Online MA in Asian-Pacific Studies
For the vast majority those of you who haven’t read my “about” page above, you may be interested to know that when I’m not blogging, learning Korean, and trying to raise my daughter I’m doing an online MA in Asian-Pacific studies through Leeds University in England; if that still sounds interesting, you can find out more information for yourself on it here.
Despite what I say about the unglamorous realities of studying online, the subject itself is very interesting, although unfortunately as I type I have an exam for my latest module in it that will prevent decent blogging for a few days. To be exact, it lasts from 18:00 GMT Thursday to 18:00 GMT Monday and, yes, 96 hours for a home exam does sound great, but it means my 3 answers of 1000 words each have to pretty high quality, and in practice I’m usually flat out for all my waking hours in that period.
People who actually read this blog may well be interested in the exam too, so I though I’d post it up here. I don’t see any academic or ethical problems with posting the exam online, although of course I’m sure any practical concerns of mine about that are…ahem…academic really, and if I think they’re good enough people are interested (leave me a comment) I’ll post up my answers too. But I think that it would be wise to do that after I submit them, so sometime in the middle of next week.
© UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
Online MA in Asian Pacific Studies
2007/08
EAST 504101M - POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE PACIFIC RIM
Answer any THREE questions. Each question carries a third of the total marks available (each answer must not exceed 1000 words).
- Has East Asia’s dynamic economic development brought significant structural change to the international economic system?
- Critically evaluate the proposition that globalisation is undermining the basis of the East Asian capitalist model, or models.
- Why has the role of the state been particularly prominent in the contemporary economic development of East Asia?
- Consider the different aspects of the hub role that Singapore plays in the East Asia and Asia-Pacific regional economy.
- To what extent does Taiwan’s growing economic dependence on mainland China pose certain security policy challenges for the Taiwanese Government?
- “South Korea has now moved well beyond the development state paradigm”. Discuss.
- In what ways have East Asia’s economic relations with the United States changed over the last few decades?
- To what extent is the future prosperity of the Pacific Rim economy dependent upon a successful conclusion of the WTO’s Doha Development Round of global trade talks?
I’ll start with question 3, my forte and which I’ll completely kick ass on, then of course question 6, and then I’d like to do question 2 but worry that it easily lends itself to waffling, not the kind of question I want to do last when time is limited. So I may choose question 5 instead, which is nice and meaty and I which I’ll struggle to fit all relevant information in.
After I finish, I’ll treat myself with watching the latest Resident Evil saga at the cinema, which I’ve only been to once since my daughter was born 16 months ago. As a history and political studies major but who started in (and regret not also continuing in) physics then I love post-apocalyptic SF (see here and here if you do too), so I’ll probably like it despite a friend’s negative opinion. Hopefully it’ll still be playing: because of the quota system here, any Western movie short of an instant blockbuster has a habit of disappearing after only a week or so.
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Thinking of doing an MA online. Is it tough with kids and that? Would love to read any of your stuff to see what’s required and that. My thing at the mo is Taiwan - went there a few years ago and fell in love with the place.
Dave
Dave,
I write much more about how I find studying online on my “About” page. If you’re particularly interested in the course I’m doing you can see the site yourself and I can give you even more details about my own experiences in an email, but for now, I think there’s 5 things you really need to keep in mind if you want to do one:
1) Regardless of how much time taking care of children takes up, or indeed anything else, it’s perfectly feasible to only spend, say, your Sundays on the MA. I like to spread the work throughout the week myself because Sundays are my only day off, but the total workload is not onerous.
2) Koreans do not give my MA the respect it deserves. As soon as I say it’s online, then it’s virtually worthless for job prospects. To use it as such, I would have to contrive my resume to make it appear that I actually phyisically attended Leeds University to do it.
I don’t know if this is a Korean peculiarity, or an East Asian thing. In hindisght, it would have been far preferable for me to do a one-year course at a Korean university here when I had the chance.
3) Take careful note of the split of costs. My 8 modules cost 4000 pounds…as does getting Leeds Univeristy to look at my thesis. I think the costs for the modules are reasonable, but 4000 pounds to have someone look at my work, grade it, and then give me a degree certificate? It’s a joke!
When I first signed up, I made a mistake and thought that the latter was only 2000 pounds, which was bad enough.
4) I’m 32, and do not feel like spending 96 hours each on 8 exams, and it’s difficult to demonstrate your knowledge of a subject in only 1000 words. I think they merely test your skill at….doing exams, or, at a strech, writing at high quality to deadlines. Not completely useless, especially for a blogger, but then I would have signed up for a journalism course instead. I’d much rather do 2 2500 word essays each module instead of one and the exam.
5) Do not expect to make friends and/or a network with your “classmates”. They’re in different countries and time-zones, and your essay topics and opinions are so different that it’s time-consuming and tedious to have respond to those of others during “virtual seminars” for 10% of your marks. I’d rather I didn’t have to communicate with anyone but the lecturers at all.
I don’t feel that way about MA students in general, I’d actually love to hang with my classmates if I could, but posting on a bulletin board to exchange ideas is NOT like meeting your classmates in a seminar room and chatting. If it takes 45 mins to write what could be said in 2, then why bother?
In light of all that, in hindsight I wouldn’t have started the MA at all!
blimey sounds crazy!!!
that’s a lot of money.
I reckon your best bet is a Korean uni.
You can do it in English, right?
AFtre the MA a Phd. Seems de rigouer nowadays….