ASNST-MN - Asian Studies

To succeed in an international career, students need expertise in the politics, economics, history, language and cultures of societies other than their own. The curricula for the Area Studies Program are designed to provide students with a foundation for this expertise, requiring coursework in the social sciences, business, language and humanities.

The area studies minor is separate from the major or minor in international studies. A student may earn a minor in a geographical area in order to increase expertise and in-depth knowledge of a region’s history, politics, society and culture. A minor in an area study is offered in Africa/Middle East studies, Asian studies, European studies, and Latin American and Iberian studies.

If a student is an international studies major, only one course from the area studies curriculum may be double counted toward the area studies minor.

The language requirement for the minor may be met through examination, the transfer of language study credit from another university or by taking courses on campus.

Students who minor in Asian studies should refer requires 15 credit hours of coursework. The first six credit hours (two courses) must be chosen from the Core Courses or the Global Perspective. The next nine credit hours (three courses) must be chosen from the Asian studies regional concentration curriculum. At least one course must be selected from the social sciences group and at least one course must be selected from the humanities and arts group. At least nine hours must be at the 3000 level and above.

A cocurricular requirement for the minor in Asian studies is four semesters of college-level study of an Asian language. To maximize the educational experience, students are strongly encouraged to spend at least one term or summer studying in Asia. Most of the courses taught in University study abroad programs in Asia may be applied to the Asian studies minor.