Honors Minor

To be admitted to the honors minor, students should have completed at least two Asian Studies courses in different departments with a grade of B+ or above.

An honors minor in Asian Studies consists of a minimum of 5 credits, distributed as follows:

Geographic Breadth

There are two tracks within the minor:

Comparative Asian cultures: The selection of courses and the honors preparation should offer a comparative perspective on the traditional or modern cultures of Asia. Individual programs should be worked out in close consultation with the Asian Studies coordinator. (Language study does not count toward this track.)
Focus on a single country or region: All courses in the program should focus on the same region or country. One or 2 credits of language study may be included.

Disciplinary Breadth

Asia-related courses must be taken in at least two departments outside of the disciplinary honors major. Only one course may overlap the honors minor and the disciplinary honors major.

Temporal breadth

At least one course focusing on the Premodern or Early Modern (before 1900) Eras, and at least one course on the Modern (after 1900) Era must be completed. This requirement can be fulfilled by taking at least two courses that examine substantial material on both the Premodern/Early Modern and Modern Eras.

Asian Language Study

Asian language study is not required, but courses in Asian languages may count toward the honors minor. For languages offered at Swarthmore (Chinese and Japanese), courses above the second-year level count toward the minor.

For Asian languages not offered at Swarthmore, courses at the entry level may be counted if the equivalent of 1.5 credits is earned in an approved program.