Seattle [US], January 1 : The University of Washington has launched a new Master of Arts (MA) program in East Asia Studies, which includes a dedicated Taiwan Studies track, Taipei Times reported.
This new program, announced on December 19, is the first graduate degree in North America focused specifically on Taiwan studies, marking a significant step for academic offerings related to Taiwan.
The Taiwan Studies track is a part of the broader East Asia Studies MA program, which allows students to explore the culture, history, society, and contemporary issues of East Asia.
According to the university, students will have the opportunity to focus their coursework on one of the four major East Asian regions: China, Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan. The inaugural cohort of students will begin their classes in the autumn, with applications open until January 31, 2025.
Before this initiative, the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies offered the only Taiwan-focused postgraduate degree in the English-speaking world. With this new program, the University of Washington aims to fill an academic gap for students who wish to specialise in Taiwan studies, rather than taking more general East Asia courses, reported Taipei Times.
James Lin, an adjunct assistant professor at the university's Department of History, emphasised that this program caters to the growing demand for specialised Taiwan studies at the postgraduate level.
Although the university has offered Taiwan-related courses and events since 2017 under its Taiwan Studies Program at the East Asia Centre, the new MA track formalises and expands these offerings.
The program has received strong support from various institutions, including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange. The university's website highlights that faculty members offer a diverse range of courses in the social sciences and humanities, Taipei Times reported.
Students in this program can also pursue a concurrent degree option, allowing them to earn two degrees in three years instead of the usual four, combining their graduate studies with professional degrees.
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