The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Washington University is one of the nation's oldest centers for the study of China and Japan. The program offers an impressive range of courses in modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean through the advanced level, in addition to classical language study in Chinese and Japanese. Students are also encouraged to enhance their cultural knowledge by enrolling in cultural-related courses offered through other departments and programs, such as anthropology, art history, film and media studies, history, performing arts, and religious studies.

Beginning in Fall 2021 the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures will offer one unified undergraduate major and minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures which allows students to explore our three linguistic and cultural traditions - Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Students may pursue a focused approach to their studies by studying one of our languages and may choose among the range of non-language courses to enhance their grounding in the East Asian nation of their choice.  For graduate students, the department offers masters programs in Chinese, Japanese, and East Asian Studies, along with doctoral programs in Chinese language and literature, Japanese language and literature, Chinese and comparative literature, and Japanese and comparative literature.

To enhance understanding of these cultures, the department strongly encourages its students to study abroad in China, Japan, or Korea.