About the Program

Minor

Note: The Asian Studies Major and all of the associated minors have been retired and folded into Global Studies.  We are no longer accepting Asian Studies declarations.  Please visit the Global Studies website or the Global Studies page on the Berkeley Academic Guide for more information.

The Group in Asian Studies offers a minor in Japanese Studies. This minor program gives students an introduction to the study of one region of Asia through social science and humanities courses. Students who wish to pursue a major program in Japanese Studies should refer to the major program in Asian Studies: Japan, in this Guide.

Declaring the Minor

Students must see the undergraduate major adviser in 101 Stephens Hall to fill out an Intent to Declare Minor form. It is recommended that students do this either before or, at most, shortly after they decide to pursue a minor.

Other Majors and Minors Offered by the Group in Asian Studies

Asian Studies: Multi-Area (Area 1): Includes all countries and regions of Asia (Major only)
Asian Studies: China (Area 2) (Major only)
Asian Studies: Japan (Area 3) (Major only)
Chinese Studies (Minor only)
Korean Studies (Minor only)

Visit Group Website

Minor Requirements

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but they are not noted on diplomas.

General Guidelines

1. All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If the semester before EGT is fall or spring, the deadline is the last day of RRR week. If the semester before EGT is summer, the deadline is the final Friday of Summer Sessions. To declare a minor, contact the department advisor for information on requirements, and the declaration process.
2. All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
3. A minimum of three of the upper division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
4. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
5. Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
6. No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
7. All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which you plan to graduate. If you cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, please see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
8. All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)

Requirements

Courses

Japan-Focused Courses

Use this list to choose five upper division courses on Japan. Note that this is not an exhaustive list: if you think a course could count, discuss with major adviser.