Undergraduate Asian American Studies Requirements at UMB

Asian American Studies Requirements

The Individual Major

In consultation with a faculty advisor, interested students from any UMass Boston college may design and complete an individual major in Asian American studies with the approval of both the program and the CAS Committee on Majors, Honors, and Special Programs. Typically, one or two students graduate each year with a major in Asian American studies -- often in conjunction with a second major in a traditional discipline such as sociology. Interested students should contact the program director.

Program Requirements

This CAS-based interdisciplinary program of study requires 9 credits each of lower-level and upper-level course work, including introductory and culminating courses and one comparative course, for a total of 18 credits. Many courses are cross-listed with other departments in CAS; some are also linked to specific CPCS-based competencies.

I. The required introductory course is AsAmSt/AmSt/Sociol L223 (Asian Minorities in America).

II. Two additional courses at the 100 or 200 level and two at the 300, 400, or 500 level must be taken from an approved list that includes Asian American studies topics and methods courses. One of these four courses must have a comparative focus (described in greater detail below).

A. Lower-level Asian American Studies courses introduce students to a particular Asian American population (for example, Southeast Asians, South Asians, women) or a particular thematic or disciplinary focus (for example, literature, media). Regularly-offered lower-level Asian American studies courses include:
AsAmSt/Engl L221 (Introduction to Asian American Writing)
AsAmSt/AmSt/Sociol L225 (Southeast Asians in America)
AsAmSt/AmSt/Sociol L228 (Asian Women in the US)
PolSci 225 (World War II Internment of Japanese Americans)

B. Upper-level Asian American studies courses provide students with either a more advanced approach within a discipline or professional field (for example, literature, law) or an in-depth thematic focus that requires previous Asian American studies coursework as a foundation. Regularly-offered upper-level Asian American studies courses include:

C. Among the two lower-level and two upper-level courses required for the program of study, one course must offer a comparative focus either on dynamics of race and culture for other groups in the US or on issues of history and culture in Asia. Students interested in the cultural backgrounds of Asian immigrants, for example, will benefit from taking a course focusing on Asian philosophies or religions. Students interested in Asian American community development will benefit from understanding the similarities and differences in needs and priorities within Black or Latino communities. The comparative course can be at any level. Examples include:

III. The program's culminating course requirement asks students to integrate theory and practice developed from previous coursework in Asian American studies through conducting a substantive research project or by participating in a supervised community-based internship. This capstone course requirement can be fulfilled in three ways, each requiring the instructor's approval. Students who complete more than one of these culminating options can use the additional course(s) to satisfy the upper-level course requirement described above in Part IIB. The three options are:

A. ASAMST/SOCIOL L423 (Boston's Asian American Communities)

B. ASAMST 390-391 (Community Internships) Asian American studies internship opportunities are available each semester in a variety of settings such as neighborhood health centers, school-based bilingual programs, multi-service agencies, ethnic newspapers, and community-based research and advocacy projects. A supervised internship in another department or program such as or AMST 490 or SOCIOL 480B or ENGL Z285 with an Asian American focus and faculty approval can also fulfill this requirement.

C. ASAMST 478-479 (Independent Study I/II) Students using this option are expected to submit project proposals and to give final public presentations of their work. An independent study (with a proposal and final presentation) sponsored by another department. (such as AMST 478-479) on an approved topic with a program faculty member may also be used to fulfill this requirement.

Competencies and CPCS Students

CPCS faculty are directly involved with the program and all teaching faculty in the program are expected to be familiar with the curricular philosophy and assessment practices of CPCS. Most courses listed here are also directly aligned with specific Level I-IV competencies for CPCS students. Contact the program director for further information.