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Application Deadline

The online application for 2016-17 Academic Year is now open and the deadline is December 8, 2015. For more information and to apply, please see the following webpage:
Stanford Office of Graduate Admissions.

For general admissions questions, email us at CEAS-Admissions@stanford.edu, or call (650)723-3362.

Do not contact us to inquire about your application status. We will contact you if any part of the application is incomplete. Admissions decisions are sent out each year in mid-March.

Past Admissions Statistics (Avg GRE etc.)

General Applicants
(Not currently a Stanford student)

Follow the online application instructions on the Stanford graduate admissions website, which includes information on what to include in the personal statement. Make sure to indicate your region of interest (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) and discipline (Humanities or Social Sciences) via the drop down menus in the online application. Additionally:

• Students are admitted only for fall quarter, but may defer admission under special circumstances;
• GRE scores (and TOEFL for international students, taken within the last 18 months) are required by the University;
• CEAS requires a writing sample in English. Submit only the first 15 pages of a representative writing sample (seminar paper, term paper, honors thesis, journal article, etc.) via the document upload function in the online application. Do not submit more than 15 pages. The paper does not need to be focused on East Asia specifically, but should be an academic non-fiction work;
• Subject tests, resumes, and other supplementary materials are not required;
• In some cases, CEAS will conduct an additional interview via phone or Skype. If an interview is required, applicants will be contacted with more details.

Please note that Stanford will no longer accept paper letters of recommendation, and applicants are expected to upload scanned copies of their transcripts to their online application (click here for more details). Two official hard copies of transcripts are still required, and should be mailed directly to:

Center for East Asian Studies
Attn: Admissions
521 Memorial Way
Knight Building, Room 112
Stanford, CA 94305

Stanford Undergraduate Coterminal Applicants
(Current Stanford undergraduates only)

The Center admits a limited number of Stanford undergraduates to work toward a coterminal M.A. degree in East Asian Studies. Students must follow the regular application deadline for admission into the program and are expected to meet the same general standards as external candidates seeking admission to the program. Coterminal applicants do not submit the online application form--instead a paper coterminal degree application should be submitted directly to CEAS on or before the application deadline, and include:

• A completed coterminal application form (download and complete all pages);
• A written 1-2 page statement of purpose;
• A Stanford transcript;
• Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be from members of the undergraduate department of concentration;
• Scores from the General Test of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE);
• Writing sample as described above

Coterm applications will be reviewed along with peer applications by the M.A. Admissions Committee of the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS). Students must meet all requirements for both B.A. and M.A. degrees, completing a total of 46 units after completing the 180 units required for the Bachelor's Degree, for a total of 226 units. Coterms are not eligible for university financial aid, but are eligible to apply for other fellowships administered by CEAS. Please note that for coterminal students, we will follow the university suggested guideline of allowing students to count coursework taken in the three quarters immediately prior to their first graduate quarter toward their graduate degree (summer is not included in the back count). Students are reminded that course transfer is subject to approval of the undergraduate and graduate departments.

FInancial Aid

CEAS offers a limited number of fellowships each year for incoming M.A. students. Students interested in the Master's Degree program in East Asian Studies may apply for support (contingent upon availability) at the time of their initial application for admission. Eligibility varies. Applicants should also be aware that CEAS generally does not offer TA-ships or RA-ships to incoming M.A. students during first year. Applications for financial aid are considered independently of applications for admission. A request for support does not affect the applicant's chances of admission.

U.S. Citizen/Permanent Residents and International Students:

Financial Aid from Stanford University. Check "yes" on the application form. You will then be considered for the following fellowships: Japan Studies (full tuition) or Chinese Studies (full tuition).

U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents Only:

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who will be taking advanced Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language should apply for the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship, which provides full tuition plus modest stipend. This application is separate from your admission application.
Students who wish to be considered for federal aid or loan programs should file a FAFSA and an additional Graduate Financial Aid form online with the Stanford Financial Aid Office. CEAS does not have Federal Work-Study allocations available, but students interested in loans and the small awards from the Graduate Student Aid Fund must submit a FAFSA and the Graduate Financial Aid Application, available on the Stanford Financial Aid Office

Many Stanford graduate students receive fellowships from outside sources to help offset tuition costs. Applicants to Stanford programs are encouraged to apply for outside funding grants whenever possible. The Cornell Fellowship Database provides an extensive list of fellowships and may be a helpful search tool.