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About Asian Languages & Literatures at UMass Amherst

Asian Languages and Literatures became part of the established curriculum at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1969 with the founding of degree programs in Chinese and Japanese by the late Professor William E. Naff. After more than four decades of growth we still take very seriously our founding mission--to share knowledge and understanding of the rich cultures of Asia with the students of this land-grant university as an essential part of their preparation to participate in a global society. Founded as Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1863, when the U.S. was just becoming aware of the importance of East Asia in the modern world, UMass Amherst is the only public institution of higher education in New England to offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Chinese and Japanese. Because of this we attract students from the entire Northeast region. The Regional Student Program makes our programs particularly good value for New England students from outside of Massachusetts. The students and faculty also benefit from the excellent library that UMass Amherst offers--visit our East Asian Collection online to see for yourself.

Our undergraduate major programs offer students a sound command of the languages as well as a solid background in literature, linguistics, culture, and civilization. Our minor programs offer a combination of skills which can greatly enrich the undergraduate experience and increase postgraduate possibilities. Our study-abroad programs are aimed at increasing students' fluency in Chinese and Japanese as well as deepening their understanding of those cultures. Students attaining the Bachelor of Arts degree have gone on to graduate school, to positions in various businesses (banking, marketing, exporting, investing) in the United States and in Asia, to teaching in Japan and Taiwan, to careers in journalism, diplomacy, government agencies, library science, museums, writing and more.

Students attaining the Master of Arts degree to date have gone on to Ph.D. programs (University of California, Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, University of British Columbia, University of Washington) or to law school; others work for investment firms, cross-cultural programs, or in teaching.

 

Who should I contact in the Chinese and Japanese programs?

Person	Contact this person if you want information about ...
Main Office	Graduate Program, financial matters, faculty request, ect.
Mary Ellen White Maynard	Undergraduate classes and course schedule
Elena Suet-Ying Chiu	Chinese Major and Minor (Students' last name starts with A-L)
David K. Schneider	Chinese Major and Minor (Students' last name starts with M-Z)
Reiko Sono	Japanese Major and Minor (Students' last name starts with A-L)
Stephen M. Forrest	Japanese Major and Minor (Students' last name starts with M-Z)
Zhongwei Shen	Linguistics and Chinese Major
Yuki Yoshimura	Linguistics and Japanese Major
Doris G. Bargen	Commonwealth Honors College Students
Enhua Zhang	Chinese M.A. program
Stephen Miller	Japanese M.A. program
Zhongwei Shen	Study abroad in China
Stephen M. Forrest	Study abroad in Japan
Laurel Foster-Moore	Study abroad in Asia (IPO), Study abroad fair, Study abroad scholarships
Zhijun Wang	Chinese language placement test, Chinese Language TAship, Undergraduate Chinese Language tutors
Yuki Yoshimura	Japanese language placement test, Japanese Language TAship, Undergraduate Japanese language tutors
Amanda Seaman	The Asian Languages and Literatures Unit (Program Director)