Many large universities offer Honours, Major, and Minor programs in East Asian Studies, South Asian Studies, and Southeast Asian Studies. With regard to the East Asia specialization, for example, three common sub-specializations are China (Chinese Studies), Japan (Japanese Studies), and Korea (Korean Studies). Two common trends of concentration are language and literature studies and, in collaboration with other departments, Asian area studies, which requires fewer language courses. The Asian Studies courses offered on the undergraduate level may fall into the following major categories: 1) languages, literatures, and advanced reading courses; 2) classical, medieval, and contemporary civilizations and histories, which may not necessarily require knowledge of an Asian language; 3) religion and thought; 4) society and culture; and 5) Asian traditions of art and architecture.

Because Asian Studies is interdisciplinary in its broad context, there are also a number of cross-listed courses offered by various departments in the humanities and social sciences, including History, Geography, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Studies, and Economics. Furthermore, in recent years its interdisciplinary collaboration has developed some other relevant courses cross-listed with several professional programs including Education, Business Administration, Communication, and Journalism. A student who intends to specialize in an Asian field is encouraged to take the core courses in the Asian language and civilization of the area of specialization, in addition to the regular courses in his/her particular academic discipline.

Most of the introductory Asian Studies courses are open to all students pursuing various programs or degrees. For Asian Studies majors, language training at the appropriate level is required because they need to obtain good knowledge of an East Asian language (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese) or South/Southeast Asian languages (Hindi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Indonesian, Burmese, or Thai); for non-major students, some basic knowledge of an Asian language is encouraged as part of their general university education or for any practical career aims. Study of the necessary languages usually begins as early as possible in an Asian Studies student's academic career. A good foundation in language training is a prerequisite for admission to graduate studies; those students who do not have the necessary language preparation when they apply will be asked to make up this deficiency. For more information, see selected lists of  American universities and Canadian universities which offer graduate programs in East Asian Studies.