Asian Studies Major

Explore the culture and history of Asia then gain in-depth and first-hand knowledge of an Asian country, its language and people.

Asian Studies majors and minors receive a broad introduction to the history and culture of Asian societies, and then narrow their focus to a disciplinary emphasis within a specific region, planned with a faculty member.

You’ll study Chinese, Japanese or Korean (or another language if appropriate), and complement your studies at Pomona with study abroad in locations like China, Japan and Taiwan.

With 80+ courses taught by nearly 30 faculty members at The Claremont Colleges, you’ll be exposed to a variety of perspectives on Asia's past and present. Course subjects may include anthropology, music, literature, politics, religious studies, history and international relations. 

In class with Professor of Japanese Kyoko Kurita
In class with Professor of Japanese Kyoko Kurita
In class with Professor Hung Cam Thai
In class with Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies Hung Cam Thai
In class with Professor of History Sam Yamashita
In class with Professor of History Samuel Yamashita

What You’ll Study

    • The culture and history of Asia
    • In-depth study of an Asian region or country
    • The Asian language of the region of your emphasis
    • Asian culture first-hand through study abroad
    • A concentrated academic area within Asian Studies
80+
Asian Studies majors or minors can choose from more than 80 classes.

Learning at Pomona

Eugine Choo '19

Anti-Online Sexual Violence in South Korea

Eugine Choo ’19 is looking at how online sexual assault is perceived and dealt with in South Korea. She is examining legal and policy documents, newspaper articles, feminist independent media and reviewing her own interviews she conducted with activists.

Andrew Nguy's Research

The Rise of Loose-Leaf Tea in China and Japan

For his senior thesis, Andrew Nguy ’19 is focusing on the 16th and 18th centuries, when tea as we know it today began to establish itself as a new culture.

Eugine Choo ’19

The classes offered in Asian Studies cover a broad range of topics, but they're simultaneously very challenging and rigorous. Through research seminars especially, I learned to become an expert about any given topic in a very short period of time and present research findings in a way that would be accessible to non-experts as well.

Faculty & Teaching

Pomona has close to 30 faculty members involved in the Asian Studies program with a wide range of expertise, including Asian languages and literatures, religious studies, theatre and dance.

Professor Samuel Yamashita

With two dozen Asian specialists on the faculty, the Asian Studies Program offers 50-60 non-language courses on Asian anthropology, art history, history, politics, religion, society and even theater. Our course offerings also cover East, Southeast, South and West Asia. Many of our students win prestigious postgraduate fellowships and go on to do graduate work at the top graduate programs in Asian studies.