Undergraduate Program

Shaman and musicians,
Kangnung, South Korea
Photograph by Hilary Finchum-Sung
Overview of Requirements
Note: For a listing of Asia-related courses, refer to the Courses section on this website. Students must take all required courses for a letter grade. For students considering studying abroad, please consult the major advisor in advance.
Lower division courses
- Asian Studies 10* (Introduction to Asia)
- History* (choose one from Hist 6A, 6B, 11, 14, SEAS 10A or 10B)
*AS 10 and History are prerequisite courses in declaring the major
- Foreign Language: Two years (four semesters) of a language appropriate to the area of regional focus (Mandarin for China focus, Japanese for Japan focus). Further study of the language at the upper division level is encouraged but not required and will count toward the upper division course requirement. Students can take the placement exam administered by the East Asian Languages and Cultures department on campus to waive the language requirement. Go to EALC for more information. Test results must place the student at least on an intermediate level.
Upper Division Requirements (minimum of 30 units, 8 courses)
- Disciplinary focus: Two courses from the same discipline/department. One of the two must be a course whose primary purpose is to introduce the theories and methods of the discipline. The second course should be in the student's area of focus from the same department.
- One Asian history course in the student's area of focus. China-focused students can choose one course from History 100: Topics in History (when on China), History 103F: Seminar on Asia (when on China), History 116A, B, C, or D. Japan-focused students can choose one course from History 100 (when on Japan), History 103F (when on Japan), History 118A, B or C.
- Five Inter-area/interdisciplinary courses
- Minimum of 18 units
- Three of the five courses must be in student's area of focus (China or Japan)
- One of the five courses must be on a geographical region outside of area of focus
- Advanced language courses (such as the 100 series) can be counted