Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree with a Major in Asian Studies
Program Learning Outcomes for the BA Degree with a Major in Asian Studies
Upon completing the BA degree with a major in Asian Studies, students will be able to:
- Develop a broad historical and geographic knowledge about Asia as a transnational region.
- Design and execute independent research on Asia by using either social scientific or humanistic methods.
- Demonstrate the ability to incorporate Asian-language sources into academic research.
Requirements for the BA Degree with a Major in Asian Studies
For general university requirements, see Graduation Requirements. Students pursuing the BA degree with a major in Asian Studies must complete:
- A minimum of 10 courses (30 credit hours) to satisfy major requirements.
- A minimum of 120 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements.
- A minimum of 4 courses (12 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
- A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
- Demonstration of advanced language proficiency in an Asian language.
The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this major. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the major’s academic advisor, or where applicable, the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the major's Official Certifier.) Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the Major in Asian Studies | 30 | |
| Total Credit Hours Required for the BA degree with a Major in Asian Studies | 120 | |
Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirement | ||
| ASIA 295 | INTRODUCTION TO TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN STUDIES | 3 |
| Elective Requirements | ||
| Select 8 elective courses from course offerings with predominantly Asian content (see course list below) 1,2 | 24 | |
| Capstone Course | ||
| ASIA 495 | ASIAN STUDIES RESEARCH SEMINAR | 3 |
| Advanced Language Proficiency | ||
| Students must demonstrate advanced language proficiency in an Asian language 1 | ||
| Total Credit Hours Required for the Major in Asian Studies | 30 | |
| Additional Credit Hours to Complete Degree Requirements * | 59 | |
| University Graduation Requirements * | 31 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| * | Note: University Graduation Requirements include 31 credit hours, comprised of Distribution Requirements (Groups I, II, and III), FWIS, and LPAP coursework. In some instances, courses satisfying FWIS or distribution requirements may additionally meet other requirements, such as the Analyzing Diversity (AD) requirement, or some of the student’s declared major, minor, or certificate requirements. Additional Credit Hours to Complete Degree Requirements include general electives, coursework completed as upper-level, residency (hours taken at Rice), and/or any other additional academic program requirements. |
| 1 | Students must demonstrate advanced language proficiency in an Asian language, and this proficiency requirement may be fulfilled by courses taken at Rice University, through AP credit received, or other means. Up to 4 of the 8 required elective courses may be Asian language courses (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Russian). Students are encouraged to consult with a major advisor regarding this point. |
| 2 | A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) must be taken from at least three different subject codes (i.e., HART, HIST, RELI, etc.) to meet Elective Requirements. |
Course List to Satisfy Requirements
Elective Requirements
Students must complete a total of 8 courses (24 credit hours) from course offerings with predominantly Asian content, which can be found below. Of these 8 courses, up to 4 may be Asian language courses (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Russian), and at least 3 courses (9 credit hours) must be taken from different subject codes (i.e., HART, HIST, RELI, etc.).
Art History
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HART 221 | INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE | 3 |
| HART 319 | ARCHITECTURE, TRADE, AND POWER IN EARLY MODERN ISLAMIC EMPIRES | 3 |
| HART 324 | PERSIANATE ARTS OF THE BOOK | 3 |
| HART 385 | ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE IN ISLAMIC CULTURES | 3 |
Asian Studies1
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 213 | TRANSNATIONAL ART AND CULTURE IN ASIA BEFORE THE TWENTIETH CENTURY | 3 |
| ASIA 214 | ART & WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES IN CHINA, JAPAN AND KOREA | 3 |
