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 (RL, SC, 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
  • Obtaining a 2-year proficiency test result
  • Testing into a language course beyond the 2200 level.

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: (GE) General Education, (RL) Religion, (SC) Society and Culture, and (LL) Literature and Linguistics. 

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

Spring 2026

General Education (GE)

• ASIAN 2218 "Introduction to Korea"
• ASIAN 2230 "Introduction to China: Outsiders in History" (also CAPS 223)
• 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)

Society and Culture (SC)

• ASIAN 2222 "From Samurai to Superpower: Japan in World History II" (also HIST 1622/CAPS 1622/GOVT 1623)
• ASIAN 2252 "Introduction to Japanese Film" (also PMA 2451)
• ASIAN 2259 "Music in and of East Asia" (also MUSIC 2330)
• ASIAN 2272 "Food and Asia"
• ASIAN 2275 "History of Modern India" (also HIST 2750)
• ASIAN 2278 "East Asian Medical and Martial Arts" (also HIST 2207/STS 2207)
• ASIAN 2281 "Gender, Family, and Confucianism in East Asia" (also FGSS 2281/CAPS 2281/HIST 2981)
• ASIAN 2285 "Introduction to Asian Art: Material Worlds" (also ARTH 2805/VISST 2805/SHUM 2805)
• ASIAN 2295 "Orientalism and East Asia" (also AAS 2295)
• ASIAN 3021 "History of Korea-China Relations" (also CAPS 3021/HIST 3021)
• ASIAN 3022 "Science and Discovery: Japan and the 'New World', 16th-17th Centuries (also SHUM 3022)
• ASIAN 3315 "Game Studies in Japan" (also SHUM 3325)
• ASIAN 3396 "Transnational Local: Southeast Asian History from the 18th Century" (also HIST 3960)
• ASIAN 4024 "Science, Medicine, and Media Technologies in East Asia" (also BSOC 4020/STS 4020)
• ASIAN 4076 "History of US-China Relations, 1949-2025" (also CAPS 4076/HIST 4076)
• ASIAN 4377 "Issues in South Asian Studies"
• ASIAN 4415 "The Body Politic in Asia" (also BSOC 4127/CAPS 4127/FGSS 4127/HIST 4127/SHUM 4127/STS 4127)
• ASIAN 4424 "Objects, Rituals, and Tea" (also ARTH 4822)
• ASIAN 4435 "Making Sense of China: The Capstone Seminar" (also CAPS 4030/GOVT 4037)
• ASIAN 4443 "Work and Labor in China" (also ILRGL 4355/CAPS 4355)
• ASIAN 4506 "Ocean Technopolitics and Global Futures" (also BSOC 4506/STS 4506)
• ASIAN 4713 "In Working Order: Labor On and Off Screen" (also SHUM 4713/PMA 4513/VISST 4706)
• ASIAN 4844 "The Rise of Contemporary Chinese Art: Narratives in the Making of New Art" (also ARTH 4844)

Religion (RL)

• ASIAN 3319 "From Meditation to Mat: The Many Lives of Yoga" (also RELST 3319)
• ASIAN 3344 "Introduction to Indian Philosophy" (also RELST 3344/CLASS 3674/PHIL 2540)
• ASIAN 4020 "Buddhist Modern: Visions of Humans Flourishing" (also RELST 4020)

Literature and Linguistics (LL)

• ASIAN 2279 "Chinese Mythology" (also RELST 2279)
• ASIAN 3329 "Literature of Leaving China" (also CAPS 3329/COML 3985)
• ASIAN 4377 "Ecocriticism and East Asia"
• 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.