Grading Policy
All students admitted into the Ph.D. program are assumed to possess the capacity to complete the program successfully. At the same time, the quality of student performance is continually evaluated. Course grades, completed course work, timely progress on preparation of language competency, comprehensive examinations, the dissertation proposal, and the dissertation are important considerations in evaluating student performance. Student performance in these areas will be continuously and carefully monitored, and any failure to meet stated deadlines may be grounds for probation.
Courses taken for the degree cannot be taken pass/fail. GSAS requires students to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher and successfully complete at least two thirds of points attempted at NYU, excluding the current semester. Courses with grades of "I", "NR", "W", and "F" are not considered successfully completed. Students also must be within time to degree limits (see 5.8 of the GSAS PP Manual). These GSAS standards are minimal requirements for academic good standing.
GPAs are calculated based on the following scale: A 4.0 = Excellent work A- 3.667 = Very good work B+ 3.333 = Work needs improvement B 3.0 = Inadequate B- 2.667 C+ 2.333 C 2.0
An unresolved grade, "I" or "NR" reverts to "F" one year after the beginning of the semester in which the course was taken. Extension of the incomplete grade "I" beyond the one year deadline may be petitioned with the program and submitted for approval by the GSAS Office of Academic and Student Affairs (OASA). No extension will be allowed for "NR" grades.
In order to remain in the program, “Incompletes” cannot be carried from one academic year to the next. Each year’s coursework must be completed by August 15 at the latest, and final grades submitted. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that coursework is submitted well in advance of the August 15 deadline, in order to allow time for the final grade to be filed.
A student placed on probation will receive a letter from the DGS stating the specific reasons for probation, the specific terms for removal from probation, and a date by which the student’s status will be re-evaluated. If the student has not fulfilled the stated requirements by that date, as determined by the advisor and the DGS, the student will be terminated.
Students have the right to appeal a decision of either probation or termination. A student who wishes to appeal must state his or her case in a letter to a panel, specially convened by the chair, consisting of three faculty members within the department, normally drawn from the Planning and Advisory Committee, who have not previously worked with the student. The student will also meet with that panel in person, and the panel will meet separately with the faculty members who made the determination of probation or termination. If the panel rules against the student, the student has the right to appeal to GSAS. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with GSAS rules regarding probation and appeal in the aforementioned GSAS Policies and Procedures Manual.
Financial Aid and External Funding
Incoming EAS Ph.D. students are admitted with a five-year MacCracken Fellowship, or with a combination of outside funding and a MacCracken Fellowship. No teaching is required as a condition of holding these fellowships, although the department strongly advises sufficient teaching to develop skills that are fundamental to full preparation as a professional.
Teaching
Teaching provides important training and experience for those seeking academic careers, and varied teaching experience offers a significant advantage on the academic job market.
Currently there exist two forms of teaching assignments: Course Assistant (grading papers, consulting with students on papers in office hours) or Teaching Assistant (teaching discussion sections in a large lecture course, grading papers for that course, consulting with students on readings and on their writing assignments). Teaching provides opportunities for students to observe the faculty at work in the classroom, and the faculty instructor takes responsibility for assisting in the development as teachers of those graduate student teachers who are assigned to her or his course. In addition, GSAS and the department offer various workshops on teaching.
The department makes every effort to assign students to courses in their fields of interest, although this is not always possible. At the same time, teaching experience outside the student's own field can enhance both professional development and candidacy on the job market.
Teaching assignments are dependent on undergraduate enrollments and cannot be guaranteed.
Advanced (ABD) graduate students may also have the opportunity to teach a summer session course of their own design. There are, however, limited slots for such courses, and they can only be offered if there is sufficient enrollment.
Time to Degree
According to GSAS rules, students entering the program with a BA degree must complete the Ph.D. within ten years, and students entering with an MA degree must complete the Ph.D. within seven years. Official leaves of absence are not counted within the time to degree. With the support of the DGS, students and their advisors may petition the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs for an extension of time to degree.
Job Placement After Graduation
With a competitive national job market, students must begin preparing themselves early in their graduate careers. Such preparation may include making sure any teaching done is evaluated and documented, particularly any innovative and successful teaching strategies developed or used. It also means seeking competitive grants, presenting papers at conferences, and eventually submission of appropriate manuscripts for article publication in refereed journals.
Students are encouraged to speak with their advisors well before they are ready to enter the job market. These discussions should include matters such as preparing a CV and application letter, requesting letters of recommendation, a statement on their approaches to teaching, and selecting a writing sample. Students are also encouraged to attend the department's workshops on preparing for the market, and to set up mock job talks within the department. As part of the professionalization process, students are encouraged to attend special workshops, lectures by guest speakers, job talks, and other departmental events.
Students planning to be on the job market should begin to prepare their application materials by the start of the fall semester. Advisors are expected to work closely with students to prepare a competitive application.
Students should take care to notice and adhere to application deadlines, and make sure their materials are prepared well in advance of the time most applications are due. This work should be completed in September. (New information—such as an article accepted or some honor—can sometimes be added later.) Students should contact their advisors for letters of reference well before they need the letters, and they should keep their advisors informed of every position for which they are applying.
