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Welcome to the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
60% of the world’s population lives in Asia. For thousands of years, people in Asia have been creating and recreating languages, societies, and cultures—producing extraordinary works of literature, art, thought, music, and religion; reinventing communities and cuisines; studying the past and imagining the future. In ways that often go unnoticed, that rich, diverse, cacophonous history continues to shape the global world we inhabit. Especially here in Los Angeles, a city home to more people of Asian origin or descent than any other in the United States, Asia is all around us. It is part of our lives.
News and Announcements
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When walking becomes a message
February 10, 2026
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Faculty
Undergraduate Program
Graduate Program
Languages Offered
Placement Exams
Events
Major and Minors
Our department offers a range of courses. Over 40 faculty members teach 9 languages (Chinese, Filipino, Hindi-Urdu, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Sanskrit, Thai, and Vietnamese) and offer programs in 7 undergraduate majors (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Asian Humanities, Asian Languages and Linguistics, Asian Religions, and Southeast Asian Studies). They include interdisciplinary courses on Asia’s literature, film, religion, and history, grounding students in the region’s cultures and societies. Our courses also develop fundamental skills in critical thinking, reading, and writing, ones that will be crucial to your future personal, professional, and creative endeavors.
Programs
The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures accepts applications for its doctoral degree program (PhD). The department offers only a terminal master’s degree (MA) in the Teaching Asian Languages MA Program. Students interested in an MA degree in Asian Languages and Cultures only should apply to the East Asian Studies Interdepartmental Program, which is housed in the International Institute at UCLA.
