Pathway to Major and Minor
1. Declare major/minor
You can declare or change your major/minor through Solar . Click here for the instruction. Deadlines are specified on our academic calendar. No need to get the director's approval except for Korean Studies Minor and Teacher Education Program. Read the requirements posted on the official Bulletin and talk to the specific program director/advisor listed below for advice.
MAJORS
- Asian & Asian American Studies (Ruf)
- Asian & Asian American Studies with Teacher Certification in Chinese, Japanese and Korean (Hwang)
MINORS
- Asian & Asian American Studies (Ruf)
- China Studies (Zeng)
- Japanese Studies (Nagase)
- Korean Studies (Sohn)
- South Asian Studies (Nicholson)
- Religious Studies (Chittick)
Our B.A. degrees prepare our students for local and international careers in education, journalism, law, diplomacy, business, medicine and health sciences. Feel free to contact the UG Director (Sato) for designing your academic path in our department, enrolling in multiple major/minor programs, or engaging in unique experiential learning under the supervision of some of our faculty members to strengthen your future professional qualification.
2. Check your progress regularly
Use Degree Works or Solar and see the degree requirements on the bulletin to check what you have completed and what you haven't every semester. Occasionally, some courses you see on your course history on Solar may not appear on your Degree Works, but no need to panic because we clear students manually at the end of the semester through the help of our department administrative staff once approved by the program director/advisor based on your course history on Solar. You just need to double check with the program director/advisor in writing (email is convenient). However, if the director/advisor uses Degree Works, he/she can petition changes on Degree Works. Whenever you see some problem or have any creative ideas, talk with the program director/advisor. He/she may be able to accommodate your needs and help you pursue a unique pathway toward your major or minor.
* AAS major requires upper-division research paper (10+ pages). If you plan to write a paper to be used for this requirement, co-register for AAS 459 with the same instructor and send the paper to the UG Director after you pass AAS 459. If you already wrote one, but failed to co-register for AAS 459, send the paper to the UG Director by email attachment and ask her to register for AAS 459 with her.
* It is students' responsibility to check the university's degree requirements (e.g., SBC, 120+ total credits, 39+ upper-division credits, 2.00+ GPA).
* To find our current, future, and past courses, see the instruction for using SBU Class Find: https://it.stonybrook.edu/services/sbu-class-find
3. Apply for Graduation
Talk with the program director/advisor the semester before the one your intend to graduate in, and see if you can completed the requirements in time. Then, apply for graduation by the deadline (click here for the instruction).