Calligraphy Brushes, San Francisco
Photograph by Peter Schurmann
Welcome to Asian Studies at UC Berkeley! As an incoming transfer student, you might be thinking about declaring our majors in Chinese or Japanese Studies. In order to help you make that decision, we have put together the following information and events for you.
Hilary Finchum-Sung
101 Stephens Hall
(510) 643-5814
asianst@berkeley.edu
Welcome Reception and Information Session for New and Transfer Students September 8, 2008, 12-1 p.m., 101 Stephens Hall Terrace
We also require a minimum of two years of either Chinese or Japanese. If you major in Chinese studies, your language must be Chinese. If you major in Japanese Studies, your language must be Japanese. Students can take a proficiency test to assess their level.
Information on the Chinese Placement Exam can be found at: http://ealc.berkeley.edu/placementtest.htm.
Information on the Japanese Proficiency Exam can be found at: http://japanese.berkeley.edu/.
Though you indicated an interest in an L&S major upon your application, once at Cal, you will need to declare your major. The first step for declaring the major in Asian Studies is to visit/contact the undergraduate advisor before your first semester at Berkeley. Transfer students benefit most by meeting the Undergraduate Major Adviser (see above) to learn about the details of the major, including options for internships, study abroad, and special research. You should, as well, plan on enrolling in and completing the pre-requisite courses your first semester. Once you are sure that the major is right for you, you can begin declaration paperwork with the major advisor. You can get the declaration form here. Once your declaration of the major is approved, the undergraduate advisor will sign the form and you will need to bring it to the L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising at 113 Campbell Hall. Once the College receives and approves your declaration, you will be officially declared as an Asian Studies major.
Ten-week intensive language workshops in Chinese and Japanese are offered in the summer. Each course is equivalent to one year of language training and carries ten semester units of credit. Classes meet five days a week for four hours each morning. Workshop applications may be obtained online from the Summer Sessions Office, or from 22 Wheeler Hall, University of California,Berkeley, California 94720; (510) 642-5611.
We recommend that transfer students spend their first semester completing any remaining prerequisite courses and taking language classes.
Students admitted for the Spring, can take courses in the fall preceding registration at Cal only as described in their "Conditions of Admission" (see your MyBerkeleyApp account). If applicable, Spring Transfer students should finish all remaining prerequisites, any remaining breadths, and possibly AC course matches. (See Assist.org.)
Spring transfer admits should note that Asian Studies 10 is only offered in the Fall and thus spring admits should be sure to plan accordingly, ie, take the sequence in their second and third semesters if they cannot take it in advance.
Transfer students might find the following resources particularly helpful: