Applications for Fall 2024 enrollment are now open on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences online portal. The deadline is February 22, 2024.
The Master of Arts in Regional Studies: East Asia (MARSEA) is an interdisciplinary course of study housed within the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. MARSEA provides intensive graduate training in the social scientific study of modern and contemporary East Asia. The program may be completed in one academic year or it may be extended to three or four semesters. A rigorous and innovative curriculum, including a yearlong “core seminar” that supports the process of writing the M.A. thesis, gives students the opportunity to work closely with Columbia’s world-class faculty. In coursework as well as individual research projects, MARSEA students develop and hone the skills necessary to analyze effectively the single most dynamic region of the world today--and to make sense of its past, present, and future. Graduates are prepared for entry into doctoral programs or professional degree programs (such as law, business, social work, journalism), or for careers in government, NGOs, education, think tanks, and business. Since its founding over 20 years ago, the MARSEA program has also trained numerous mid-career professionals--diplomats, military officers, and journalists, among others--seeking to deepen their understanding of the Asia-Pacific region.