Advising Information

Asian Studies

The study of an East Asian language is foundational to the major. The earlier you begin taking Chinese or Japanese the better. First-year students who are interested in the East Asian Studies major are encouraged to take an East Asian survey course (AMST 280, ARTH 160, HIST 141, POLS 227, or RELS 160) as a gateway course.

Placement Information

Students who have previously studied either Japanese or Chinese should take the placement exam for that language as early as possible.

Sample 4-Year Plan

	Fall	Spring
Year 1	Fall FYS course Core Requirement Core Requirement (4 units) CHIN 101/JAPN 101	Spring FYS course Core Requirement (4 units) Core Requirement (4 units) CHIN 101/JAPN 102
Year 2	Survey Course CHIN 201/JAPN 201 (CPRF) Core Requirement General Elective	CHIN 202/JAPN 202 Asian Studies Elective Core Requirement Core Requirement
Year 3	Asian Studies Elective Asian Studies Elective General Elective General Elective	Asian Studies Elective Seminar General Elective General Elective
Year 4	ASN 497 (Senior Seminar, 2 units) Asian Studies Elective General Elective General Elective	Asian Studies Elective General Elective General Elective General Elective

Curricular Notes

• Asian Studies majors are required to take at least two semesters of Chinese or Japanese language courses number 201 or above.

• See the Catalog for lists of courses that fulfill the major’s Survey Course, Seminar, and Elective requirements. 

Chinese Studies

First-year students who are interested in the Chinese Studies major are advised to take CHIN 101 (Elementary Chinese I) and CHIN 102 (Elementary Chinese II) in their first year as gateway courses. Students who already have proficiency in Chinese should take the placement exam or submit a qualifying standardized test score (see Placement Information below) in order to identify the appropriate course to start their studies. Please contact Major Coordinator Prof. Meimei Zhang ([e-mail]) with any questions.

Placement Information

Students interested in the Chinese Studies major who have previous experience with the language should take the Chinese Placement Exam. Students studying Chinese for the first time can enroll in CHIN 101 without taking the exam. 

An exception: you do not need to take Occidental’s Placement exam if any of the following are true:  

• Students who received a 4 on the AP Chinese exam are placed into CHIN 201.

• Students who received a 5 on the AP Chinese exam are placed into CHIN 202.

• Students who received a score of 550-679 on the Chinese SAT Subject Test are placed into CHIN 101. 

• Students who received a score of 680 or above on the Chinese SAT Subject Test are placed into CHIN 102.  

Note: To use a standardized test score for placement you must have the official score report sent to the Registrar’s Office.

Sample 4-Year Plan

	Fall	Spring
Year 1	Fall FYS course CHIN 101 Core Requirement General Elective (4 units)	Spring FYS course CHIN 102 (Foreign Language) Core Requirement General Elective (4 units)
Year 2	CHIN 201 (CPRF) Core Requirement Core Requirement General Elective (4 units)	CHIN 202 Literature in Translation(CPRF or CPGC) Core Requirement Core Requirement
Year 3	300-/400-level CHIN Additional Elective Methods/Theory General Elective (4 units)	300-/400-level CHIN Additional Elective General Elective (4 units) General Elective (4 units)
Year 4	300-/400-level CHIN CHIN 497(2 units) General Elective (2 units) General Elective (4 units) General Elective (4 units)	300-/400-level CHIN Additional Elective General Elective (4 units) General Elective (4 units)

Japanese Studies

First-year students who are new to the language and are interested in the Japanese Studies major are advised to take JAPN 101 (Elementary Japanese I) and JAPN 102 (Elementary Japanese II) in their first year as gateway courses. Students who already have proficiency in Japanese should take the placement exam or submit a qualifying standardized test score (see Placement Information below) in order to identify the appropriate course to start their studies.

Placement Information

Students interested in the Japanese Studies major who have previous experience with the language should take the Japanese Placement Exam. Students studying Japanese for the first time can enroll in JAPN 101 without taking the exam. 

Exception: you do not need to take Occidental’s Placement exam if any of the following are true:  

• Students who received a 4 on the AP Japanese exam are placed into JAPN 201.
• Students who received a 5 on the AP Japanese exam are placed into JAPN 202.
• Students who received a score of 540-669 on the Japanese with Listening SAT Subject Test are placed into JAPN 101. 
• Students who received a score of 670 or above on the Japanese with Listening SAT Subject Test are placed into JAPN 102.  

Note: To use a standardized test score for placement you must have the official score report sent to the Registrar’s Office.

Sample 4-Year Plan

	Fall	Spring
Year 1	Fall FYS course JAPN 101 Core Requirement General Elective (4 units)	Spring FYS course JAPN 102 (Foreign Language) Core Requirement General Elective (4 units)
Year 2	JAPN 201 Literature in Translation Core Requirement Core Requirement	JAPN 202 (CPRF) Japan-related Elective Core Requirement Core Requirement
Year 3	300-/400-level JAPN Methods/Theory General Elective (4 units) General Elective (4 units)	300-/400-level CHIN Japan-related Elective General Elective (4 units) General Elective (4 units)
Year 4	300-/400-level JAPN JAPN 497(2 units) General Elective (2 units) General Elective (4 units) General Elective (4 units)	300-/400-level JAPN Japan-related Elective General Elective (4 units) General Elective (4 units)