The Master of Arts in Asian Studies is designed to prepare our students to become
global citizens, versed in the languages and cultures of the region, with the intellectual
flexibility to combine area studies and professional competence, and cognizant of
the complex linkages that define the profound relevance of Asia for the United States
today.
The M.A. in Asian Studies is a flexible interdisciplinary degree providing advanced
language study and area studies education. The core program faculty include over 80
professors in 26 departments across ten colleges. In addition to strengths in history,
literature, economics, political science, sociology, and geography, the program has
strong interdisciplinary concentrations in health, visual culture, development studies,
legal studies, gender studies, and environmental studies.
The degree can be used either as preparation for further academic studies at the Ph.D.
level with our graduates having gone on to prestigious graduate programs at universities
such as UCLA, Columbia University, University of Washington, University of Oregon,
Indiana University, and the University of Chicago. Or, the degree can be used as preparation
for careers in government service, international law, international business, and
education. It may be usefully combined with a Master's in Business, Law, Public Administration,
Public Health and other professional degrees. Our graduates have jobs in a wide variety
of fields, from law, biological research, graphic design, and the computer industry
to public service here and abroad as well as overseas entrepreneurship.
ADMISSIONS GRADUATE ADVISINGFACULTY GUIDEFUNDING FEATURED FACULTYPROGRAM REQUIREMENTSSTUDENT RESEARCH
With an interdisciplinary degree, programs of study will include coursework from across
academic disciplines. Below are examples of ways to build a program of study around
a research topic and region of Asia.
Learn more about an
MA in Asian Studies

All applications for the MA in Asian Studies must be submitted online through the
University of Utah's Graduate Admissions.
Click here for information and instructions on how to apply to the MA in Asian Studies.
Click here to begin your application.
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Research Topic
Environmental Policy in China
Disciplinary Concentration
Coursework [24 credits]
- GEOG 6520: Economic Geography, Location, and Regional Development
- GEOG 6960: Topics in Medical Health Geography
- GEOG 6140: Advanced Methods in GIS
- HIST 6860: Environmental History of China
- ECON 6420: China and the Global Economy
- COMM 6360: Environmental Communication
- COMM 6360: Environmental Communication, Special Topics
- SOC 6480: Environmental Sociology
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Research Topic
Conflict and Religions of South Asia
Disciplinary Concentration
- Hindi-Urdu/World Languages and Cultures
Coursework [24 credits]
- HINDI 6880: Cultural Exchanges of South Asia
- HINDI 6620: Pop Culture of South Asia
- HINDI 7300: Graduate Language Study
- HIST 6865: Gender, Race, and Empire
- HIST 6230: Global Islam
- COMM 6620: International Communication
- PHIL 6710: International Human Rights
- PHIL 6190: Philosophy of Religion
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Research Topic
Migration Studies and Memory of Southeast Asia
Disciplinary Concentration
Coursework [24 credits]
- HIST 7910: Seminar in Global Gender History
- HIST 6975: Vietnam War
- HIST 7010: Oral History
- HIST 6865: Gender, Race, and Empire in Asia
- SOC 6965: Immigrants and Communities
- COMM 6150: Dialogue and Cultural Studies
- COMM 6820: Seminar in Critical/Cultural Theory
- FILM 6320: Film, Dream, and Memory
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Research Topic
Political Rhetoric of South Korea
Disciplinary Concentration
Coursework [24 credits]
- POLS 6800: Theories of International Relations
- POLS 6440: Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict
- POLS 6480: International Relations of East Asia
- HIST 6780: Korean War
- HIST 6800: Special Topics in Asian History
- COMM 6610: IT and Global Conflict
- COMM 6200: Persuasive and Political Communication
- KOREA 6880: Directed Reading
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Research Topic
Population Studies and Health in Japan
Disciplinary Concentration
Coursework [24 credits]
- HIST 6510: Japan’s Aging Society
- SOC 6674: Global Health
- SOC 6438: Japanese Society
- SOC 6657: World Population Problems and Society
- GEOG 6510: Urban Geography--Cities, Regions, Globalization
- COMM 6140: Communities and Aging
- COMM 6116: Health, Communication, and Culture
- HIST 6930: Special Studies in Asian History
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Research Topic
Visual Culture and Art of Japan
Disciplinary Concentration
Coursework [24 credits]
- ARTH 6810: Visual Intersections and Critical Approaches
- ARTH 6830: Seminar in Asian Art
- ARTH 6910: Directing Reading in Asian Art
- COMM 6555: Documentary Photography
- HIST 7810: Seminar in Japanese History
- FILM 6170: Japanese Anime
- JAPAN 6900: Survey of Literature--Women
- JAPAN 6900: Survey of Literature--Race in Japan