The Program
The intercollegiate Asian American Studies program offers intellectually challenging, emotionally engaging, and locally grounded opportunities to study the voices, contemporary issues, historical experiences, and contributions of diverse Asian communities in the US. By drawing on shared commitments of faculty, staff, and students from each college within the University, the program provides rich, interdisciplinary approaches in teaching and research with dynamic linkages to local communities and supportive learning environments for students of all backgrounds.
The program enables students to develop critical thinking skills, competencies, and sensibilities to understand, contribute to and thrive in a culturally diverse world, with particular attention to urban populations, institutions, and environments. The program strives to integrate culturally-responsive instruction in the classroom with holistic practices of mentoring, community-building, and advocacy to address the social and academic needs of students
The program collaborates closely with the University's Institute for Asian American Studies (IAAS) in relation to new course development, ongoing research and service learning opportunities, speakers and special events, publications, and graduate/undergraduate student support.
The program collaborates as well with a number of other UMass Boston academic and administrative departments. These include several areas in the College of Arts and Sciences (Africana Studies, American Studies, East Asian Studies); the CPCS intercollegiate Latino Studies program; the Teacher Education program of the Graduate College of Education; the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs; the Center for Immigrant & Refugee Community Leadership and Empowerment (CIRCLE), and the Center for the Improvement of Teaching.
Graduate students from any area who have Asian American studies interests serve as teaching/research assistants, mentors to undergraduates, and special project developers for the program. High school students in UMass Boston's pre-collegiate programs such as Urban Scholars and those involved with the Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth (CAPAY)-a nationally-recognized youth leadership network sponsored by the Asian American Studies program-are encouraged to take advantage of the program's learning opportunities. Community members and organizations also participate in the program's activities in both short- and long-term ways.
The Asian American Studies Program has been selected by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to participate in a national curriculum transformation project focusing on democracy and diversity from 2000 to 2002. The program is also a partner with the William Joiner Center in supporting new research on (re)constructions of identity and community in the Vietnamese diaspora through a Rockefeller Foundation Humanities Fellowship Program for scholars-in-residence at UMass Boston from 2000 to 2003.
The program is open to matriculated students from any UMass Boston college, as well as to non-matriculated students. For matriculated students, successful completion of the program is recorded on official University transcripts. Non-matriculated students receive a certificate of completion which provides documentation of expertise that is especially useful for working professionals and practitioners in education, social work, community development, business, and other fields affected by the recent demographic growth of the Asian American population.