Academic ProgramsAsian StudiesAcademic Requirements

Academic Requirements

Academic Requirements

All students intending to pursue the minor must meet with the director to design a program of study within the minor requirements. It is also expected that the student will continue to consult with the director in determining the best available courses to fulfill the minor requirements any given semester.

Students may not earn both the Asian Studies minor and the regional concentration in Asian Studies offered via the International Studies program.

Minor Requirements:

  • Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary minor of 24 credits
    • 12 credits must be taken at Washington College or in a Washington College faculty-led short-term study abroad program
    • Students must take at least one 4-credit course of an Asian language*
    • The 20 remaining credits must be taken in at least two different departments.
    • No more than 16 credits from one department will count toward the minor.
  • Only one 4-credit course that is not solely devoted to Asia but with substantial Asian content may be included toward the minor, with permission of the director of the minor.

 * For those students whose native language is an Asian language, an appropriate 4-credit course may be used as a substitution, with permission of the director of the minor.

Pre-Approved Courses for the Minor*:

* Additional courses – such as special topics courses, and those taken off-campus – also may be counted with approval from the program director.

Chinese
  • CHN 101 and 102: Elementary Chinese I and II
  • CHN 201 and 202: Intermediate Chinese I and II
History
  • HIS 381: History of Modern China
  • HIS 383: History of Modern Japan
Music
  • MUS 104: Intro to World Music & Ethnomusicology
  • MUS 279: Japanese Music Ensemble (a 1 credit course repeatable up to 8 times)
  • MUS 314: Music of Asia
  • MUS 394: Special Topics: Performing Japanese Buddhism
Philosophy
  • PHL 112: Intro to Comparative Religion: Eastern
  • PHL 416: Philosophy of Buddhism
Political Science
  • POL 345: Comparative Government: East Asia
  • POL 346: Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy
  • POL 347: Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy
  • POL 351: Politics, Religion, and Ethnicity in South Asia
  • POL 384: The International Relations of East Asia