The Center for Asian Studies is pleased to offer the graduate certificate in Asian studies. It enables students with intellectual or professional interest in Asia who are not focused primarily on Asia within their own degree program to acquire an official credential indicating that they have expertise in some aspect of Asian knowledge or practice.

For more information, visit the Center for Asian Studies' Asian Studies Graduate Certificate webpage.

Requirements

Admission Requirements

The certificate is available to all graduate students and post-BA students in the professional schools currently enrolled at CU Boulder, and to non-degree-seeking ACCESS students with a bachelor's degree.

How to Apply

  • Write to the Certificate Director (lauren.collins@colorado.edu)
  • Upon acceptance, meet with the Certificate Director to approve a plan for coursework and meeting the language requirement
  • Upon completion, submit transcript to the Center for Asian Studies for review by the Certificate Director 

Course Requirements

Students must complete 12 credit hours of approved graduate courses with a grade of B or higher, 3 credits of which may be in an approved undergraduate course, and 9 credits of which must be at or above the 5000 level.

  • Specialization allowed in East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia or West Asia/Middle East.
  • 2 courses in a single discipline or department.
  • 2 courses from outside of that discipline or department.
  • Thematic courses that have at least 50% Asia content may also be counted, dependent on approval by the Certificate Director.
  • Up to 3 credits may be taken as independent study on an Asia-related topic at the 5000 level or higher with approval from the Certificate Director.
  • 9 credits must be at or above the 5000 level.
  • Two years' college-level proficiency in an Asian language relevant to specialization (does not count toward the certificate credit hours).

Note: Students may take 3 credits of independent study on an Asia-related topic at the 5000 level or higher with a CAS Faculty Affiliate from outside of their home department; students may not take both a theory class and an independent study for the certificate.

Approved Undergraduate Courses

These courses must be outside the student's home department and can be chosen from the upper-division courses (at 3000 or 4000 level) listed as requirements on the Asian Studies - Bachelor of Arts (BA) page under Modern Asian Civilizations and Electives.

Graduate Courses with a Theory Focus

If a student takes one of these courses, they may not also take an Independent Study course for the certificate; the course must be taught be a CAS Faculty Affiliate and the student must complete written assignments/projects on an Asia-related topic.

Anthropology
Explorations in Anthropology (Approved topics include: Islam; Ethnography of Southeast Asia; Global Cultures: Islam; Global Islam)
Ethnography of Southeast Asia and Indonesia
Art and Art History
Topics in Ancient and Classical Art and Archaeology (Persian Empire)
Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Special Topics in Art History (when it has an Asia focus)
Seminar: Methods/Theories of Art History (when it has an Asia focus)
Graduate Seminar: Open Topics in Art History (East and West)
Art and Film Studies
Topics in International Cinema (Contemporary Asian Cinema)
Classics
Topics in Ancient and Classical Art and Archaeology (Persian Empire)
Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Economics
International Economics 1
ECON 8764
History
Britain and the Empire, 1688-1964
Borderlands of the British Empire
Decolonization of the British Empire
School of Law
Introduction to Islamic Law & Jurisprudence
Religious Studies
Interdisciplinary Seminar on Religion (The Body in Chinese Religion)

Graduate Courses with an Asia Focus

Anthropology
Explorations in Anthropology (Islam; Ethnography of Southeast Asia; Global Cultures: Islam; Global Islams )
Culture and Society in South Asia
Ethnography of Southeast Asia and Indonesia
Art & Art History
Topics in Ancient and Classical Art and Archaeology (Persian Empire)
Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Classics
Topics in Ancient and Classical Art and Archaeology (Persian Empire)
Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
Geography
Geography of Tibet
Global Frontiers in Southeast Asia
History
Colloquium in Modern Asian History
The Modern Middle East, 1600 to the Present
History of Modern India
Women in Modern India
Women in East Asian History
Modern China: Collapse of Imperial Brilliance, 1644-1949
Contemporary China: Radicalism and Reform, 1949 to Present
China and Islam from the 7th Century to the 20th Century
Modern Japanese History
History of Early Modern Japan (1590-1868)
Readings in World History (The Japanese Empire)
Readings in Asian History
Decolonization in Transnational Perspective: The End of the British Empire in S Asia & Middle East
Reading in South Asian History
Graduate Research Seminar in Asian History
Music
World Music Ensemble (Japanese Ensemble; Gamelan Ensemble)
School of Law
Introduction to Islamic Law & Jurisprudence
Political Science
Seminar: Comparative Political Systems (when it has an Asia focus )
Religious Studies
Topics in Hinduism
Body and Magic in India
Advanced Readings in Sanskrit
Topics in Buddhism
Topics in Judaism (when it has an Asia focus )
Islam in the Modern World
Daoism
Theatre & Dance
THTR 5061

Graduate Literature Courses

For students with sufficient training in Chinese or Japanese

Chinese
Sinological Methods
Readings in Pre-Modern Chinese Literary Theory
History of Literature through the Ninth Century
History of Chinese Literature from the Tenth to the Nineteenth Century
Ancient Prose
Ancient Poetry
History of Early Chinese Thought
Topics in Ancient Literature
Medieval Prose
Medieval Poetry
Medieval Thought and Religion
Topics in Medieval Literature
Early Modern Prose
Early Modern Poetry
Early Modern Fiction
Topics in Early Modern Literature
Daoism
Modern Literature
Contemporary Literature
History of Chinese Film
Topics in 20th Century Literature
Topics in Chinese Film
Japanese
Bibliography and Research Methods
Japanese Sociolinguistics: Japanese Language and Society
Kanji in Japanese Orthography
Japanese Literary Translation
Japanese for Sinologists
Classical Prose Literature
Waka, Renga, and Haiku
Topics in Classical Japanese Literature
Advanced Classical Japanese 1
Advanced Classical Japanese 2
Medieval Prose Literature
Japanese Buddhism and Literature
Topics in Medieval Literature
Japanese Dramatic Literature
Early Modern Japanese Literature and Culture
Modern Japanese Literature
Contemporary Japanese Literature
Readings in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Thought and Culture
Topics in Modern Literature and Culture