"How can we bring together study of life sciences with history and philosophy of science, bioethics, policy, law, and other humanistic factors related to science?"

The Center for Biology and Society began in 1996 when a group of students asked this question. They wanted an education and research opportunities that did not divide the world into separate knowledge streams. They wanted integration, interaction and a way to work on the problems facing society from multiple perspectives - what Arizona State University's New American University brings – but before that concept had been established. 

And so, the center was built around the core principle of bringing an interdisciplinary perspective cultivated from both the humanities and the life sciences to bear on issues that affect society. That mission continues today in the education programs, which now include masters and PhD degrees, in the research of undergraduates, graduate students and faculty, and in our outreach, digital publishing, and science communication projects, such as The Embryo Project, the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory History Project, and History and Philosophy of Science and Digital Innovation Group. 

The Center for Asian Research promotes faculty and student engagement with all regions of Asia, highlighting cultural, historical and religious traditions of Asia in a global age and inter-Asian connections concerning environment, sustainability and digital media practices.

The center's constituency reaches across many disciplines at ASU. More than 10,000 students across the university enroll in courses with significant content on Asia in fields like anthropology, geography, political science, global studies, art history, English, history, justice and social inquiry, music, religious studies and languages, and in professional fields like business, communication and sustainability.

Since 2019, the Center for Asia Research is a federally funded center of excellence that awards Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students who excel in the study of Asian cultures and languages. To date, ASU students have received 56 fellowships covering stipends and tuition for a total of roughly $800,000.

Arizona State University has the largest concentration of internationally recognized experts on Asia in the Southwest and the center routinely organizes public events about Asia around multiple formats. In addition, The Innovation Gallery houses unique collections of cultural artifacts and textiles from Southeast Asia. ASU Libraries also hosts special collections, from The Guardian of the Flame Collection of rare palm leaf manuscripts from Sri Lanka and The Mimijac Palgen Photographic Collection of Cambodia to the Agnes Smeadly Collection documenting her work as a war correspondent in China, as well as digital collections on Laos and on the Chinese experience in Cuba.

Asia comprises highly diverse cultural traditions. About half of humanity lives in Asia, generating about half of the world’s economic production. As citizens in the 21st century, ASU students require global literacy about Asia. Those seeking careers in international organizations, the diplomatic service or in the military will need to acquire expert knowledge commonly practiced in this region.  

ASU’s Asia Studies Major in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies is intended for students who anticipate future careers in international business, law, teaching, journalism, diplomacy, social work, public health, philanthropy, or the military/security forces for whom a knowledge of Asia will be a primary career asset. The School of International Letters and Cultures offers graduate and undergraduate programs in majors in Chinese and Japanese and extensive instruction in Korean, Hindi, Vietnamese, and Indonesian.

You can subscribe to the Center’s digital newsletter by emailing asia@asu.edu.

Asian Pacific American Studies is in the School of Social Transformation at ASU. Our interdisciplinary faculty members have expertise in:

• Ethnic studies, including race relations between different groups
• History
• Gender studies
• Literature
• Film and media
• Psychology and behavioral health
• Cultural geography
• Education and equality

What can students do with a degree in Asian Pacific American Studies? Anything and everything! Our learners gain knowledge and skills that are relevant to the real world, including critical thinking, communication and community engagement. Social science graduates are more likely to be employed and move into managerial and senior official roles than graduates in other areas of study, and tech companies are looking for researchers to optimize their ability to reach communities.

Students are also given the opportunity to gain valuable research experience by working closely with faculty and gain career experience through an internship at one the 180+ job sites across the country.

The program is also home to the summer K-12 APACE (Asian Pacific Advocacy, Culture and Education) Academy, a 5-day summer program with a focus on Asian Pacific American history, culture and contemporary issues, as well as cultural competency, public-speaking, and civic engagement. The academy is open to 30 students from Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

Asian Pacific American Studies make us all more globally aware, socially engaged and knowledgeable about today’s society and prepared to thrive in any environment, career or pursuit.

African and African American Studies is an interdisciplinary program in the School of Social Transformation at ASU. Our faculty members examine a wide array of issues and accomplishments of African-descended peoples at various times and places in history. Our faculty members are experts in a variety of areas, including anthropology, education, history, journalism, literature, psychology, sociology, political science and women’s studies. 

Our students can study real­-world issues in African and African American history, migration patterns (African Diaspora), art, literature, religion, family life and education, as well as how race and institutional racism have impacted the development of African descended people in America and around the world. Student pursuing a BA can specialize in either African studies or African Disapora studies. 

Our learners also gain hands-­on experience with faculty dedicated to social justice and become a part of an inclusive and supportive community of learners. Research experiences with faculty are encouraged and more than 180 internships available across the country. 

