Undergraduate Catalog

Asian Studies: Major

Major in Asian Studies - 35 credits

  • When declaring the major, students submit a brief personal statement of intent.
  • Students majoring in Asian Studies must receive no less than C- in any course used to satisfy the major requirements.
  • Up to 16 transferred credits from study abroad may be applied to the major.
  • When applying to graduate, students submit a short exit essay reflecting upon their intellectual development, along with one or more examples of their best written work.

Required courses............................................8 credits
Each major is required to complete at least one year of intermediate-level language study in either Chinese or Japanese.1

CHI201 Intermediate Chinese I (4) or JPN201 Intermediate Japanese I (4)
CHI202 Intermediate Chinese II (4) or JPN202 Intermediate Japanese II (4)

Electives........................................................26 credits
At least 23 elective credits must be at the upper division (300/400 level).

Students must complete, by advisement:

Asian Studies Social Sciences (AS-SOC) courses: 12-14 credits
Asian Studies Arts & Humanities (AS-ARTS) courses: 12-14 credits2

Within the AS-SOC and AS-ARTS elective categories, select one course in each of the following sub-categories:

  • Asian Studies Perspectives (ASP): minimum 3 credits
  • Beyond China or Japan (AREA): minimum 3 credits
  • Capstone Prerequisite Course (CPC): minimum 3 credits. Students must earn a minimum grade of B- on their CPC research paper.

Capstone seminar............................................1 credit
ASN400 Asian Studies Seminar (1)

1Students with a high degree of language proficiency in these or other Asian languages may take 8 credits in other Asian Studies courses.
2Please refer to the current list of AS-SOC and AS-ARTS courses:

For students who declare the major fall 2022 or after: Asian Studies Course Grid rev_Fall 2022
For students who declared the major prior to fall 2022: Asian Studies course grid
For more information about CPC courses and the Capstone course (ASN 400), see this information sheet.