View the answers to frequently asked advising questions, organized by topic.
Advising
Yes, you can. However, please be aware of the double counting rule as there is a limit to the number of credits that can be counted to both your major and your minor.
Please also note that you cannot combine a minor in Asian Area Studies with any other specialization in Asian Studies. Nor can you combine two specializations that focus on the same area of Asia (such as majoring in Asian Language and Culture-China, while minoring in Asian Language and Culture-Hong Kong). For more information, please refer to the the Asian Studies degree requirements on the UBC Calendar.
If you are a BA student:
You can add a minor on the SSC during the registration period. If it is outside of registration period, reach out to Arts Advising for their assistance.
If you are a non-BA student:
Reach out to your home faculty advisor to complete a “Minor Planning Form”. Once you have filled it out, contact the Asian Studies Undergraduate Advisor with a copy of the form for their approval.
No, you just need to have completed 27 credits to declare your major. Refer to this guide for more information.
Language Options
Review our different language options, and choose the language that you would like to take. Scroll down to “Placement Procedure” on each specific language page for more information on about what course level you should start at. It is crucial that you take a course that is at an appropriate level for you. If you are overqualified or underqualified for the course, you may be removed from the course.
A placement test refers to the test to measure your current language level so that we can place you in the appropriate language course offered by Asian Studies. Each language program has a different placement procedure. Look at the “Placement Test/Procedure” section of each language on our website to determine whether a placement test is necessary. If you have any further questions, reach out to our respective language program coordinators.
A proficiency test usually refers to one of the ways to fulfill Faculty of Arts Language requirement. This option is only for students who have knowledge of a language, but no high school or university transcript to prove competency. No course credit is awarded for passing a proficiency test. Visit the “Proficiency Test” section of each language on our website.
Information about the proficiency test is on each individual language page. Review that section for procedures and specific contact information.
You can – however, proficiency tests for Mandarin are offered outside UBC. To be exempted from the language requirement, you need to have passed Level 3 or higher of the Hanyu Shuping Kaoshi (HSK). You will have to independently determine where to take the HSK as the Department does not offer the exam.
Registration and Waitlists
A warning message may appear even if you have met your prerequisites. To ensure that you are registered in the course, check the ‘View My Courses' section on Workday. The course will appear on that list if you are successfully registered.
We will verify your registration status. If space permits, we may be able to restore your registration. This may not be possible if the course has filled up in the meantime. If this occurs after the add/drop deadline, we will no longer be able to add you back to the course except in exceptional circumstances.
The waitlist may be full. If so, we encourage you to check back and add yourself to the waitlist as seats become available. For more information, see our Waitlist Policy page.
Students may be removed from the waitlist if they are ineligible for the course. If you have any questions, please reach out to asian.studies@ubc.ca.
There are two options to address this:
1) Find a seat during the add/drop period
Throughout the add/drop period, seats may become available in our courses. You are responsible for monitoring courses for empty seats and adding yourself to a course if seats become available.
2.) Reach out to the instructor
Another option is to reach out to the instructor of the course with the Change of Registration form. With this form, the instructor may add you to their course, even if there are no seats available. If you have the form filled out and signed before the add/drop deadline, send it to asia.undergrad@ubc.ca for processing. If the form is completed after the add/drop deadline, send the form to your home Faculty Advising office for processing.