Academic Programs

The chart below shows eight different ways in which MSU undergraduates may pursue majors related to Asia. Students in all majors have the option to pursue the cross-disciplinary Asian Studies Specialization, which requires a minimum of 21 credit hours in Asia-focused courses and can be added to any major in any college. Specialization students have found employment in international business and finance, global supply chain management, foreign service, education, and NGO work, as well as entering professional/graduate school. The Asian Studies majors offered in College of Social Science, College of Arts and Letters, and James Madison College, along with the Asian Studies Specialization, are rigorous and high-quality programs that require intensive language learning and Asia-focused coursework. They also require or strongly encourage study abroad. These majors meet the needs of both the increasingly diverse student body and the growing demand for comprehensive and fully integrated programs of study on Asia.

Ten of MSU's 17 colleges regularly offer Asia-focused courses and faculty continue to create new and relevant courses for college-wide audiences such as "Gandhi's India in History, Literature, & Film," "Sacred Music of Asia and the Pacific Rim," and "Special Topics in Geography: China & Globalization." The Asian Studies Center also sponsors course-based colloquia and conferences that highlight Asia's diversity and importance in the world. Recent colloquium themes have included "History and Memory in Asia," "Focus on Central Asia," and "Political Ecologies & Environmental Politics in Asia, Past & Present."

Language instruction

MSU offers instruction in 23 Asian languages, 22 of which are designated priority languages by the U.S. Department of Education, including majors and minors in modern Chinese or Japanese. In 2007, the Teaching Chinese and Teaching Japanese programs were created to respond to the need for well-trained K-12 teachers of East Asian languages. The Korean Language Program, which offered only two years of instruction in 2004, now has a complete four-year program with the option to study Korean at Yonsei University in Seoul. A minor in Korean language and culture is currently under development. Arabic course offerings, which anchor language programs in West Asia, have significantly increased. MSU initiated fourth-year advanced Arabic in 2007 and independent study and research classes were taught in Arabic in 2008. In 2006, MSU initiated an Arabic Language Instruction Flagship (ALIF) and Arabic language partner program with Dearborn Public Schools. Established to help Michigan students gain superior-level competency in Arabic, ALIF provides personalized study plans consisting of traditional language courses complemented by co-curricular activities, personalized tutoring, and overseas study.

MSU also offers a diverse Asian LCTL program led by LCTL coordinator Danielle Steider and coordinator specialist for Arabic and Turkic LCTLs, Anne Baker, who work closely with CLEAR and CeLTA to develop assessment tools, instructional materials, and professional development workshops for LCTL instructors.

Asian Studies in professional schools

MSU's graduate and professional colleges have rapidly built or expanded their curricular offerings in Asian Studies at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Asia content is part of internationalized graduate curricula in the College of Arts and Letters, College of Social Science, Broad College of Business, Comm. Arts and sciences, College of Education, Law, and Music. Asian studies graduate students can choose from numerous courses in these colleges to meet their needs and draw on the mentoring of faculty across campus that have expertise in Asia. For example, in CoE, all undergraduates must complete TE 250, a teacher education course on internationalizing classroom education in which Asia is one of the central foci. Master's students, many of whom are in service in mid-Michigan schools, are required to choose from TE 890, 891, and 923, which offer Asian content. These required elements of the CoE teacher education program prepare K-12 teachers to accurately and effectively incorporate Asia into their lessons.

Majors at MSU for students interested in Asia