Jiuzhaigou National Park
Photograph by Steven Dale
With the support of the Dean of International and Area Studies and the Institute of East Asian Studies, the Group in Asian Studies administers an interdisciplinary program leading to the A.B., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. Utilizing the faculty and facilities of the entire university, these degree programs cut across conventional disciplinary lines and emphasize a basic core of knowledge concerning one particular geographic area of Asia. Within this core, which requires course work in at least two departments and reading knowledge of one or more Asian languages, regionally-oriented students have the freedom to plan with the help of their adviser an individual program accommodating particular interests and approaches.
When you contact the Group are you contacting a department?
No – you are contacting the staff and/or Chair of a faculty group.
What is a Group?
A group is similar to a cooperative in which members agree to work with students toward an area-based degree.
So, the Group in Asian Studies is not a department?
Correct. We are an interdisciplinary faculty group. As you can see from the list of faculty, professors from many different departments cooperate to provide an opportunity for students who want an interdisciplinary M.A. with and area-based focus.
Does the Group offer courses?
We offer one core course (AS 201) the first year of our two-year program. Outside of AS 201, there is no set curriculum. Students design their own programs based on their interests. The classes students take will be in departments on the Berkeley campus.