Appendix
E
Asian
American Studies Interdepartmental Program
College of Letters and Science
Graduate
Degrees
The Asian American Studies Program offers the Master of Arts (M.A.)
degree in Asian American Studies.
Admission
In addition to the University's minimum requirements, applicants
for the M.A. program in Asian American Studies are expected to
present evidence of their previous interest in Asian American
studies through courses taken at the undergraduate level, by research
papers written independently or for related classes, or by work
experience in an Asian American community. In any case, applicants
are required to submit a paper or article, preferably on Asian
Americans, directly to the program as part of the application.
Three letters of recommendation are also required.
Asian
American Studies, M.A. /Public Health, M.P.H.
The Asian
American Studies Program and the Department of Community Health
Sciences in the School of Public Health offer a concurrent degree
program whereby students may pursue the M.A. in Asian American
Studies and the Master of Public Health at the same time. Students
must complete the program requirements for both degrees. However,
a maximum of 12 units of course work in Public Health may be applied
toward both the M.A. in Asian American Studies and the M.P.H.
When applying, the same statement of purpose may be submitted
to each program. Applicants interested in this concurrent program
should contact the Asian American Studies Program and the Student
Affairs Office, UCLA School of Public Health.
Asian
American Studies, M.A./Social Welfare, M.S.W.
The Asian
American Studies Program and the Department of Social Welfare
in the School of Public Policy and Social Research offer a concurrent
program whereby students may pursue the M.A. in Asian American
Studies and the Master of Social Welfare at the same time. Students
must complete the program requirements for both degrees. However,
a maximum of eight units of coursework in Social Welfare may be
applied toward both the M.A. in Asian American Studies and the
M.S.W. Applicants may submit the same statement of purpose to
each program but all other parts of the application process are
separate to each graduate program. Applicants interested in the
concurrent degree program should contact the Asian American Studies
Program and the Department of Social Welfare.
Advising
One of the criteria for admission is that a faculty member in
the program agrees to supervise the student's work. Therefore,
the student's interim academic adviser is assigned upon admission.
The student is expected to meet with the interim academic adviser,
at the beginning of each quarter, to review their progress and
for approval of their enrollment plan. If the student decides
to change an academic adviser as the student’s project evolves
or for any other reason, the change will be effected after discussion
between the student and the academic adviser. At the beginning
of the second year in residence, students are expected to nominate
a three-person master's thesis committee, which, once approved
by the program, is sent to the Graduate Division for appointment.
This committee, which is usually chaired by the student's academic
adviser, is responsible for supervising, reviewing, and finally
approving the M.A. thesis. The committee also conducts an examination
of the student on the topic of the thesis. Students who plan to
complete the M.A. degree through a written comprehensive examination
rather than a thesis follow the specific procedures outlined under
Comprehensive Examination Plan.
Areas
of Study
The Asian American Studies program is interdepartmental and its
major fields are determined by the participating faculty from
various departments.
Foreign
Language Requirement
Prior to advancement
to candidacy, the student must fulfill either Requirement A or
Requirement B:
A. Foreign
Language Examination: Two years of university coursework
or the equivalent in an Asian language. This requirement may be
fulfilled prior to entering the program. If this option is chosen,
the student must pass a proficiency examination administered by
the interdepartmental committee.
B. Research
Methods Requirement: Three upper division or graduate courses
in research methods, for example, statistics, computer science,
field and observational techniques, or archival materials. Courses
should be selected from the interdepartmental committee's Approved
List of Research Methods Courses.
The student
must justify the choice of Requirement A or B in a written statement.
The rationale must specify the courses selected and how they directly
relate to the student’s research and career goals.
Course
Requirements
A total of 11 graduate and upper division courses is required
for the degree. Three courses must be the Asian American Studies
graduate core courses: Asian American Studies 200A, 200B, and
200C. An additional three graduate courses must be selected from
Anthropology 231, Education 204D, 253G, English M260A, History
201H, 246A, 246B, 246C, Law M315, Sociology 235, 261, M263. The
remaining five courses are elective courses; however, at least
one must be a graduate level course. The remaining four may be
graduate or upper-division undergraduate courses. Only two courses
in the 500 series may be applied towards the five elective courses;
only one of the two may be applied toward the required seven graduate
courses. All five of the elective courses must beapproved by the
faculty adviser. These courses, should be selected to give the
student additional training in a discipline or greater understanding
of a particular topic..
Teaching
Experience
Not required.
Field
Experience
Not required.
Comprehensive
Examination Plan
Plan A.
Written Comprehensive Exam: The M.A. degree may be completed
through a written comprehensive examination. The written examination
is administered by a committee consisting of at least three faculty
members appointed annually by the administrative head of the interdepartmental
program in Asian American Studies. The examination is based on
an annually updated Approved List of Core Works in Asian American
Studies, a collection of books, novels, articles, and reports
in the field of Asian American studies. The examination is normally
offered during the break between the Winter and Spring quarters.
Students must notify the administrative head of the interdepartmental
program of their intention to take the written examination at
least one academic quarter before it is administered. Students
are given two chances to pass the examination. Academic credit
for examination preparation is given through Asian American Studies
596.
Plan B.