| ASIA 218 / HIST 218 / FILM 218 | HISTORY THROUGH FILM IN EAST AND NORTHEAST ASIA | 3 |
| ASIA 219 | MODERN JAPAN | 3 |
| ASIA 221 / RELI 221 | THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD | 3 |
| ASIA 222 / ENGL 222 | THE WORLD AND SOUTH ASIA | 3 |
| ASIA 223 | SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES | 3 |
| ASIA 224 | A HISTORY OF THE SILK ROADS | 3 |
| ASIA 229 | MODERN EAST ASIA: CULTURE, HISTORY, AND SOCIETY | 3 |
| ASIA 230 / RELI 230 | ASIAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA | 3 |
| ASIA 231 / RELI 231 | AMERICAN METAPHYSICAL RELIGION | 3 |
| ASIA 232 / RELI 232 | RELIGIONS FROM INDIA | 3 |
| ASIA 236 | BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE | 3 |
| ASIA 242 | CHINA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1500-PRESENT: FROM THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE TO AN ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE | 3 |
| ASIA 243 | PREMODERN CHINA: HISTORY OF AN OPEN EMPIRE TO 1800 | 3 |
| ASIA 244 | KOREA AND EMPIRES: FROM THE MONGOLS TO THE COLD WAR | 3 |
| ASIA 251 / POLI 250 / SWGS 250 | SEX, MONEY, AND POWER AROUND THE WORLD | 3 |
| ASIA 282 | TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN FOOD: DIVERSITY AND AUTHENTICITY | 3 |
| ASIA 302 | ASIAN PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEXT | 3 |
| ASIA 305 | ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH IN/OF HOUSTON ASIA | 3 |
| ASIA 315 / RELI 315 / SWGS 315 | GENDER AND ISLAM | 3 |
| ASIA 322 / RELI 322 | INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM: ARTS FOR LIFE | 3 |
| ASIA 323 / HART 323 / MDEM 323 | BUDDHIST AND DAOIST ART AND RITUAL | 3 |
| ASIA 328 / HIST 384 / SWGS 384 | MODERN GIRL AND ASIA IN THE WORLD | 3 |
| ASIA 330 / CHIN 330 / MDEM 370 | INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CHINESE POETRY | 3 |
| ASIA 332 / CHIN 332 | MODERN CHINESE LITERATURE AND ITS MOVIE ADAPTATIONS | 3 |
| ASIA 334 / CHIN 334 | TRADITIONAL CHINESE TALES AND SHORT STORIES | 3 |
| ASIA 335 / CHIN 335 / MDEM 375 | INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL CHINESE NOVELS | 3 |
| ASIA 336 | GENDER AND SOCIETY IN BUDDHISM | 3 |
| ASIA 337 | SOUTH ASIAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPES | 3 |
| ASIA 339 | CONSCIOUSNESS FROM INDIAN TRADITIONS TO MODERN SCIENCE | 3 |
| ASIA 342 | EAST ASIAN ORTHODOXIES AND HERESIES: LAW AND SOCIETY IN TRADITIONAL CHINA, KOREA, AND VIETNAM | 3 |
| ASIA 349 / POLI 349 | URBAN LAB ISTANBUL | 1 |
| ASIA 353 / POLI 353 | EAST ASIAN DEMOCRACIES | 3 |
| ASIA 356 | GENOMIC GOVERNANCE IN ASIA | 3 |
| ASIA 357 | ALGORITHMIC CULTURES IN ASIA | 3 |
| ASIA 358 | FILM AND SOCIETY IN SOUTH ASIA | 3 |
| ASIA 360 | TRANSNATIONAL CHINA: CHINA AND THE CHINESE DIASPORA | 3 |
| ASIA 371 / HART 371 | HOW TO READ CHINESE PAINTING | 3 |
| ASIA 372 / HART 372 / MDEM 373 | CHINESE ART AND THE WORLD | 3 |
| ASIA 377 / POLI 377 | CHINESE POLITICS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE | 3 |
| ASIA 378 / MUSI 378 | CLASSICAL, CONTEMPORARY, AND CROSS-CULTURAL ASIAN MUSIC | 3 |
| ASIA 380 / HIST 380 | ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY | 3 |
| ASIA 382 | RUTH BENEDICT AND JAPAN: THE TEXT THAT SHAPED POSTWAR JAPANESE CULTURE | 3 |
| ASIA 383 | UNDERSTANDING NORTH KOREA | 3 |
| ASIA 399 / MDEM 379 / SWGS 399 | WOMEN IN CHINESE LITERATURE | 3 |
| ASIA 401 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-15 |
| ASIA 402 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-15 |
| ASIA 422 / CHIN 422 | THE ORIGINAL BEAUTY OF CHINESE LITERATURE | 3 |
| ASIA 441 / RELI 441 | MAGIC AND POPULAR RELIGION | 3 |
| ASIA 488 | ASIA AND ENERGY | 3 |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | In addition to the courses listed here, all ASIA program course offerings, many of which are cross-listed, may be used to satisfy requirements. |
English
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 372 | ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE | 3 |
| ENGL 376 | SOUTHEAST ASIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH | 3 |
| ENGL 383 | GLOBAL FICTIONS | 3 |
History
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HIST 112 | MODERN PALESTINIAN HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 212 | CONTEMPORARY CHINA | 3 |
| HIST 213 | THE MIDDLE EAST FROM THE AGE OF MUHAMMAD TO THE ARAB SPRING | 3 |
| HIST 219 | GENGHIS KHAN AND THE EMPIRE OF THE MONGOLS | 3 |
| HIST 236 | STATE, SOCIETY, AND THE ECONOMY IN THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST | 3 |
