The challenge in the Economics and Politics of East Asia degree program is to learn a labor-intensive East Asian foreign language while at the same time mastering the basic content of the general economics courses and the East Asia-specific courses. The courses are held in German, but most of the specialist literature is written in English. This means that a very good command of English and an aptitude for foreign languages is very important. You also need a good basic understanding of mathematics for the fundamentals of economics.

All three modern East Asian languages on offer are considered very labor-intensive if you want to learn them. On the one hand, this is due to the unfamiliar grammatical structures and completely new vocabulary for speakers of European languages. On the other hand, learning the different writing systems requires constant practice and repetition. While the pronunciation in Japanese and Korean is less difficult, the challenge in Chinese is that it is a so-called tonal language, i.e. the pronunciation of the different pitches is meaningful. Basically, learning East Asian languages requires a great deal of effort and linguistic talent.

All three modern East Asian languages on offer are considered very labor-intensive if you want to learn them. On the one hand, this is due to the unfamiliar grammatical structures and completely new vocabulary for speakers of European languages. On the other hand, learning the different writing systems requires constant practice and repetition. While the pronunciation in Japanese and Korean is less difficult, the challenge in Chinese is that it is a so-called tonal language, i.e. the pronunciation of the different pitches is meaningful. Basically, learning East Asian languages requires a great deal of effort and linguistic talent.

More than in other humanities subjects (Subjects such as physics or medicine have a comparable workload.). Learning the languages alone takes an extremely long time. Overall, the degree program requires between 40 and 50 hours of work per week. Experience has shown that part-time jobs are hardly possible if you want to keep to the standard period of study.

An initial focus is set through the choice of the East Asian foreign language, which students begin to learn in the first semester. In terms of course content, there is a large, joint area for all students with courses on the economy and politics of East Asia. In addition, students decide after the second semester whether they want to concentrate on the economics or political science elective area of the degree program. In the second and third years of their studies, students then attend courses from either the field of economics of political science in order to expand and deepen the knowledge they have acquired in the joint area.

There is no clearly defined professional field. However, thanks to their comprehensive knowledge of the politics and economy of the East Asia region, as well as their academic and linguistic training, graduates of Economics and Politics of East Asia are ideally prepared for a career in companies and organizations with an East Asian focus. Many companies consider graduates who have successfully completed the demanding degree program and also gained internship and/or international experience to have above-average performance potential.

Usually after the second year of study, students complete either an internship of at least eight weeks in Germany or abroad or a study visit of at least eight weeks at a state-recognized university abroad. The internship must have a weekly working time of at least 20 hours/week. Internships and study visits should be related to the subject Economics and Politics of East Asia or the East Asian region and must be organized independently by the students.

The study visit abroad can, but does not have to, take place in East Asia. It is also possible to study abroad in Europe, e.g. as part of the ERASMUS program. Furthermore, summer schools in East Asia or with an East Asia connection are an option for a study visit of at least eight weeks during the summer semester break. Students planning to study abroad should contact the WPOA student counselling in advance to clarify the recognition of credits earned abroad.

An extended stay abroad (one or two semesters) is no compulsory for the Economics and Politics of East Asia degree program, but it makes a lot of sense. Every year, the Ruhr University and the Faculty of East Asian Studies award exchange places at partner universities in East Asia to the best applicants, who then do not have to pay the tuition fees there. Students must finance their travel to and stay in East Asia themselves, although they can make use of BAföG abroad or scholarships. A stay abroad usually makes sense after the second year of study; the application phase for an exchange place begins approximately one year before the stay abroad.

As soon as you are enrolled in Economics and Politics of East Asia at Ruhr University Bochum, you should also enroll in the Moodle course “Introduction to East Asian Studies”. In this course you will find all information about the degree program, course registration, teaching materials, online tools, etc. Moodle is an e-learning platform used at the Ruhr University Bochum. There is a Moodle course with course materials for each of the courses you take during your studies.

Course registrations, exam registrations and exams are recorded in CampusOffice. At the end of your degree program, when you register for the exam, CampusOffice is used to check whether you have completed all your coursework. The grade of your exam-relevant modules is also calculated there. You should therefore register for your courses in CampusOffice.