Academic Programs
Concentration
The Asian and Asian Diaspora Studies concentration is designed for students interested in the languages, history, politics, and cultures of Asia and the Asian diasporas. The geographical region of Asia includes countries such as Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. In consultation with the concentration advisor, students may focus their coursework on a sub-region of Asia or the Asian diasporas, or design their program to offer a comparative study across different regions and/or cultural groups.
Minor
The goal of the Minor Program in Asian and Asian Diaspora Studies is to provide balanced coverage of language, humanistic, and social science offerings and to expose students to comparative perspectives.
As with all HASS Minors, only five of the six minor subjects may be counted toward the eight-subject Institute HASS Requirement. Of these five, at most one shall count toward satisfaction of the HASS Distribution Requirement. Of the six subjects required for the minor, at least four must count only toward that minor (and not toward any other degrees, major or minor).
Major
The Major in Asian and Asian Diaspora Studies is designed for students interested in serious intensive research on the languages, history, politics, and cultures of Asia and/or the Asian diasporas. The goal of the Major program is to provide balanced coverage of language, humanistic and social science offerings on the region and to expose students to some comparative perspectives within the region. The MIT Departments of Global Studies and Languages, History, and Political Science offer a substantial number of subjects related to Asia and the Asian diasporas. All Interdisciplinary Major students must write a senior thesis on a topic of their choice to be determined in consultation with an MIT faculty member whose specialty falls within Asian studies. The thesis research may include knowledge of an Asian language.