The countries and cultures of Asia are significant participants in the world community. They present compellingly different models for social organization, historical development, and cultural commitments. The many countries of this large and complex region provide challenges and opportunities whether one plans to be a scholar, a business person, or a diplomat. The minor in Asian Studies draws upon the expertise of faculty throughout the university to create opportunities for students to explore Asian topics in a variety of fields, to develop advanced language skills, and to acquire a broader perspective as they apply the disciplinary training of their major field to effective and informed studies of Asian subjects.


REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR

Students adopting the Asian Studies Minor will choose one country and language of specialization. They will complete at least 8 courses, no more than 4 of which can be lower division, which will meet the following conditions:

  1. Students must complete one course selected from History 170D, 170E, 170F (Premodern East Asia, East Asia 1600–1895, East Asia Since 1895) to serve as the introduction to the field.

  2. Students must complete three quarters of coursework in one Asian language of specialization beyond the first-year level. Approved courses include:
    (a) Second, third or fourth year language: Chinese 2ABC, Chinese 3ABC, Chinese 101ABC; Japanese 2ABC, Japanese 3ABC, Japanese 101ABC; Korean 2ABC, Korean 3ABC, Korean 101ABC. NOTE: These courses require placement examinations given by the Department of East Asian Language and Literature [EALL]. Students who, for example, place out of Chinese 2B would then take Chinese 2C, Chinese 3A, 3B to meet the requirement.
    (b) Classical Chinese (Chinese 100ABC) or Classical Japanese (Japanese 100AB). Note that Classical Japanese is a 2-quarter sequence and requires one more quarter of language study.
    (c) Literature classes taught in the original language: Chinese 115, Japanese 115, Korean 115 (or graduate seminars). Note: these have a prerequisite of completing the fourth year language sequence or its equivalent.

  3. Four additional courses:
    (a) At least two courses must be taken in one (or more) department(s) other than the department of the student’s major
    (b) The courses must cover at least two different Asian countries, one of which will be the country of language specialization. 
    (c) No more than 2 of the courses may be lower-division courses.
    (d) The courses must be selected from a quarterly list of approved courses found on the website beginning Fall 2004 Quarter. Questions regarding exceptions should be e-mailed to Professor Solinger in Social Sciences or Professor Walthall in Humanities.

  4. Residence requirement: 4 upper-division or graduate courses satisfying the requirements for the minor must be completed successfully at UCI.

  5. A maximum of 2 courses may overlap between the minor in Asian Studies and the student's major.