College of Letters and Science
290 Royce Hall
Box 951540
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1540
Asian Languages and Cultures
310-206-8235
Department e-mail
The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures offers a wide range of courses in the languages, literatures, religions, and cultural heritage of China, Japan, and Korea, as well as South and Southeast Asia. The department offers training in many specialized fields such as archaeology, film, folklore, history, linguistics, literature, mythology, religious studies, and cultural studies. Courses prepare students for careers in business, government service, international relations, journalism, law, publishing, teaching, and academic professions.
The department offers many courses in which knowledge of Asian languages is not required. A current list is available on the Registrar’s course descriptions web page.
For undergraduates, the department offers majors that combine language study with courses taught in English that examine the rich cultural heritage of China, Japan, and Korea, as well as South and Southeast Asia. The majors also offer opportunities for education abroad in an Asian country. The language courses aim to develop the four skills of speaking, aural comprehension, reading, and writing in a balanced and mutually supportive manner. The lecture and seminar courses aim to develop critical thinking and writing skills through in-depth study of a culture within a broader historical and comparative context.
Undergraduate majors who wish to pursue graduate degrees are encouraged to apply for admission to the departmental honors program.
Students considering a major or minor in the department should consult with the departmental undergraduate adviser as soon as possible in their university career, but in no case later than the point at which they are about to begin taking upper-division courses. Students should select courses to fulfill major or minor requirements in consultation with the undergraduate adviser. The approved list of courses for each category of major or minor requirements is available in the department office (290 Royce Hall) and on its website.
Students are not placed in Chinese, Filipino, Hindi-Urdu, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese language courses automatically according to their years of previous study. Students with any prior knowledge or study of an Asian language who wish to take courses in that language at UCLA are required to take the appropriate departmental language placement examination (see the Schedule of Classes or department website for more information). The examination determines which course is most appropriate for the student’s current level of proficiency. Students who have obtained college credit for Asian language courses may not repeat those same courses for credit. Prospective majors who place out of the upper-division modern language requirement are expected to substitute an equivalent number of other units to be selected in consultation with the departmental undergraduate adviser.
No credit is allowed for completing a less advanced course after successful completion of a more advanced Asian language course with focus on conversation, grammar, and/or composition.
At the graduate level, the department offers highly selective PhD degree programs that train research scholars for academic careers in various fields of Asian culture, including literature, linguistics, film, religion, and history.
Asian Languages and Cultures courses are in the following subject areas:
