The Honors Program

The department's honors program is open to select undergraduate students who want to distinguish themselves by engaging in an extended research project with close supervision from a faculty member. Honors students present their research in a departmental symposium held each spring.

To be eligible, a student must first complete 15 credit hours in one of our majors. As a rule, the student must have and maintain a grade point average of at least 3.5 in the major and 3.3 overall. Ordinarily, the student should submit an application (pdf or txt) [LINKS] to the department office (Goodbody 250) no later than the second semester of their junior year. Before submitting the application, the student should identify an honors thesis director who will advise the student during research and writing. The application is approved by EALC’s director of undergraduate studies. While working on the thesis, the student will enroll in H399 (Reading for Honors) and H499 (Honors Thesis). Only H499 will count toward the regular credit hour requirements of the major. The thesis advisor and one other faculty reader will grade the thesis. To qualify for honors at graduation, the thesis must receive a grade of A- or better.

If you have any questions, please contact the director of undergraduate studies, Professor Yasuko Watt, at ywatt@indiana.edu.

Departmental Awards

Each year, EALC awards several scholarships to outstanding EALC majors. These prestigious prizes, usually carrying a cash award between $500 and $1000, are awarded to undergraduates for excellence, as follows:

• Uehara Scholarhips: in honor of the late Professor Toyoaki Uehara, for undergraduates showing excellence in East Asian studies (the language may be Chinese, Japanese, or Korean).
• Yasuda Scholarship: in honor of Professor Emeritus Kenneth Yasuda, for undergraduates demonstrating excellence in Japanese studies.
• Gines Scholarship: given by EALC alumni James Gines and his wife, Noriko, for undergraduates combining excellence in an East Asian language with excellence in professional school studies.
• Paul Nutter Memorial Scholarship: in memory and honor of Paul Nutter, an EALC undergraduate Japanese major, for students in any East Asian language demonstrating the same heart and commitment to learning as Paul did.
• Korean Visiting Scholars' Award: established this year by a group of visiting Korean scholars to help promote excellence in the study of Korean language and culture.

There is no application process. Rather, each year a faculty committee solicits nominations from their faculty colleagues in EALC, and chooses the awardees from among the faculty-nominated students. You are welcome to talk with any of your EALC professors to express an interest in being nominated.

Roll of Scholarship Awardees

Uehara Scholarships

2007, Rebecca Gabriel, Steve Shyu, Hillary Demmon

2006, Joseph Brantley, Hillary Demmon, Steven Shyu
2005, Kyle Fry, Angela Proto, Michael Underwood
2004, Yoshiko Onoue, Andrew Sabo, Peter Voakes
2003, Alexander Eble, Timothy Markello, Andrew Shimunek, Mika Yuki
2002, Joseph (Lawton) King, Malcolm Morriss, Aaron Rio, Ming-Hwi Sun
2001, Mark Addison, Aaron Ermel, Jonathan Pettit, Patrick Spencer
2000, Aeng-lan Kim, Angela Sherrill, Eric Wesley
1999, Brooke Breese, Sean Huff, Sarah Seelye
1998, Paul Foreman, Franklin Rausch, Rebekah Wyatt
1997, Ezra Haggerty, Matthew Sikora, Pei June Tsai

Yasuda Scholarship

2007, Riva Jewell-Vitale

2006, Brett Norris
2005, Luke Winikates
2004, Emily Sekine
2003, Sean Stone
2002, Chrissy Stouder
2001, Lynn Cheng
2000, Anna Peeples
1999, Jennifer Gregg
1998, Amy Painter
1997, Eric Roberts

Gines Scholarship

2007, Tyler Fry  

2006, Daniel Stanko
2005, Aaron Cantrell
2004, Stephen Getz
2003, Sarah Mussett
2002, James (J.W.) Malenkos
2001, Harvey Beasley
2000, Scott Palmer
1999, Ariel Leinwand

Nutter Memorial Scholarship

           2007, Mike Graff

           2006, Allison Buess
           2005, Alexander Eble
           2004, Ryan Powers
           2003, Sophia Swanson
           2002, Ben Downey

Korean Visiting Scholars' Award

            2007, Brett Hunsaker

Language Houses

Currently students who study Japanese have a chance to be immersed in a Japanese language environment by living in the Japan House, the next best thing to living in Japan. For more information, click here. A China House and Korea House are also in the planning stages.

Study Abroad

Whether you major in language and culture or East Asian studies, all EALC majors are strongly encouraged study abroad. Students often go abroad for a semester or full academic year during their junior year, but just as many spend a summer (or two!) in East Asia. Not only is study abroad a critical way to consolidate language skills, it provides a first-hand opportunity to experience East Asian societies and cultures. Students regularly return to Bloomington invigorated and with a greater sense of their career direction.

Currently, IU has programs in China (Hong Kong and Nanjing) and Japan (Nagoya and Tokyo).

• Hong Kong
• Nanjing
• Nagoya
• Tokyo

Tuition on these programs is equal to tuition at Indiana University-Bloomington, and credits are easily transferable. Students may enroll in other study abroad programs in these countries, but students should determine in advance policies and procedures for transfer credit and IU-related financial aid.

More general information about study abroad is available from the IU Overseas Study Office, located in Franklin Hall 303, (812) 855-9304.