Undergraduate Study

Application

A major in Asian Studies is rewarding for students of all backgrounds, as the global presence of Asia becomes ever more visible. This degree offers students career opportunities in law, business, government, journalism, arts, education, post-secondary education, and more.

Students are encouraged to apply to the major shortly after successfully receiving a minimum grade of B in at least two Asia content courses. These may include one language course, but writing seminars do not fulfill the requirement. The major must be declared no later than the second semester of the junior year. Admission to the major after the start of the seventh semester will be by petition only.

The majors can choose additional majors (double/triple major) in another discipline. Courses taken to complete another major also fulfill the normal requirement for elective units. Maximum of 15 transfer credits from courses taken outside of Cornell may be applied toward the major. Because the field is so vast, each major works  closely with a faculty advisor to design an academic program which meets individual interests, abilities, and career goals.

First-, second-, and third-year students may file an online Interest to Major form at any time.  (Students in their last year must petition.)  This initial step lets us know of your interest in the major.  We will add your name to the majors listserv so that we can let you know of Asian Studies-related news, opportunities, and events that may be of interest.

Learning Outcomes:

We expect our undergraduate majors to demonstrate:

• The ability to conduct research on the cultural, religious, and/or literary traditions of a particular Asian region.
• The breadth of knowledge to be able to discuss their research imaginatively within broader regional and global contexts and to contribute towards innovating the field of Asian Studies.
• The capacity to critically analyze and contextualize linguistic and cultural norms, political structures, and texts as sites of resistance, oppression, and inequalities in the context of power relations within and beyond Asia.
• Mastery of an Asian language at the second-year level or higher, including critical sensitivity to the target language's culture and society.
• Written and verbal expression marked by clarity, coherence, intellectual force, and stylistic control.

Completion of the major requires 30 credits at the 2000 level and above with a minimum grade of B (S/U not accepted), including:

• 1 course at the 3300 level.
• 1 course at the 4400 level.
• At least 1 course from two of the Asian Studies course categories (ASIAN-RL, ASIAN-SC, ASIAN-LL). See below.
• A maximum of 6 credits of language study beyond those required for proficiency may be used.
• Demonstration of 2-year proficiency in an Asian Language:
  • Testing into and completing the second semester of the 2nd year of that language
  • Testing into a language course beyond the 2200 level.

Other courses on Asia at the 2200 level and above, but not cross-listed with Asian Studies, may be considered for satisfying major requirement upon petition and approval by the Department of Asian Studies. Additionally, up to two Introductory courses may be used towards the overall 30 credits. 

To keep track of your progress, use the Major Degree Requirements worksheet.

All Asian Studies courses including the Literature courses are divided up into different categories: (ASIAN-GE) General Education, (ASIAN-RL) Religion, (ASIAN-SC) Society and Culture, and (ASIAN-LL) Literature and Linguistics. 

Majors must take classes in at least two out the three categories beyond General Education.

Spring 2027

General Education (ASIAN-GE)

• ASIAN 2218 "Introduction to Korea"
• ASIAN 2230 "Introduction to China: Outsiders in History" (also CAPS 2230)
• ASIAN 2248 "Buddhists in Indian Ocean World" (also HIST 2548/RELST 2248)
• ASIAN 2250 "Introduction to Asian Religions" (also RELST 2250) 
• ASIAN 2740 "Imperial China" (also HIST 1740/CAPS 1740/MEDVL 1740)
• ASIAN 2920 "Modern China" (also HIST 1920/CAPS 1920)
• ASIAN 2930 "A Global History of Love" (also HIST 1930/FGSS 1940/LGBT 1940/SHUM 1930"

Society and Culture (ASIAN-SC)

• ASIAN 2272 "Food and Asia"
• ASIAN 2276 "Tales of the Samurai"
• ASIAN 2288 "Introduction to the Arts of China" (also ARTH 2800)
• ASIAN 2295 "Orientalism and East Asia" (also AAS 2295)
• ASIAN 2425 "Global Maoism: History and Present" (also HIST 2435/CAPS 2435/SHUM 2435)
• ASIAN 2575 "Tyranny & Dignity: Chinese Women from the Cultural Revolution to the White Paper Protests (also HIST 2575/CAPS 2575/FGSS 2575)
• ASIAN 3383 "Imagining Indian Pasts"
• ASIAN 3392 "Objects in Motion: Transoceanic Japan and the Port Cities of Asia" (also ARTH 3392)
• ASIAN 3396 "Transnational Local: Southeast Asian History from the 18th Century (also HIST 3960)
• ASIAN 3501 "Asian Socialist Reform"
• ASIAN 3502 "Asian Temporalities"
• ASIAN 3980 "The Pacific Horizon: Oceania, Asia and the Americas" (also HIST 3980)
• ASIAN 4076 "History of US-China Relations, 1949-2025" (also CAPS 4076/HIST 4076)
• ASIAN 4377 "Issues in South Asian Studies"
• ASIAN 4413 "Religion and Politics in Southeast Asia" (also ANTHR 4513)
• ASIAN 4424 "Objects, Rituals, and Tea" (also ARTH 4822)
• ASIAN 4435 "Making Sense of China: The Capstone Seminar" (also CAPS 4030/GOVT 4037)
• ASIAN 4458 "U.S. Cultures of War and Empire" (also AAS 4020/AMST 4022)
• ASIAN 4478 "China Imagined: the Historical and Global Origins of the Chinese Nation (also HIST 2772/CAPS 4772)
• ASIAN 4487 "Threads of Consequence: Textiles in South and Southeast Asia" (also ARTH 4855/VISST 4855/SHUM 4455)
• ASIAN 4506 "Ocean Technopolitics and Global Futures" (also BSOC 4506/STS 4506)
• ASIAN 4844 "The Rise of Contemporary Chinese Art: Narratives in the Making of New Art" (also ARTH 4844) 

