​Declaration in or after Fall 2019

Last update: October 2024

Major Overview

Asian Studies draws on the resources of many departments to provide a comprehensive program of study on Asia (especially East Asia). Majors may concentrate on a geographic area, field, or theme(s). By combining language with the study of politics, history, society, art, religion and philosophy, and literature, each student can construct a major tailored to individual interests.

Temple's campus in Japan provides students an experience in the region while taking their coursework. It is possible for students to arrange internships for credit by making contact with an organization willing to accept them and working with a faculty supervisor. The Office of Career Development offers assistance in identifying internship opportunities.

The curriculum gives students a foundation for living or working in Asia, or continuing their studies through developing a knowledge base, cross-cultural sensitivity, analytical thinking, and communication and writing skills in English and an Asian language. After graduation, students find employment in media, government, financial services, trading companies, nonprofit organizations, or educational institutions. Some enter graduate programs in law, business, or academic fields, including Asian Studies.

The Asian Studies program will assist students in:

• explaining and discussing orally and in writing at least one Asian religious tradition of importance to two or more Asian countries within a historically, culturally, and socially informed framework.
• reading, interpreting, and discussing orally and in writing literary works from at least one tradition within their social, cultural, and historical contexts.
• conducting research on a range of social and/or political and/or cultural topics relevant to at least one Asian region in ways that meet the disciplinary standards for scholarship in Asian Studies within paradigms informed by the social sciences and/or the humanities.
• developing and arguing for a thesis in ways that meet the disciplinary standards for scholarship in Asian Studies within paradigms informed by the social sciences and/or the humanities. 
• presenting research findings orally and in writing in ways that meet the disciplinary standards for scholarship in Asian Studies within paradigms informed by the social sciences and/or the humanities. 
• interpreting, explaining, and discussing orally and in writing significant facts, trends, and themes relevant to one or more Asian region and at least two of that region's constituent countries within a historically, culturally, and socially informed framework that includes an understanding of relevant political systems. 
• demonstrating competence in accessing and evaluating alternative sources of information. 
• understanding Asia’s political, religious, cultural, ethnic, economic, geographic, strategic and historical landscapes. 
• appreciating the commonalities, differences, continuities and transformations in comparative perspective.  
• understanding the range of theoretical frameworks informing the study and practice in various disciplines ranging from anthropology and history to religion, arts and language.