The East Asian region is home to some of the world's oldest cultures, and yet the area is also deeply relevant to the modern world. East Asia will to have a profound influence on world trade, politics, and culture in the twenty-first century. The East Asian Studies Department contributes an important dimension to the traditional liberal arts curriculum by offering courses with a focus on this region and an East Asian Studies major and minor, a Chinese minor, and a Japanese minor. Students considering a major in East Asian Studies are strongly urged to take one of the department's introductory courses, East Asian Studies 151, 152 or Art 173. Information on the programs can be found on the department requirements page; course schedules are on the course offerings page; and links to online course materials can be found on the course webpages page

The study of Chinese and/or Japanese languages is an important component of the major, and the department offers four years of instruction in both language. Study abroad during the junior year is strongly encouraged; see the study abroad page for information about the Associated Kyoto Program in Japan and approved programs in China. In addition to gaining a solid grounding in language and literature, East Asian majors also choose from a variety of courses offered by faculty in art history, anthropology, economics, film studies, government, history, music, philosophy, and religion to complete their course requirements.