Our program's graduates have gone on to graduate school, medical school and law school, pursued careers in jounalism, law enforcement, human right and social policy, and written novels.  

There has been an upsurge of interest in doing family history research. Those bitten by the bug find there are many tools and technologies to help us quickly learn factual information about our ancestors and ancestry: vital records from around the world are online; a simple DNA analysis reveals our bio-geographical origins; software platforms instantly connect one family tree to another.

But names, dates, public records and the odd photograph or newspaper clipping leave us wishing to know more. We understand it is through stories that we build more personal and meaningful connections to those who came before us — and to the generations that will follow us.

Arizona State University’s Project for Writing and Recording Family, based in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at the Polytechnic campus, offers courses and community workshops to support and inspire individuals who want to bring the stories of the past to life and begin to record their own stories for future generations.

Led by experienced writing teachers and family history researchers, sessions focus on exercises to jump-start family history writing and strategies to reconstruct stories of the past even when the dots are hard to connect.   

As the largest transdisciplinary school in the humanities at Arizona State University, the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (SHPRS) is home to a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in core humanities disciplines, including history, philosophy, the academic study of religion, Jewish studies, and Asia studies. Our faculty are internationally recognized experts in their fields, and our students go on to careers in government, business, academia, law, medicine, education, the non-profit sector and more. Although we are diverse and often disagree, we are united as an intellectual community, collaborating across disciplinary boundaries to advance the frontiers of human knowledge and the common good.

Students in the school deepen their understanding of the past, grapple with the most urgent challenges of the present, and develop the broad skillset in reasoning, problem solving, ethics and effective communication needed to shape a more just, sustainable and equitable future. 

The New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences is the driving force behind the forward-thinking philosophy and culture at Arizona State University West Valley campus, combining the benefits of a liberal arts education with a responsiveness to the demands of an evolving workforce.

As the core college at ASU West Valley campus, New College offers a broad range of more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences and we serve students in every other college through their general studies courses. New College embodies interdisciplinarity: we break down boundaries between fields of study and help students ask questions that transcend the limits of a single program.

New College blends the best aspects of a small-college experience, with its close personal relationships, and a top-tier research university, with its cutting-edge research faculty. Our faculty conduct innovative interdisciplinary research; they don’t just report on work others have done. We take students on a fascinating journey that provides extraordinary opportunities for growth and exciting ways to shape their futures.

New College is home to four schools, including the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies. Together, we provide engaging humanities-based opportunities for students through theater performances, gallery exhibitions, poetry readings, the Summer Community Read program, Canyon Voices Literary Magazine, IGLE study abroad, the writing program, and more.

New College prepares students for a lifetime of success. Recent graduates from our humanities programs have gone on to become professional artists, performers, and creative professionals. In addition, many move on to graduate school, and successful careers in business and the nonprofit sector.

Arizona State University's College of Integrative Sciences and Arts develops master learners, interdisciplinarians and integrative solutions-makers who are future-ready, through degree programs that emphasize innovative teaching and applied, often project-based, learning.

Committed to access, the college works to meet students where they are in their educational journey and geographically. We are the home college for more than 6,700 undergraduate majors enrolled in our degree programs — at ASU's Polytechnic, Downtown Phoenix, Tempe, Lake Havasu, and ASU Online campuses as well as in partnership programs onsite at Eastern Arizona College, Arizona Western College, Central Arizona College, Cochise College, Pima Community College and Yavapai College; more than 400 graduate students are enrolled in our programs at ASU's Tempe and Polytechnic campuses. 

The college has three schools:

• School of Applied Professional Studies
• School of Applied Sciences and Arts
• School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology

Humanities-centric undergraduate degrees include communication; English; general studies; history; interdisciplinary studies; liberal studies; organizational leadership; political science; science, technology and society and technical communication. The college also offers majors in applied biological sciences, applied mathematics, applied physics, and applied quantitative science.

The college is also home to Writers’ Studio, an innovative option for first-year composition at ASU Downtown Phoenix campus and online. Based on award-winning models for composition, it helps students learn to compose in different kinds of electronic environments.

Some of our community efforts include:

The Counselor Training Center, the community counseling clinic for the Counseling and Counseling Psychology graduate degree programs. The center provides confidential counseling services for ASU students, staff, and faculty as well as the larger community. 

The Project for Writing and Recording Family History, established at the Polytechnic campus, offers courses and community workshops to promote writing, researching, and publishing family histories. It connects ASU with community members of all ages in these outreach efforts.

Superstition Review, the online literary magazine anchored at Polytechnic campus, mentors student interns from many disciplines in the “maker” experience of producing and promoting a national magazine that features established and emerging writers and artists and supports a growing literary community.

Write On, Downtown, the student-edited undergraduate writing journal of Downtown Phoenix campus showcases student writing and photography that represents the downtown community.