GSAS Transfer Credits Policy
GSAS programs accept transfer credit from accredited graduate institutions. Students in the program must apply for transfer credit within their first academic year of attendance as a matriculant. Courses for which a degree has already been awarded or for courses older than ten years may not be applied toward a GSAS master's degree. Eligible courses must have a grade of B or better, or a grade of P or S from a pass/fail system, and must be relevant to East Asian Studies. Transfer course equivalency is not granted for EAS core course credit; equivalency is only granted for EAS elective or general elective credits. Individual course credit must be transferred point for point.
GSAS awards international transfer credit in accordance with current guidelines regarding equivalency as determined annually by Graduate Enrollment Services. EAS students may transfer up to 12 graduate level credits from an accredited institution. All requests must be accompanied by a sealed, official copy of your transcript.
Please first discuss your intent to transfer credits with your faculty advisor or DGS. Provide the institution and course information, as well as the syllabi, any significant work completed for the course(s), and unofficial transcript (if available). Confirm with faculty what the transfer course equivalency would be (EAS elective, general elective). Once preliminary approval is given, please request a sealed, official copy of your transcript from the institution where the credit(s) was earned (and translation if necessary). Submit the transcript to the Graduate Administrator aide along with the completed Transfer Credit Request Form. GSAS has final authority to approve credit transfers. The DGS only approves the transfer in terms of the content matter of the course. The Graduate Administrator will notify the student of the outcome of the request.
Repeated Courses
Students will not be granted credit for a course that is repeated. The one exception to this rule is for the “topics” courses. Provided that the syllabus is substantially different, a student may repeat the course for credit. Be careful to register for a different section each time. If, when checking your transcript, you find that you have not received full credit for such repeated courses or for a year-long course, please see the Graduate Administrator.
Graduation
Students graduate in September, January or May. The NYU commencement ceremony for all schools is held in May. In order to graduate in a specific semester, students must apply for graduation within the application deadline period. It is recommended that students apply for graduation no later than the beginning of the semester in which they plan to complete all program requirements. Students are responsible for knowing the deadlines associated with the term in which they plan on graduating, and getting all the necessary materials to the proper offices. See the Registrar’s Graduation webpage for more information and detailed instructions related to applications, deadlines, commencements, diplomas, honors, and expected term of graduation. Below are guidelines to follow pertaining to graduation:
Students’ Religious Observance and Class Attendance
As a nonsectarian, inclusive institution, NYU policy permits members of any religious group to absent themselves from classes without penalty when required for compliance with their religious obligations. The policy and principles to be followed by students and faculty may be found at https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/policies-and-guidelines/university-calendar-policy-on-religious-holidays.html.
Plagiarism Policy
A COMMUNITY OF THE MIND
New York University is a "community of the mind." Its students, faculty, and staff all share the goal of pursuing truth through free and open inquiry, and we support one another's endeavors in this regard. As in any community, membership comes with certain rights and responsibilities. Foremost among these is academic integrity. Cheating on an exam, falsifying data, or having someone else write a paper undermines others who are doing it on their own; it makes it difficult or impossible to assess fairly a student's interest, aptitude, and achievement; and it diminishes the cheater, depriving him/her of an education. Most importantly, academic dishonesty is a violation of the very principles upon which the academy is founded. Thus, one of the first things that we ask of students entering the program is to recognize these principles of academic integrity. For this reason also, violations of these principles are treated with the utmost seriousness. Perhaps the most serious form of academic dishonesty is plagiarism.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is copying someone else’s work and portraying it as your own without properly referencing it (i.e., not citing it). For further clarification please see Indiana University Bloomington’s comprehensive website on how to recognize plagiarism: https://indiana.edu/~istd. Plagiarism can be done purposefully or accidentally – either way it is still plagiarism. Plagiarism will be dealt with according to GSAS Regulations. This is a severe offense, and is not to be taken lightly. If you need assistance on understanding plagiarism please see the DGS immediately.
If a faculty member suspects plagiarism in a piece of work the faculty member with knowledge of the facts shall file a complaint with the EAS DGS per section 9 of the GSAS Policies and Procedures Manual. The EAS DGS will notify the student in writing of the complaint within two working days of receipt of the complaint.
If a student’s work is suspected of plagiarism, the student will be requested by the DGS to meet with a faculty panel consisting of the DGS and one permanent faculty member. The student will be asked to explain the case of plagiarism and the student will be queried about the issue and provided with the evidence the program has used to determine the existence of plagiarism.
The faculty panel has a range of options regarding decisions, but in cases where plagiarism has been found the penalties are as follows:
If a student is found guilty of plagiarism, in the first instance the student receives a fail for the piece of work. The guilty verdict will be placed on the student’s file and the student will receive a written warning of their violation.
If a student is found guilty of a second case of plagiarism the student will be removed from the program permanently.
The student may reject the program’s resolution. If there is no consensual resolution of the situation then the DGS will forward the program’s complaint of plagiarism to the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, in which case the procedures outlined in section 9 of the GSAS Policies and Procedures manual will apply.