五年制BA / MA计划旨在为希望通过本系MA学位的研究生培训来提高其中文或日语本科专业的学生而设计。学生同时获得中文或日语文学学士学位和亚洲研究文学硕士学位。这些学位已经作为独立的实体存在，文学学士学位通常需要四年，而文学硕士通常需要两年。攻读双学位的学生应计划在其专业国家的三年级期间在国外学习一年。在出国留学课程中，学生将需要按照与目前未在大学注册的学生相同的程序申请研究生课程。
The 5-year B.A./M.A. program is designed for UCSB undergraduate majors in Chinese or Japanese who wish to pursue graduate education at the M.A. level. The program allows students to work concurrently towards a B.A. degree in Chinese or Japanese and an M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies. These degrees already exist as separate entities, the B.A. normally requiring four years and the M.A. normally requiring two years. With the 5-year program, students complete advanced language work and further their knowledge in Chinese or Japanese studies at the M.A. level by doing graduate coursework in the discipline(s) of their choice within those represented by department faculty expertise. In their third year, students must enroll in an Education Abroad Program in their country of specialization.