The master’s program in Asian studies is designed primarily for students who wish to focus their studies on a particular geographical and cultural region of Asia. Such an approach entails interdisciplinary study. Graduate students in any department at UH Manoa may apply for the Graduate Certificate programs. UH Manoa is a member of WICHE-WRGP.

We expect the student to:

  • Possess an advanced understanding of at least one (1) Asian language. This means college-level fluency in reading, writing, speaking at the 5th year level of Japanese, 4th year level Chinese and Korean, and 3rd year level Southeast and South Asian languages.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of issues and problems in the arts, humanities, and social sciences as related to Asia.
  • Demonstrate the ability to understand research and conduct research using at least one of the methodologies of various disciplines i.e. humanities, arts and social sciences.
  • Demonstrate ability in integrating all of the above factors in a final major research project