If you’re thinking of studying Asia in college, you’re going to need to narrow it down a little. Saying that Asia is a big place is an understatement. Picking a geographic or thematic concentration helps to narrow it down, directing your attention and bringing passions into focus. You’re probably also going to need to study a language associated with your area of focus, so you should keep that in mind when making your decision.
Below we’ve compiled our top ten undergraduate Asian history programs in the United States, but take note that they aren’t all the same. Many schools focus on Eastern Asia, which holds 20% of the global population, but there are opportunities that extend further afield if that’s what you’re looking for.
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Harvard University — Cambridge, Massachusetts
The concentration in East Asian History at Harvard is a joint concentration between the History Department and the Department of East Asian Studies, Languages and Civilizations. The program has esteemed faculty and deep academic resources, and students decide which of the two concentrations will be the “lead” concentration for their degree in their senior year.
Cornell University — Ithaca, New York
Students in the major in Asian Studies at Cornell gain expertise in language, culture, and history of a region of focus. Courses like “Music in and of East Asia” and “Literature of Leaving China” lead to careers in law, business, government, journalism, arts, education, and more. Minors are available in East Asian Studies, South Asian Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, Sanskrit Studies, and Global Asia Studies.
Columbia University — New York, New York
If you want to study Asia at Columbia, you’ll pursue a History major with a specialization in Asia, building on the resources of the university and their graduate program. Students in the program have access to the C.V. Starr East Asian Library, which holds over one million volumes in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and East Asian studies, language, culture, and literature. It is one of the largest collections of its kind in the US, and the rare books collection offers opportunities for students to access one-of-a-kind materials to aid their research and scholarship.
Princeton — Princeton, New Jersey
The Concentration in East Asian Studies at Princeton focuses on the language and culture of China, Japan, and Korea. Students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English before graduating, so you’ll be pairing your history studies with language studies. Princeton offers language-intensive summer programs in Chinese and Japanese, and during the year you can take courses like “Manga: Visual Culture in Modern Japan” or “Dangerous Bodies: Cross-Dressing, Asia, Transgression.”
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The history program at UNC-Chapel Hill has over 700 students in the major and minor programs, all focused on pursuing an understanding of “the diversity of human experiences in the past.” The geographic concentration “Africa, Asia, and the Middle East” best fits an Asian history focus and builds on the graduate program in Asian history.
University of Michigan— Ann Arbor, Michigan
Students in the Asian Studies Major at UMich choose a sub-major: Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, South Asian Studies, or Southeast Asian Studies, and study the “traditional and modern civilizations of Asia.” There are fields of study that provide further focus, including History/Civilization, Literature, Religion, Linguistics, Cultural Studies, or Film, and study abroad opportunities are offered through the Center for Global and Intercultural Study.
Rice University — Houston, Texas
The major in Asian Studies at Rice empowers students to carry out independent research on Asia using “either scientific or humanistic methods.” As students are required to use Asian-language sources, there is also a language component to the major. Look out for cross-disciplinary courses like “Transnational Asian Food: Diversity and Authenticity.”
Vanderbilt University — Nashville, Tennessee
Over 300 students at Vanderbilt are in the Asian Studies program, which offers concentrations in China, Japan, Korea, or South Asia. There is also a major in Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies, one of the only of its kind. Both majors come with language requirements, with options in Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Japanese, Korean, and Sanskrit. Courses like “Hollywood Hanoi” and “Media Monsters in Contemporary Japan,” examine the impact of pop culture nationally and globally.
Pomona College — Claremont, California
The Asian Studies major at Pomona offers a broad survey of culture and history of Asia, and then you go in-depth on an individual country, its language and its people. There are over 80 courses to choose from in the major, and language courses in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. Study abroad is available in China, Japan, and Taiwan.
Oberlin College — Oberlin, Ohio
More than 90% of the students in the East Asian studies major at Oberlin study abroad or conduct research in Asia. Both on campus and abroad, students explore history through art, politics, literature, and more. The major can be tailored to a period, region, or culture, with a particular focus on China, Japan, and Korea. The college has a large collection of Asian art and manuscripts in the Allen Memorial Art Museum, and offers courses like “Women and Literary Culture in Japan” and “Chinese Popular Cinema and Public Intellectualism.”
If you’re planning on majoring in Asian studies or history in college, prepare yourself for a multi-disciplinary experience that includes significant time studying an Asian language, too. This can be aided by study abroad experiences that have a language-intensive model.
If you’re unsure of your best fit, send us an email. We help students like you find, and get into, their perfect college.