Majors and Minors
Explore and Discover… The study of language and culture is the foundation for any serious intellectual engagement with Asia. As a center for interdisciplinary inquiry, our department explores Asia through the multiple lenses of literature, history, history of art, religious studies, political science, sociology, film, and media studies while encouraging study abroad for direct experience with Asian countries.
The Department of Asian Studies offers two majors and six minors.
Majors:
Minors:
- Asian studies
- Asian American & Asian diaspora studies
- Chinese language and culture
- Japanese language and culture
- Korean language and culture
- South Asian language and culture
Learn more about declaring a major or minor and review our language proficiency testing requirements.
The Major in Asian Studies
The major in Asian studies requires a minimum of 36 credit hours of course work and is designed to ensure that graduates have both depth and breadth in their understanding of Asia—the history, culture, politics, sociology, and more.
Students must formally declare an area of concentration (China, Japan, Korean, or South Asia) at the time the major is declared, and complete at least 36 credit hours from the Asian Studies course list, according to these rules:
- At least 3 credit hours in an Asian language taught in the Department of Asian Studies at the 3301 (Advanced I) level or above. Asian languages not offered by the department require approval. Reach out to the department chair or director of undergraduate studies to secure approval.
- At least 9 non-language credit hours of courses in area of concentration.
- At least 6 credit hours of courses eligible for Asian perspectives (code AP on course list).
- Up to 18 credit hours of courses in any Asian language offered by the Department of Asian Studies may be applied to the total 36 credit hours.
Advanced placement credits in a language do not count toward credit hours required for any major or minor but can figure into the assessment of initial placement within a language track.
The Major in Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies
Asian American & Asian diaspora studies (AAAD) is an interdisciplinary program that offers a major dedicated to the study of Asian America and Asian diasporas. The AAAD program cultivates critical understanding of Asian diasporic peoples, culture, and histories. The program takes a comparative approach to study the Asian American diaspora with other Asian diasporas, as well as with African American and Latinx diasporas. It also stands out nationally as one of few such programs to include an Asian language component.
For the major in Asian American & Asian diaspora studies, students must complete at least 36 credit hours from the Asian studies course list according to these rules:
- 3 credit hours in either ASAM 2101 or ASAM 2102.
- At least 12 credit hours of Asian American & Asian diaspora-eligible courses (code AA on course list).
- At least 6 credit hours of courses eligible for Asian perspectives.
- At least 3 credit hours in an Asian language taught in the Department of Asian Studies at the 2202 (intermediate II) level or higher. Asian languages not offered by the Department of Asian Studies require the approval of the department chair or the director of undergraduate studies.
- Up to 18 credit hours of courses in any Asian language may be applied to the total 36 credit hours.
The Minor in Asian Studies
The Asian studies minor equips students with the invaluable ability to interact, study, and work in an Asian language at Vanderbilt and beyond. Minors in the program augment language study with courses that focus on the history and culture of their chosen concentration of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, or South Asia, as well as courses that explore the inter-regional and global-comparative connections among and beyond Asian countries. The program actively encourages minors to gain experience in Asia through study abroad programs.
Students cannot combine the Asian studies minor with other minors within the Department of Asian Studies. For the minor in Asian studies, students must complete at least 20 credit hours from the Asian studies course list according to these rules:
- At least 4 credit hours in an Asian language taught in the department at the 2201 (Intermediate I) level or above.
- At least 6 credit hours of history survey courses (code HS on course list).
- At least 3 credit hours of humanities courses (code HU on course list).
- At least 3 credit hours of social sciences courses (code SS on course list).
- No more than 8 credit hours of any Asian language courses taught in the department may be applied to the total 20 credit hours.
The Minor in Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies
Asian American & Asian diaspora studies (AAAD) is an interdisciplinary program that offers a minor dedicated to the study of Asian America and Asian diasporas. The AAAD program cultivates critical understanding of Asian diasporic peoples, culture, and histories. The program takes a comparative approach to study the Asian American diaspora with other Asian diasporas, as well as with African American and Latinx diasporas. It also stands out nationally as one of few such programs to include an Asian language component.
