Program Requirements

Major in Asian Studies | Minor in Asian Studies

Major in Asian Studies
To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies, a student must complete 11 courses, resulting in grades of C or above required as follows. We strongly recommend that students plan a concentration of four course in a single disciplinary category (e.g. Political Science, Literature, etc.), regardless of the geographic region covered by the course.

1. Category I (4 courses)
   Language (normally 4 courses). Chinese or Japanese from the 21-22 level through the 121-122 level (no program credit offered for the 1-4 level). Students who have learned these languages as foreign language outside of Tufts may receive credit through examination. Students who have received advanced, post 121-122 placement in one of these languages must, after consultation with their advisors, either study a second Asian language through the 122 level to fulfill this requirement: or substitute 4 courses from Category II below. (The latter may include post 121-122 courses such as Chinese 123-124 and Japanese 123-124, or directed studies in Chinese or Japanese.
   
   Students having learned other Asian languages (Thai, Bengali, Korean, etc.) outside Tufts may receive program credit proving that an adequate level of competence in that language can be confirmed by appropriate authority, and the language is clearly relevant to their specific course of study.
    
2. Category II (6 courses)
   Asian Studies courses in disciplines other than language (6 courses).
   • Group I: (3 courses)
     Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, History
      
   • Group II: (3 courses)
     Art History, Drama, Literature (e.g. Japanese 61), Music, Religion, Thought (e.g. Chinese 101), Civilization (e.g. Chinese 102)

   Note that Chinese / Japanese 123 and 124 are regarded as language courses and do not belong to Category II. One course in an affiliated field such as Asian American Studies or Middle Eastern Studies may be substituted in either of these two groups with the permission of the adviser, provided that it is directly relevant to a student's category III project.
    

3. Category III (1 course)
   All Asian Studies majors must produce a substantial piece of independent research by the end of their senior year on some Asia-related topic.
   • The research paper may take the form of a substantial paper for:
     1. a directed reading course (e.g. Hist. 198), or
     2. a paper for a seminar, or
     3. a senior honor's thesis, or
     4. a paper for an Asian Studies course which has not already been counted to fulfill a student's category I or category II requirements.
   • The topic should be decided upon by the end of the junior year.
   • The topic should be decided in consultation with the student's Asian Studies advisor.
   • The research should be supervised by the student's advisor or another member of the Asian Studies faculty.
   • The seminar research paper will be graded by the adviser and one other faculty reader. The latter need not be associated with the program.

Download Asian Studies Major Checklist >

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Minor in Asian Studies
Asian Studies is one of the programs at Tufts which offers an interdisciplinary minor. All such programs require students to take five courses from at least three departments of the university and to complete an appropriate project, such as a thesis or performance, integrating the knowledge and methodology of the disciplines involved.

Students wishing to declare Asian Studies minors should acquire the appropriate form at the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Eaton Hall, room 104 (x3953). In addition to the requirements specified in the above-mentioned brochure, the Asian Studies Program specifies the following:

1. No more than two of the five courses taken for Asian Studies credit may be courses on foreign language.
2. Only language courses numbered 22 or higher will be accepted for A.S. credit.

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