Contemporary East Asian Studies (CEAS), M.A.
The MA Contemporary East Asian Studies (CEAS) is an English-taught social science-based program with a contemporary and interdisciplinary profile. The focus of the program is the theoretical and problem-centered analysis of societies, politics and economies in East Asia and includes intensive training in an East Asian language.
Programme facts
| Degree | Master of Arts (M.A.) |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 semesters, 120 ECTS |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Required English | C1 |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Winter semester |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
| Admission | Admission restriction (NC): a competition of school grades |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €304.62 per semester |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
The programme has an admission restriction: the average grade of your certificate, converted to the German scale, decides. The cut-off changes every year — last year's value shows the order of magnitude, not a promise.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →About the programme
The Master’s in Contemporary East Asian Studies is an English-taught social science-based program with a contemporary and interdisciplinary profile. The program offers research-focused training for highly qualified graduates with a BA or similar in politics, international relations, sociology or economics. Depending on an applicant’s prior education and training, conditional admission may be granted requiring up to 30 ECTS credits in additional courses.
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The principal focus of the MA program is the theoretical and problem-centered analysis of societies, politics and economies in East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea) and includes intensive training in an East Asian language.
Its aim is to deepen and enrich the student's skills in assessing contemporary change, the challenges facing the East Asian region and the implications of such developments for Europe.
What you study
The two-year MA Program MA CEAS offers Chinese, Japanese or Korean language and the choice of a discipline corresponding to the student’s previous degree (sociology, political science or economics). It combines intensive language training with interdisciplinary and discipline-specific modules focusing on Chinese, Japanese and Korean studies. The program’s aim is to deepen and enrich the students’ skills in assessing contemporary change, the challenges facing the East Asian region and the implications of such developments for Europe.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCareer
Our MA CEAS graduates are qualified
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- for further studies at the doctoral level,
- for high-level positions in multinational corporations, in politics/political consulting, in governmental and non-governmental think tanks and institutions, and in international organizations where intensive knowledge of East Asia and language competency is in high demand.
Several of our alumni have gone on to pursue a PhD degree. Local destinations for research-oriented graduates of our MA programs include the BMBF-funded IN-EAST School of Advanced Studies or the MERCUR-supported Alliance for Research on East Asia AREA Ruhr.
Cost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €304.62 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | We are looking for highly qualified international students with excellent skills and motivation to take on the challenges of this demanding study program. |
|---|---|
| Language | English C1 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Directly to the university, winter semester until 15.07 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 3Application directly to the university until 15.07Send the documents well before the deadline — an incomplete application cannot be completed after it.
- 4Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 15.07.2027 (274 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.