Asian American Studies is a Tri-College program that offers a minor at all three colleges. The interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to help students develop an understanding of Asian American experiences, histories, cultures, and art.

While the program centers Asian American experiences and perspectives, it also contextualizes Asian American Studies within the broader field of critical race and ethnic studies, with a focus on how race operates in the United States and intergroup relations between Asian Americans with other racial and ethnic minority groups. Asian American Studies provides rich interdisciplinary training in complex social and cultural issues pertaining to the study of race, ethnicity, and identity; migration and acculturation; intergroup relations; power and privilege; stereotyping and discrimination; and globalization.

Studying the experiences of Asian Americans helps students to learn more about themselves and their relationships in an increasingly multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural nation. Students are engaged in thinking deeply about concepts and theory, and relating those in applied ways to contemporary issues and problems in Asian American communities.

The Asian American Studies minor is a 6-credit minor and is composed of the following requirements: 4 core courses in Asian American Studies, 1 course in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies, and 1 course in Transnational and/or Global Connections with Asia. In lieu of specific required courses, the curriculum offers a balance of structure and rigor with reasonable flexibility in possible pathways for completing the minor. The Co-Directors of Asian American Studies will help students select courses that meet the requirements for the minor. Students’ minor experience will culminate with an annual Tri-College Asian American Studies symposium where seniors will present their work in various forms (e.g., music performance, poster presentation), reflecting the highly interdisciplinary nature of the program.