MA in Korean Humanism
- Program Overview
In recent years, the global popularity of K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean cinema has reshaped public and academic interest in Korean culture. While this cultural wave has opened exciting new avenues for research, it has also led to the underrepresentation of premodern studies within the broader field of Korean Studies.
At Stony Brook University, we believe that a meaningful understanding of Korea’s contemporary culture must be grounded in its intellectual and literary past. Our program is therefore committed to re-centering the classical tradition and equipping a new generation of scholars with the tools to explore Korea’s humanistic legacy and its modern relevance.
The Korean Humanism Track in the Asian and Asian American Studies M.A. Program is dedicated to training future scholars of premodern Korean literature, history, and philosophy. Designed for students with a passion for classical texts and a commitment to advancing research in Korea’s rich humanistic traditions, the program offers a rigorous academic curriculum supported by some full tuition scholarships through a grant from the Academy of Korean Studies.
- Courses
- Requirements
30 credits, including 24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of thesis. More specifically, students are required to take the following:
- Seminar on research methods (3 credits)
- AAS 501: Research Methodology in AAAS
- Four core courses (12 credits)
- AAS 511 Reading Classical Texts in Korean Humanism 1
- AAS 512 Reading Classical Texts in Korean Humanism 2
- AAS 536 Korean Humanism in Modern History
- AAS 538 Korean Humanists: Lives and Works
- Two electives in Korean Humanism (6 credits)
- AAS 532 Humanities Topics in Korean Studies
- AAS 500 Intellectual History of East Asia
- AAS 537 History of Korea
- AAS 539 Korean Literature
- AAS 532 (?) Language and Society in Korea (a proposal will be submitted soon)
- A course in any relevant field of interest chosen in consultation with the program director.
- One course in any of the following categories in AAAS (3 credits)
- Language and Cross-Cultural Communication
- Culture and Heritage
- Politics and Society
- Contemporary Asian Diaspora
- Thesis (6 credits)
- AAS 587 Supervised Research in Asian Studies
- Seminar on research methods (3 credits)
- Faculty
Program Director: Dr. Hongkyung Kim (Confucianism, intellectual history, literature)
Teaching Faculty
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- Dr. Heejeong Sohn (history, language)
- Dr. Mark Setton (Confucianism, intellectual history)
- Dr. Peter Moody (intellectual history, North Korea)
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- Scholarships
Thanks to the generous support of the Academy of Korean Studies, up to three full-tuition scholarships are available. The scholarship application and review process are separate from the general admission application and review.
After submitting your graduate school application, please complete the scholarship application using this form. Scholarship results will be announced together with the admission notification.
For any questions, please contact Dr. Hongkyung Kim (hongkyung.kim@stonybrook.edu).
- Application Guidelines
The M.A. in Korean Humanism is one of the graduate tracks in Contemporary Asian and Asian American Studies. Applicants for admission to the Master’s program are expected to hold a Bachelor’s degree (in any field) and have basic proficiency (two years of formal study or equivalent) in at least one Asian language. Applicants are required to submit the following materials:
- Undergraduate transcript
- Statement of purpose (500-1000 words)
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official report of TOEFL (including TOEFL Home Edition), or IELTS (for international applicants from non-English speaking countries). See the details.
- GRE is NOT required
Deadlines
- Fall admissions: May 1st- Spring admissions: November 1st
- Early consideration deadline for all students: February 15th
** Priority deadline for scholarship consideration: January 15th
Scholarships: If you are applying for a scholarship as well, submit the scholarship application here.