Religion (ASIAN-RL)

• ASIAN 2503 "Demons in Buddhism" (also RELST 2603)
• ASIAN 2952 "Arts of Hindu Devotion" (also RELST 2952)
• ASIAN 3341 "Mahayana Buddhism" (also RELST 3341)
• ASIAN 4020 "Buddhist Moderns: Visions of Humans Flourishing" (also RELST 4020)

Literature and Linguistics (ASIAN-LL)

• ASIAN 3329 "Literature of Leaving China" (also CAPS 3329/COML 3985)
• ASIAN 4725 "Animals, Multispecies Kinship, and the Environment in Korean Literature and Film" (also SHUM 4725)
• ASIAN 5505 "Methodology of Asian Language Learning and Teaching"

To be eligible for honors in Asian Studies, students must have an overall cumulative grade average of 3.0 and 3.7 in all Asian Studies area courses (not including language courses) and must successfully complete an honors thesis during their senior year. Students who wish to be considered for honors should apply to the Director of Undergraduate Studies during the second term of their junior year.

See the Honors page for more details and titles of past honors theses.

The Asian Studies Department offers three areal minors.  Many students choose to highlight their Asian areal interests by combining a minor with their chosen major. For those interested in transregional studies, effective Fall 2021, we now offer a new minor in Global Asia Studies.  We also offer a minor in Sanskrit Studies. Students from any college or discipline are welcome to apply.

Click on the links below for detailed information/application process for each minor:

• Minor in East Asian Studies
• Minor in South Asian Studies
• Minor in Southeast Asian Studies
• Minor in Sanskrit Studies
• Minor in Global Asia Studies
   

In addition to course work, there are many extracurricular activities related to Asia. These include: an annual Japanese film series; a Gamelan group; clubs in most of the martial arts of Asia and student societies for most of the Asian nations; arts exhibitions; visiting lecturers and performing groups; . and the visits of Asian scholars, diplomats, journalists and performers provide students with additional opportunities. We encourage majors and minors to become familiar with the activities of the East, South, and Southeast Asia Programs on campus.

A minor in Asian Studies is a rewarding add-on to any major and for students of all backgrounds, as the global presence of Asia becomes ever more visible.  First-, second-, and third-year students may file an online Intent to Minor form at any time. (Students in their last year must petition.) This initial step lets us know of your interest in one of the minors. We will add your name to the minors listserv so that we can let you know of Asian Studies-related news, opportunities, and events that may be of interest.

There are many strong options for study abroad in Asia. Education Abroad, Office of Global Learning helps students plan a year or semester abroad as part of their Cornell undergraduate degree. Cornell has affiliations with several programs and institutions in Asia, and sends students to those and others. Cornell is affiliated with IUP, the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies in Beijing (at Tsinghua University), and is a member of CIEE and IES, organizations sponsoring study abroad programs offering Chinese language instructions at several levels as well as courses in Chinese studies in the humanities and social sciences. Students may also study at other programs in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Cornell is a member of the consortium of the Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies, an undergraduate semester or year program in Japanese language and Japanese studies. An agreement with International Christian University (ICU), outside Tokyo, permits Cornell students to attend that institution. Cornell students have attended CIEE and IES programs in Japan, as well as some other programs and institutions.

Cornell is a member of the American Association of Indian Studies, which offers fellowships for intensive study in India or Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil. There are study abroad options in universities or study abroad programs in various regions of India.

Students may spend a term or year in Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, or the Philippines, or choose to study about Asia at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, or the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University. Undergraduates should consult Education Abroad, Office of Global Learning (B50 Caldwell Hall); graduate students should inquire at the East Asia Program (140 Uris Hall), South Asia Program (170 Uris Hall), or Southeast Asia Program (180 Uris Hall) offices.