Asian Studies Major

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Major Requirements

The major in Asian Studies requires completion of eight Asian Studies courses together with three years of Asian language study, or the equivalent.

Courses: eight courses, distributed as follows:
- One Introductory History Course:
  1. for South Asian Concentrators:
    - HIST 052 CM - Conflict and Controversy in the History of India and Pakistan
  2. for East and Southeast Asian Concentrators:
    - HIST 059 CM - Civilizations of East Asia , or
    - HIST 061 CM - The New Asia: China, Japan, and Indonesia in the Modern Era
- Electives: seven upper division courses selected from a list available from the Asian Studies faculty.
Foreign Language Study: three years of Asian language study (college level; one language).

Senior Thesis in Asian Studies

The senior thesis is a general education requirement and the capstone experience of a student’s undergraduate education. Students must complete a senior thesis in at least one of their majors under supervision of a faculty reader who teaches within that major, unless granted a special exception.

Students interested in receiving honors in Asian Studies are required to complete a two-semester project. These students must register for a thesis research course in the first semester and the senior thesis in the second semester. The senior thesis and any thesis research course may not be counted as courses in the major. For further information on honors in the major, see Honors in Asian Studies below.

Special Options for Majors

Dual Majors

Students are encouraged to combine a major in Asian Studies with disciplines such as history, literature, economics, government, or international relations for a dual major.

A dual major including Asian Studies requires a minimum of six Asian Studies courses together with at least two years of Asian language study, or the equivalent.

Courses: six courses, distributed as follows:
- One Introductory History Course:
  1. for South Asian Concentrators:
    - HIST 052 CM - Conflict and Controversy in the History of India and Pakistan
  2. for East and Southeast Asian Concentrators:
    - HIST 059 CM - Civilizations of East Asia , or
    - HIST 061 CM - The New Asia: China, Japan, and Indonesia in the Modern Era
- Electives: five upper division courses selected from a list available from the Asian Studies faculty; at least two of these courses must be taken at The Claremont Colleges..
Foreign Language Study: two years of Asian language study (college level; one language).

Notes:

Students with a dual major including Asian Studies are encouraged to write their senior thesis on a topic in Asian Studies. For further information, see Senior Thesis in Asian Studies above.
Note the restrictions on honors in the major for students with a dual major under Honors in Asian Studies below. For further information on dual majors and the requirements for the other discipline of the dual major, check the appropriate sections of this catalog.

Honors in Asian Studies

Students interested in receiving honors in Asian Studies must contact the faculty coordinator at the beginning of the senior year. To be eligible for honors, students must have a 10.50 average in the major, complete a two-semester, two-unit thesis project in Asian Studies (see Senior Thesis in Asian Studies above), and receive grades of A- (11.00) or better for the thesis courses.

Students with a dual major including Asian studies who wish to be considered for honors in Asian studies are eligible if they:

Have completed all requirements for a full major in Asian studies and are granted honors, or
Qualify and receive honors in both disciplines of their dual major. See Academic Honors at Graduation for details.

Learning Goals and Student Learning Outcomes of the Asian Studies Program

Learning Goals

The basic goals of the curriculum of the Asian Studies Major are:

To increase the intellectual breadth and transferable abilities of our students, and
To impart an understanding of contemporary and past Asian cultures, society, religions, and polities in ways that enhance their understanding of the human condition, and facilitate a better understanding of contemporary issues.

Student Learning Outcomes

The student learning outcomes of the Asian Studies program are:

Students will demonstrate an understanding of Asian culture, society, and polity.
Students will have proficiency in an Asian language at an intermediate level or above
Students will demonstrate academic knowledge of an Asian culture that spans more than one disciplinary perspective.
Students will demonstrate the ability to carry out a self-designed research program grounded in academic literature as evidenced by a senior thesis.

General Education Requirements for Asian Studies Majors

Students with interdisciplinary majors requiring courses in the humanities and/or social sciences are required to take designated courses in six different fields of the humanities and social sciences for the general education requirements. Asian Studies majors must take courses in at least three of the four fields of the social sciences (economics, government, history, and psychology), and in two or three of the four fields of the humanities (literature, philosophy, religious studies, and literature in a foreign language) for a total of six courses. Asian Studies majors with a dual or double major in a second field of the humanities or social sciences will usually be required to take an additional course. For further information on general education requirements, see General Education Requirements .

Asian studies majors may use the third semester of an Asian language for the foreign language requirement. For information on the foreign literature requirement, see General Education Requirements .

Study Abroad

All Asian Studies majors are encouraged to study abroad for a semester or a year. Normally two upper division courses taken during a semester abroad may be counted towards the major (four for a full academic year).