposes knowledge of the relevant languages.

• A 10- to 15-page sample of the applicant's academic writing in English.

• Applicants educated outside Canada whose primary language is not English, and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English, must provide results of an English-language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of their application. Applicants taking the Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) must achieve a minimum score of 100/120 and 22/30 on the writing and speaking sections. Comparable scores on similar tests are also acceptable.

Completion Requirements

• Coursework. Students must successfully complete a total of 4.0 non-language full-course equivalents (FCEs), including at least 2.0 FCEs in EAS courses, to be selected in consultation with the Graduate Associate Chair. 2.0 FCEs must be completed in Year 1, with an average grade of at least A–. The remaining courses are normally completed by the end of Year 2, maintaining an average of at least A–.

  • EAS2020H Critical Approaches to East Asia is a required course if not taken previously. If EAS2020H has previously been taken, students are required to take an additional 0.5 FCE.

  • Students are permitted to take some of their courses in other departments.

• EAS1150Y Reading and Major Research Paper, to be written with the guidance of and assessed by the student's academic supervisor, must be completed by August 31 of Year 2.

• A comprehensive qualifying examination, undertaken with the guidance of a supervisory committee, must be taken by February 28 of Year 3. The committee will provide the student with three questions (in a Major, Minor, and Adjacent field), for which the student must provide written answers within seven days. Within one week after submitting the answers, the student will meet with the committee to provide an oral defence of the answers. The committee will decide whether the student has passed or failed in each of the three fields on the basis of the written answers and oral defence taken together. If the student fails the Major field, he or she will be given one more chance to pass an entirely new examination, within three months of the first attempt. If the student passes the Major field but fails either one or both of the Minor and Adjacent fields, then he or she will be given one more chance to take an examination consisting of new questions in the fields failed, within six weeks of the first attempt. Third attempts are not permitted.

• An appropriate level of proficiency in at least one language (other than English) relevant to the student's areas of study must be demonstrated by November 30 of Year 3; the language(s), level of proficiency, and method of evaluation are to be determined by the Graduate Associate Chair, in consultation with the student's supervisor. Students will take a language placement test (or multiple tests, depending on the area of study) at the beginning of their program. Upon receiving the placement result, students must meet with their supervisor. If the appropriate level of proficiency has not been demonstrated, the student and their supervisor will devise a plan for achieving proficiency by November 30 of Year 3. The plan will be approved by the Graduate Associate Chair.

• Within one to three months after completing the comprehensive examination, students are required to produce a dissertation prospectus to be approved by their supervisory committee. The committee will meet to consider the dissertation prospectus and provide the student with feedback. The student will make the revisions and submit the prospectus to his/her supervisor for final approval, which must be given by the end of the student’s third year. After the dissertation prospectus is approved, the student advances to candidacy.

• After completing all of the above requirements, students are required to produce a doctoral dissertation with the guidance of their supervisory committee. The completed dissertation must be defended at a Doctoral Final Oral Examination.

Mode of Delivery: In person
Program Length: 5 years full-time (typical registration sequence: Continuous)
Time Limit: 7 years full-time