Asian Studies (BA)

This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2025-Spring 2026 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.

Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies
Unit: College of Arts and Sciences (AS)
Department: Political Science
Program: Asian Studies
Academic Plan Code(s): ASSTBA

Program Information

Asia is the home of 60 percent of the world's population. China and Japan are the second and third largest economies in the world, and India has also experienced very rapid economic growth in the last three decades. Asia has some of the world's most ancient civilizations in the world, such as the Chinese civilization and the Indian civilization. 

The Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies program at UofL is an undergraduate-level interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

Completion of this degree requires work to be submitted for the department’s Learning Outcomes Measurement. For details, contact the department.

Degree Summary

¹

Some credit hours from the General Education Requirements may be satisfied by courses defined by the program, in which case additional electives will be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree. 

Specific coursework information can be found on the Degree Requirements tab.

Departmental Admission Requirements

Admission to the BA in Asian Studies requires a minimum 2.0 cumulative University of Louisville GPA. 

The Change Major Request form can be found under the Academic Progress tile on ULink.

General Education Requirements

*All degrees require the completion of the University-wide General Education Program (link provided above).  Some General Education requirements may be met in the requirements for the major or supporting coursework, in which case additional electives may be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

College/School Requirements

Program/Major Requirements

Consult your Asian Studies advisor about how independent study and special topics courses (AST 491, AST 500, AST 501) count in your major.

At least 50 of the total minimum hours required must be at the 300 level or above. 

¹

Completion of the intermediate level of a single foreign language.

²

In addition to courses counted toward General Education; 6 hours must be at 300 level or above.

³

May be incorporated into other degree requirements.

⁴

AST 390, AST 391, AST 500, AST 501 and CHST 313 are special topics courses. They may used to satisfy any area degree requirement depending on topic appropriateness with the program director's approval. 

⁵

Other Asian languages may be substituted upon approval of the Director of the Asian Studies Program

⁶

Asian Studies Humanities electives include the following: AST 290/ARTH 290, AST 330/ARTH 335, AST 331/ARTH 331, ARTH 339, AST 270/CHST 270/M L 270, AST 323/CHST 323, CHST 313, CHST 331, AST 333/CHST 333, AST 335/CHST 335, AST 341/CHST 341, AST 351/CHST 351, CHST 353, CHST 361, HUM 218, HUM 307, AST 340/HUM 341, HUM 342, AST 343/HUM 343, HUM 369, AST 531/ARTH 531, M L 310, M L 313 (when topic is appropriate and approved by the program director).

⁷

 Asian Studies Social Science electives include the following: AST 317/ANTH 317, AST 347/ANTH 347, AST 308/GEOG 308, AST 316/GEOG 316, AST 397/HIST 397, AST 398/HIST 398, AST 399/HIST 399, AST 365/POLS 365, AST 366/POLS 366, AST 367/POLS 367, HIST 396, HIST 584, POLS 345, POLS 362. 

⁸

Students who satisfy General Education Requirements by courses defined by the program will require additional electives to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

Flight Plan

The Flight Plan outlined above is intended to demonstrate one possible path to completing the degree within four years.  Course selection and placement within the program may vary depending on course offerings and schedule, elective preferences, and other factors (study abroad, internship availability, etc.). Please consult your advisor for additional information about building a flight plan that works for you.

Degree Audit Report
Degree Audit reports illustrate how your completed courses fulfill the requirements of your academic plan, and which requirements are still outstanding. Degree audits also take transfer credits and test credits into account. "What-if" reports allow you to compare the courses you have completed in your current academic plan to the courses required in another academic plan.  Should you have questions about either report, please consult with your academic advisor.

Flight Planner
The Flight Planner tool is available for you to create a personalized Flight Plan to graduation.  Advisors have access to review your Flight Planner and can help you adjust it to ensure you remain on track to graduate in a timely manner.

To create these reports:

1. Log into your ULink account.
2. Click on the Academic Progress tile.
3. Select the appropriate report.
   1. To run a Degree Audit report, click on "View my Degree Audit."
   2. To create a What-if report, click on "What-if Advisement Report."
   3. To run a Flight Planner report, click on "Use My Flight Planner."

Click here to run a Degree Audit report, create a What-if report, or run a Flight Planner report.