Asian Studies Schools and Programs in The United States

Asian Studies Studies in The United States

Asian studies is an area studies subject: it combines the study of one or more Asian languages with courses on the history, culture, politics and societies of the region. The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) defines it as a field that focuses on the history, culture and societies of Asia and can include the languages, economies and politics of its countries and peoples.

In the United States some universities have a department or major called Asian Studies; others organise the subject around language and literature, in departments of Asian languages and cultures.

How the degree is organised

The usual qualification is a Bachelor of Arts (BA), which EducationUSA says is usually completed in four years of full-time study. Students choose a region and a language and build the major around them:

• At Penn State the BA in Asian Studies requires a minimum of 124 credits, of which 31 are requirements for the major. Students are expected to focus largely on one Asian area and must take language courses beyond the 12-credit level of proficiency in an Asian language such as Chinese, Hindi, Japanese or Korean.
• At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, students in the Asian Languages and Cultures major may declare a named option in East Asian, South Asian or Southeast Asian studies and base their area and language courses on that region.
• The University of Colorado at Boulder has a Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, founded in 1982, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Chinese and Japanese, five minors and two certificate programmes.

The choice of languages is wide at large universities. The Department of Asian Studies at The University of Texas at Austin teaches Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil and Urdu. The University of Washington in Seattle lists programmes in Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Sanskrit, Urdu and Vietnamese, among others. Wisconsin offers Chinese, Filipino, Hindi-Urdu, Hmong, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Tibetan and Vietnamese during the academic year.

The University of Texas at Austin says it encourages its students to study language intensively and to study abroad.

At graduate level, EducationUSA describes the master's as a two-year degree and the doctorate as a programme of five to eight years.

Admission and language

Students apply to the university and declare the major later. At the University of Washington, for example, the Asian Languages and Cultures major is an open major that students in good academic standing may declare at any time, while the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and South Asian majors have minimum prerequisites.

EducationUSA states that undergraduate applicants in general must have completed high school and be at least 17 years old, and that US universities require an English language proficiency test before admission. Courses on history and culture are taught in English, so international students work in two foreign languages at once: English and the Asian language they choose. No previous knowledge of the Asian language is normally needed to start; students who already know some are placed at the right level. The search for a university should begin 12 to 18 months before the academic year.

To study on an F student visa, students must first be accepted by an institution certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).

Where to study Asian studies in the United States

The schools on this page are in many states. Large public universities on the list include The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the University of Washington in Seattle, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, The University of California at Berkeley and Penn State in University Park. Private universities include Duke University in Durham, Northwestern University in Evanston, Brown University in Providence and New York University. Liberal arts colleges such as Bryn Mawr College, Colorado College and Pitzer College in Claremont are also listed.

Recognition

There is no professional licence or specialised accreditation for Asian studies. EducationUSA explains that the recognition of course credits and degrees by other institutions and by employers is linked to the accreditation of the institution.

Careers

Penn State states that a BA in Asian Studies can be the basis for careers in the public sector (diplomatic corps, armed forces, intelligence), international law, business, public relations, journalism, travel and hospitality, and for work as a language specialist in translating, interpreting or teaching. The University of Colorado at Boulder reports that its recent graduates have found positions in government service, international business and secondary-school teaching, and that others have gone on to graduate study.

For those who work with the language itself, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 73,900 jobs for interpreters and translators in 2025 and projects growth of 2 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,000 openings a year.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to know an Asian language before I start?

Normally not. Universities teach the languages from beginner level; the major then requires study beyond the basic level, as at Penn State, where students go beyond the 12-credit level of proficiency.

Which Asian languages can I study at US universities?

Chinese, Japanese and Korean are the most widely taught. Large universities add many more: The University of Texas at Austin, for example, also teaches Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil and Urdu.

How long does an Asian studies degree take?

A bachelor's degree usually takes four years of full-time study. Penn State's BA requires a minimum of 124 credits.