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East Asian Studies

Types of Degrees East Asian Studies Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing East Asian Studies may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	4
Bachelor’s Degree	360
Master’s Degree	191
Doctor’s Degree	26

What East Asian Studies Majors Need to Know

Programs in East Asian Studies build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that East Asian Studies graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing East Asian Studies emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.0 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• History and Archeology — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a East Asian Studies program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to East Asian Studies careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, East Asian Studies graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.5 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.4 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.1 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by East Asian Studies professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Social media software	Web page creation and editing software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—
Google Drive	Cloud-based data access and sharing software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
FileMaker Pro	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for East Asian Studies graduates include:

• College Faculty Member
• Lecturer
• Ethnic Studies Professor
• Ethnology Teacher
• University Faculty Member
• Humanities Professor
• Women’s Studies Professor
• College Professor
• Gender Studies Lecturer
• Asian Studies Professor
• Black Studies Professor
• Faculty Lecturer
• Professor
• Ethnic Origins Teacher
• American Studies Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to East Asian Studies graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	60.5%
Master’s degree	31.0%
Post-doctoral training	4.0%
Post-master’s certificate	3.2%
First professional degree	1.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in East Asian Studies?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 58.5% women and 41.5% men among East Asian Studies graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	340	58.5%
Men	241	41.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of East Asian Studies graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	168	28.9%
Asian	103	17.7%
Hispanic or Latino	39	6.7%
Black or African American	37	6.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	2	0.3%
Two or More Races	40	6.9%
Race Unknown	11	1.9%
International Students	181	31.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do East Asian Studies Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of East Asian Studies graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$37,815
4 years	$54,317
5 years	$64,382

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $64,382 — roughly 70% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in East Asian Studies Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, East Asian Studies graduates earn a median of $54,317 four years after completion — roughly 43% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Area Studies	05.01
African Studies	05.0101
American/United States Studies/Civilization	05.0102
Appalachian Studies	05.0135
Arctic Studies	05.0136
Area Studies, Other	05.0199
Asian Studies/Civilization	05.0103
Balkans Studies	05.0116
Baltic Studies	05.0117
Canadian Studies	05.0115
Caribbean Studies	05.0119
Chinese Studies	05.0123

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.