Master's in Modern East Asian Studies (MEAS) Goethe University Frankfurt

I. An interdisciplinary, research-oriented and international Master’s programme

During the course of this two-year MA programme, students will become experts on modern East Asia (including Southeast Asia), its historical roots, and the economic, legal, political and social issues encountered in this dynamic region.

They will also improve their language skills. Students take beginners' or advanced language classes in either Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese or Korean. This will allow them to work with original sources and texts in their term papers and the MA thesis.

Along the way, they will develop their methodological and theoretical skills as they attend lectures and take electives on a range of core disciplines, including history, law, management and political sciences.

This interdisciplinary, research-oriented MA programme will prepare students for doing their PhD and pursuing an academic career relating to East Asia – or for a professional career in this field, working in an international company or organisation.

II. Unity in diversity

The programme is taught in English and is designed to attract students from all continents. A competitive admission process ensures a uniform and high-calibre academic standard within an environment of diversity in terms of disciplines, nationalities, cultures and languages. The key admission criteria are outstanding Bachelor's degree grades and advanced academic writing skills.

III. Research in dialogue: the Interdisciplinary Centre for East Asian Studies

The MEAS programme is affiliated with the Goethe University's Interdisciplinary Centre for East Asian Studies (IZO). This means that students benefit from the centre's extensive expertise as well as its research activities and events.

I. Core lectures on East Asian societies

The core lectures cover the four core disciplines of the programme:

History: China's Great Transformations

Law: Theoretical Approaches to Law in East Asia

Management: Institutions and Innovation

Political Sciences: Democracies, Autocracies, and In-Betweens: Comparing State-Society Relations in East Asia

II. Language courses for beginners and advanced learners

Depending on a student’s language level, they take beginners' or advanced language classes in Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese or Korean. We do not teach intermediate courses.

Regarding the requirements for the advanced language courses, please see the MEAS website. Beginners' courses are open to students with no prior knowledge of the language. If you have studied any of the  languages, but do not meet the requirements for the advanced language course, please contact the MEAS coordinator.

III. Elective courses on East Asian societies

In these optional modules, students consider empirical phenomena relating to one East Asian country from a social-scientific perspective.

IV. Enhancing research skills: methods and concepts

Students attend a paper-reading course that focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to a range of topics, such as gender, sustainability and mobility in East Asia. In “Skills & Competences” seminars, students deepen their skills in the different methods used in social sciences and East Asia-related humanities.

V. Research, language or professional track

In the third semester, students will follow one of three possible pathways:

a) Research Track: students analyse and conduct empirical research, take additional elective courses and research skills modules, attend events at IZO and undertake a small-scale research project.

b) Language Track: students refine their language skills in the respective East Asian country and in accordance with their individual language level.

c) Professional Track: students reflect and extend their academic know-how in an East Asia related professional environment via internship. They organise the internship themselves so that it fits their specific interests and disciplinary background.

VI. Master's thesis

In their fourth semester, students work on their Master’s theses, culminating in a Master’s colloquium.

A detailed study schedule can be found at https://meas.uni-frankfurt.de.

Within the Professional Track, students reflect on and extend their academic know-how in an East Asia-related professional environment through an internship. The internship takes place in NGOs, international organisations, private companies, etc., related to East Asia. All in all, it has to cover 20 weeks of full-time work (or 720 hours), but it can be divided into several shorter or half-time internships. These can take place during the semester or the semester break. Although students have to organise and finance their internship individually, the programme and Goethe University provide information and advice.

The programme welcomes applications from students with a first degree in social sciences (especially law [including first state examination in law], management/economics, and political sciences), in East Asia-related humanities (Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, South-East Asian Studies) or in history or anthropology.

The assessment of each applicant will consider not only the quality of their first degree, but also their ability to draft an academically sound research proposal on a topic that aligns well with the MEAS programme (see research proposal guidelines on the MEAS website). This proposal has to be submitted with the other application documents.

The following documents are required:

• academic CV
• letter of motivation (500–600 words), including the name of a potential referee
• BA degree certificate and transcript of records
• Each applicant must submit a theoretically-based and academically sound research proposal (800 to 2000 words plus list of references) on a topic that aligns well with the MEAS programme. MEAS Research Proposal Guidelines can be downloaded from https://meas.uni-frankfurt.de.
• English language proficiency certificate (see below)
• language proficiency certificate for Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese or Korean (if available)
• APS certificate (applicants with a Bachelor's degree from China, India or Vietnam)
• If you are not an enrolled student of Goethe University Frankfurt: copy of the university entrance qualification (e.g. A-levels)

Goethe University does not charge any tuition fees. Instead, you will pay a semester fee of about 350 EUR, which includes a "semester ticket". This ticket entitles you to unlimited travel on public transport across Germany.

In Frankfurt, 44,000 companies and organisations have approx. 450,000 employees on their payrolls. In addition, Frankfurt is the financial centre of Germany, with 350 banks, including the European Central Bank, 150 foreign banks, and the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world. Furthermore, Frankfurt is home to various cultural and research institutions. These are key players in a flourishing economy, offering students and graduates interesting jobs and internships. During your studies, there are plenty of job opportunities at Goethe University Frankfurt itself (e.g. as a tutor or research assistant), or you may look for jobs and internships elsewhere in the greater Frankfurt area. Some job opportunities are particularly interesting for students from abroad, e.g. at the airport and the trade fair. The "Studentenwerk" and the Career Services at Goethe University Frankfurt can help you to find a suitable offer.

For scholarships and options to finance your studies, consult the website of Goethe University, which includes additional information for international students.

Goethe University Frankfurt provides a well-developed career service and has a lot of interesting offers, some of which are even tailor-made for students from abroad: https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/116635276/F%C3%BCr_internationale_Studierende?locale=en.

Accommodation

Frankfurt am Main offers a wide variety of accommodation, from university dorms to privately rented apartments. The biggest providers of dorms are the "Studierendenwerk" (student services) and churches.
The 26 dormitories offer more than 2,887 different accommodation units starting from 203 EUR per month for a single room to up to 590 EUR for a family apartment of 45m².

As these rooms are in high demand, we strongly recommend that students contact such organisations as soon as they receive their letter of acceptance to the programme.