| HIST 271 | HISTORY OF SOUTH ASIA | 3 |
| HIST 275 | MODERN MIDDLE EAST | 3 |
| HIST 278 | MODERN ARAB HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 281 / MDEM 281 | GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM | 3 |
| HIST 309 | CHINESE INTELLECTUAL HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 320 | IMPERIAL PLEASURE GARDENS, A WORLD HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 342 | MODERN CHINA | 3 |
| HIST 378 | MODERN ARAB HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 408 | THE JAPANESE EMPIRE | 3 |
| HIST 434 | MUSLIMS, AMERICA, AND ISLAMOPHOBIA | 3 |
| HIST 436 | AMERICA IN THE MIDDLE EAST | 3 |
| HIST 491 | COEXISTENCE AND SECTARIANISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST | 3 |
| HIST 494 | RULING HINDUSTAN: THE TIMURID-MUGHAL KINGS OF INDIA | 3 |
Humanities
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HUMA 134 | WHAT IS LOVE? A BIG QUESTIONS COURSE WITH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLORATION | 3 |
Philosophy
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 289 | HISTORY OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY | 3 |
Political Science
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| POLI 478 | US - CHINA: CONFLICT AND COOPERATION | 3 |
Religion
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| RELI 223 | QUR'AN AND COMMENTARY | 3 |
| RELI 233 / TIBT 233 | INTRODUCTION TO TIBETAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE | 3 |
| RELI 234 / TIBT 234 | INTERMEDIATE TIBETAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE | 3 |
| RELI 332 / TIBT 332 | ADVANCED TIBETAN LANGUAGE & CULTURE | 3 |
| RELI 333 | KNOWING BODY/GLOWING MIND: BUDDHIST ARTS OF CONTEMPLATION AND ANALYSIS | 3 |
| RELI 356 | MAJOR ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY ISLAM | 3 |
| RELI 378 | MIND AND ART, FILM AND LITERATURE IN BUDDHISM | 3 |
| RELI 442 | CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY ARABIC TEXTS | 3 |
| RELI 470 | BUDDHIST WISDOM TEXTS | 3 |
Policies for the BA Degree with a Major in Asian Studies
Program Restrictions and Exclusions
Students pursuing the major in Asian Studies should be aware of the following program restriction:
- As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, students may not major and minor in the same subject.
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s transfer credit advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Program Transfer Credit Guidelines
Students pursuing the major in Asian Studies should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:
- No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the major.
- Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.
Distribution Credit Information
The determination of distribution credit eligibility is done initially as part of the new course creation process. Additionally, as part of an annual roll call coordinated each Spring by the Office of the Registrar, course distribution credit eligibility is routinely reviewed and reaffirmed by the Dean’s Offices of each of the academic schools.
Faculty and leadership in the academic schools are responsible for ensuring that the courses identified as distribution-credit-eligible meet the criteria as set in the General Announcements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet graduation requirements by completing coursework designated as distribution-credit-eligible at the time of course registration.
Distribution courses from Asian Studies (ASIA) develop students' critical and aesthetic understanding of texts and the arts. They lead students to the analytical examination of ideas and values and introduce students to the variety of approaches and methods with which different disciplines approach intellectual problems. Additionally, they engage students with words of culture that have intellectual importance by virtue of the ideas they express, their historical influence, their mode of expression, or their critical engagement with established cultural assumptions and traditions.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Asian Studies website: https://asianstudies.rice.edu/
Opportunities for the BA Degree with a Major in Asian Studies
Academic Honors
The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Asian Studies website: https://asianstudies.rice.edu/
See https://humanities.rice.edu/student-life for tables of fellowships, prizes, and internships/practica that may be relevant to this major.