Creative Project: This option is intended to provide the
opportunity to deigns, conduct research for, and complete a creative
project (e.g., short-story or poetry collection, art exhibit,
documentary film, or playscript) with significance regarding some
aspect of the historical or contemporary experiences of Asian
Americans. A committee of three faculty members is normally constituted
by the beginning of the student’s second year in residence
in the Fall Quarter, at which time the student is expected to
submit for approval a project plan and timetable. After approval
and completion of the thesis project, the committee conducts an
oral examination on its subject, usually in the Spring Quarter
of the second year. If the student chooses to do a non-written
creative project (e.g. film, mural), it must be accompanied by
an essay that will be filed as the thesis. The content of this
thesis, in tandem with the project, must be approved by the student's
committee members. The approved thesis must be typed and filed
according to University regulations governing thesis preparation.
Academic credit for thesis research and preparation is given through
Asian American Studies 598
Thesis
Plan
Plan A.
Thesis: The thesis is intended to provide the opportunity
for independent scholarly research on the historical and contemporary
experiences of the Asian American population and should be an
original contribution to the field. It should be the length and
quality of a publishable journal article. A thesis committee of
three faculty members is normally constituted by the beginning
of the student's second year in residence in the Fall Quarter,
at which time the student is expected to submit a plan of research
for approval. After approval and completion of the thesis, the
committee conducts an oral examination on its subject, usually
in the Spring Quarter of the second year. The approved thesis
must be typed and filed according to University regulations governing
thesis preparation. Academic credit for thesis research and preparation
is given through Asian American Studies 598.
Plan B.
Field Research Thesis: A field research thesis is recommended
for the student who is interested in the practical application
of what has been learned in the student’s graduate coursework,
or for the student who intends to pursue a career with Asian American
community organizations and agencies. A field research thesis
committee, consisting of three faculty members (one of whom is
designated as the chair) and possibly the chief administrative
officer of the client community organization, meets with the student
and approves the project plan at the beginning of the student's
second year in residence in the Fall Quarter. The chief administrative
officer of the client community organization may either be appointed
as an additional member of the committee, in which case the officer
would be expected to read and sign the thesis as the fourth member,
or serve as an unofficial and non-appointed consultant for the
student, in which case the officer would not sign the thesis.
After the thesis is completed, the committee conducts an oral
examination on the written report of the thesis, usually in Spring
Quarter of the student's second year. The approved thesis report
must be typed and filed according to University regulations governing
thesis preparation. Academic credit for field research is given
through course 596 or 598.
After the
thesis is completed under Plan A or B the student will give a
copy to the Asian American Studies Reading Room.
Time-to-Degree
The M. A. degree is designed as a two-year program of study. It
is estimated that six quarters in residence are required from
time of admission to award of degree. This estimate presumes there
are no deficiencies or non-related courses required such as the
English 33 series for international students. Therefore, the student
should aim to complete the coursework requirement during the first
four quarters of study. The student must complete the foreign
language/research methods requirement by the fifth quarter, in
order to ensure the processing of petitions for graduation at
the end of the sixth quarter of residency. As the result, the
student who opts to fulfill the foreign language requirement and
starts at quarter level one of the language in the first quarter
of residency will, due to the time mandated by Graduate Division
for the posting of grades and processing of petitions, graduate
in the seventh quarter.
The student
should complete the thesis, or comprehensive exam, by the sixth
quarter of residency.
The following
suggested timetable for the first year is based upon a regular
fall admission:
Fall
1) Meet with the student’s assigned interim academic adviser
at the start of the quarter to discuss class schedules;
2) Take AAS200A and two elective courses;
3) Begin to explore thesis research areas with the student’s
faculty adviser or other faculty.
Winter
1) Meet with the student’s interim academic adviser at
the beginning of the quarter to discuss class schedule;
2) Take AAS200C and two elective courses;
3) Mid-way through the quarter, meet with graduate adviser to
confirm the choice of academic adviser;
4) Start developing potential thesis topic in conjunction with
the academic adviser.
Spring
1) Meet with academic adviser at the beginning of the quarter
to discuss class schedule;
2) Take AAS200B and two elective courses;
3) Throughout the quarter, and in consultation with the student’s
academic adviser and other faculty, the student should finalize
a thesis topic, or a comprehensive examination plan, and establish
the thesis or exam committee;
4) At the end of the quarter, the student should submit a progress
report.
Summer
The student should use the summer and following months to conduct
research for the thesis.
During the
fall quarter of the second year, the student should take at least
one course in the 500 series and two other graduate or upper-division
courses to fulfill the M. A. coursework requirements.
The second year should be devoted primarily to thesis research
and writing or preparation for the comprehensive examination.
Termination
of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination
University
Policy
The student
who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for
termination of graduate study. The student may be disqualified
from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons.
The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative
grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to
remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade
point average). Other examples include failure of examinations,
lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance
in core courses. The probationary student (those with cumulative
grade point averages below 3.00) is subject to immediate dismissal
upon the recommendation of the department.
University
guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including
the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures
for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Special
Departmental or Program Policy
The academic
adviser may recommend termination for failure to maintain specified
required progress toward the degree, failure of the oral examination,
or failure to submit an acceptable thesis a second time. The student
may appeal a recommendation for termination to the full interdepartmental
committee.
