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Seongun Park
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies for Juniors |
The ADUS for Juniors is the first point of contact junior primary and secondary concentrators will have with the East Asian Studies Program. Like the ADUS-F/S, the ADUS-J is a PhD candidate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations who is familiar with the department and its faculty. During junior year, you’ll meet with the ADUS-J at least three times for an extended one-on-one conversation, which is usually a combination of friendly catch-up and actionable “to-do list” style advising. The first meeting occurs a few weeks before classes begin. The ADUS-J will talk you through the department’s course offerings for the semester. The ADUS-J is well-acquainted with all faculty in the East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department, as well as those in other departments whose research and teaching interests cover East Asia. Such knowledge is immediately useful when you are deciding on coursework that best meets the requirements of your concentration track. Additionally, the ADUS-J is familiar with the three primary sources of funding for research and language study concerning East Asia at Harvard: the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, and the Korea Institute. While funding opportunities are readily searchable on each of these institute’s websites, it is often useful to work with the ADUS-J on an itemized action plan so you can submit applications in a timely and well-ordered fashion. The second one-on-one meeting occurs around November, both as a mid-semester check-in and a debriefing on whether you plan to write a thesis in your senior year. For those interested in writing a thesis and graduating with honors, this is an important meeting. It will tell you if your thesis idea will find support, and from which faculty, as well as the projected timeline of your research and writing process. This timeline aims to clarify the important building blocks of your project, including: talking to a number of faculty to find a mentor; building a rapport with your thesis advisor through active conversation; taking courses with your advisor; and discussing the minutiae of thesis-writing (i.e., a proposal, an outline, a bibliography, a set of primary materials, etc.). This conversation should reduce your anxiety about undertaking a 50-80–page thesis project, and ensure that you feel supported every step of the way. The third one-on-one meeting takes place in January, usually a week before the spring semester begins. Here, the ADUS-J will check in on coursework “milestones” and help you create another action plan so as to remain on top of the requirements for your track. For those pursuing the honors track, this meeting is an important opportunity for a candid conversation on how well (or if) you are developing a cordial and productive relationship with your faculty thesis advisor. As students will usually have secured a faculty advisor by December of the preceding semester, any desire for certain adjustments--such as replacing the faculty advisor, casting a wider net to find a more suitable advisor, or finding a second faculty advisor in EALC--can find emotional and advisory support in this meeting. If desired, the ADUS-J can help you get in touch with the relevant faculty.
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