For the minor in Asian American & Asian diaspora studies, students must complete at least 18 credit hours from the Asian studies course list according to these rules:
- 3 credit hours in either ASAM 2101 or ASAM 2102.
- At least 3 credit hours in an Asian language taught in the Department of Asian Studies at the 2202 (intermediate II) level or higher.
- At least 6 credit hours of courses eligible for Asian American & Asian diaspora (code AA on course list).
- At least 6 credit hours of courses eligible for Asian Perspectives (code AP on course list; not double counting any courses above).
The Minor in Chinese Language and Culture
The minor in Chinese Language and Culture is anchored by a firm foundation in language study that is complemented by electives in art, history, literature, film, media, politics, and religion. Students cannot combine the Chinese Language and Culture minor with other minors within the Department of Asian Studies.
For the minor in Chinese Language and Culture, students must complete at least 20 total credit hours in China concentration (CC) courses from the Asian studies course list, according to these rules:
- At least 3 credit hours in Chinese language at the 3301 (Advanced I) level or above.
- No more than 15 credit hours of Chinese language (CHIN) courses may be applied to the total 20 credit hours.
The Minor in Japanese Language and Culture
The minor in Japanese Language and Culture is anchored by a firm foundation in language study that is complemented by electives in art, history, literature, film, media, politics, and religion. Students cannot combine the Japanese language and culture minor with other minors within the Asian Studies Department.
For the minor in Japanese language and culture, students must complete at least 20 total credit hours in Japan concentration (JC) courses from the Asian studies course list, according to these rules:
- At least 3 credit hours in Japanese language at the 3301 (Advanced I) level or above.
- No more than 15 credit hours of Japanese language (JAPN) courses may be applied to the total 20 credit hours.
The Minor in Korean Language and Culture
The minor in Korean language and culture is anchored by a firm foundation in language study that is complemented by electives in art, history, literature, film, media, politics, and religion. Students cannot combine the Korean language and culture minor with other minors within the Department of Asian Studies.
For the minor in Korean language and culture, students must complete at least 20 total credit hours in Korean concentration (KC) from the Asian studies course list, according to these rules:
- At least 3 credit hours in Korean language at the 3301 (Advanced I) level or above.
- No more than 15 credit hours of Korean language (KOR) courses may be applied to the total 20 credit hours.
The Minor in South Asian Language and Culture
The minor in South Asian language and culture is anchored by a firm foundation in language study that is complemented by electives in art, history, literature, film, media, politics, and religion. Students cannot combine the South Asian language and culture minor with other minors within the Department of Asian Studies.
For the minor in South Asian language and culture, students must complete at least 20 total credit hours in South Asia concentration (SA) from the Asian studies course list, according to these rules:
- At least 3 credit hours in a South Asian language (Hindi-Urdu or Sanskrit) at the 3301 (Advanced I) level or above.
- No more than 15 credit hours of South Asian language (HNUR or SNSK) courses may be applied to the total 20 credit hours.
Declaring a Major or Minor
Students wishing to declare a major or minor must complete the declaration form. Students must declare at least one College of Arts and Science major no later than the Friday before spring break of their sophomore year. For all questions and requests regarding a major/minor in Asian studies, please contact Professor Pengfei Li, Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Language Proficiency
The College of Arts & Science curriculum (called AXLE) requires all students to achieve basic proficiency in a foreign language to graduate. Completion of the entire first year of an Asian language will fulfill the AXLE foreign language requirement.
Students may also fulfill the AXLE foreign language requirement through other means:
- Certain scores on an Advanced Placement test will fulfill the AXLE requirement. Currently, a Chinese AP score of 4 or 5 or a Japanese AP score of 4 or 5 will satisfy the AXLE requirement. There are currently no AP exams for Hindi-Urdu and Korean.
- Students who are native speakers of Asian languages may test out of the AXLE foreign language requirement. However, we do NOT administer the tests for Asian languages here at Vanderbilt. The tests are administered at the Tennessee Language Center (TLC), an organization established by the state of Tennessee and located in the metro center area of Nashville. Students interested in testing out of the AXLE language requirement should call TLC at 615-741-7579 to arrange the testing. Once the test is taken, TLC will send the results to the College of Arts & Science, who can authorize a variance.