The Asian Studies minor involves courses from multiple departments in the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education. The Departments of Government, History and Sociology, Languages and Linguistics, and Philosophy and Religion all contribute required courses to the minor.

Minor in Asian Studies

The minor in Asian studies focuses on the history, culture, and politics of East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. It provides students with an understanding of the interdisciplinary field of Asian studies. Students take 24 credit hours of courses from lists of eligible electives. The minor helps prepare students for careers in business, government and nonprofit/non-governmental organizations, and is designed to enhance the marketability of those applying to law schools, MBA programs and graduate schools in various disciplines.

Requirements for the minor in Asian studies: 24 credit hours, distributed as follows from lists (A), (B), and (C), and possibly (D) and (E):

A. Asian History Foundation Requirement (at least 4 credit hours). Students must take one or more of the following courses:

B. Asian Philosophy/Religion Foundation Requirement (at least 4 credit hours). Students must take one or more of the following courses:

C. Asian Language Requirement (8 or more credit hours, unless proficiency is demonstrated in one of the other allowable ways):

Students must either (i(1)) successfully complete at least 8 hours of the following courses, (ii(2)) demonstrate proficiency in an approved Asian language by attaining the “novice advanced” level on the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) administered by the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) or (iii(3)) receive an official waiver for this requirement by being determined to be a native speaker of an approved Asian language by the chair of the Department of Languages and Linguistics. (Students who take options (ii(2)) or (iii(3)) must take the 8 or more credit hours they would otherwise have taken to meet the Asian language requirement by taking additional courses from lists (A) [above], (B) [above] or (D) [below]):

D. Asia-Focused Electives:

Students do not need to take any courses off of this list, but they may count up to 8 credit hours of coursework from the following list toward the 24 credit hours required for the Asian studies minor. (However, those students who complete the Asian language requirement by demonstrating proficiency via an OPI interview or by receiving an official “native speaker” waiver may count up to 16 credit hours from the following list.)

E. Asia-In-Comparison Electives (up to 4 credit hours):

Students do not need to take any courses off of this list, but they may count up to 4 credit hours of coursework from the following list of eligible electives toward the minor.

See the course catalog for more information about the minor in Asian studies.