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For specific information related to your program or area of interest

Including how to apply, please visit the following pages:

Undergraduate Programs Information

Major or minor in Asian Studies.

Graduate Programs Information

Including: Master of Arts in Asian Studies, Master’s in Asian International Affairs, and Graduate Certificates in Asian Studies.

Student Testimonials

Christina Geisse

The Asian Studies Program was incredible because most professors were undertaking their own research, passionate about their subject of study, and enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge with students. It felt fresh and profound at the same time. Inspiring! 

Christina Geisse
Kim Sluchansky

I was able to delve deep and focus on the areas of Asian Studies that truly interested me, and therefore gained a much more thorough and developed understanding of my fields of interest, which are applicable to my current career path. Also, the professors are extremely helpful and want their students to succeed. They were very supportive both while I was at UH and after I graduated.

Call for Proposals : Resilience, Restoration and Reconciliation

36th Annual Asian Studies Conference | 16-17 April 2025 

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu

Asia stands at the forefront of critical global issues: climate change and environmental degradation, political struggles and geopolitical tensions, population aging and migration, and contested cultural landscapes, to name just a few. Today, as in the past, such large-scale changes present both profound challenges and remarkable opportunities for institutions, states, and individuals in the region.   

The School of Pacific and Asian Studies (SPAS) and the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) welcome proposals for papers, performances, and panels for the 36th annual Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference. Themed  “Resilience, Restoration, and Reconciliation”, the conference will be held at the Center for Korean Studies on the UHM campus on 16-17 April 2025.

Resilience refers to the capacity to withstand, adapt to or recover from adversity. Restoration suggests the desire to return to a previous condition. Reconciliation is about the process of righting past wrongs and reestablishing relations of trust. These terms all suggest different approaches to engaging the past and imagining the future, fostering a deep understanding of the emerging issues that Asia faces, and collaborating to effect positive changes. We welcome submissions from graduate students in any disciplinary or interdisciplinary field. We look forward to learning more about your research.

The 2025 SPAS Graduate Student Conference will feature Dr. Anand Yang as the keynote speaker. Dr. Yang is a professor at the Jackson School of International Studies and Department of History at University of Washington, teaching South Asian and World History classes at undergraduate and graduate level classes.  

Why Apply?

The Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference will see students from various disciplines gather to present their research to peers working on similar themes. It is also an opportunity to network with fellow academics with a passion for the study of Asia in Honolulu, a unique intersection of East and West. Additionally, there will be several “Writing Excellence Award” funded by the respective area centers at UHM :

  • Chinese Studies
  • Korean Studies
  • Japanese Studies
  • Okinawan Studies
  • Philippine Studies
  • South Asian Studies 
  • Southeast Asian Studies

Who Can Apply?

We welcome submissions from graduate students in any academic discipline with a focus in Asia whose research fits into one or more of the three thematic areas of Resilience, Restoration and Reconciliation. 

How to Apply?

Please check the abstract guidelines here and submit a 250-300 word abstract and other details through this link by 31 Jan 2025

For updated conference information, please visit our website and direct any questions to conference organizers Liz Liew and Erich Schwartz at gradconf@hawaii.edu

Co-sponsored by the School of Pacific and Asian Studies (SPAS) and Department of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

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