At the time of its founding in 1987, the Asian American Studies Program at Cornell University was the first such program in the Ivy League. Today it boasts five core faculty members in the humanities and social sciences in a variety of departments and colleges. This cross-college, university-wide position accommodates the extensive teaching and research interests of the Program's faculty and reflects the breadth of the vibrant field of Asian American Studies in general. In the classroom, in scholarship, and through campus and community advocacy, the Program is committed to examining the histories and experiences; identities, social and community formations; politics; and contemporary concerns of people of Asian ancestry in the United States and other parts of the Americas. Since 1993, the Asian American Studies Program has also gained national prominence by serving as the Secretariat for the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS), the professional organization designed to promote excellence in teaching and research in the field of Asian American Studies.

Program courses mirror the research interests and commitments of the faculty. Offerings provide students with a deeper understanding of the multi-racial history and character of the United States while also providing an opportunity to place the American experience within a larger global context. Through this transnational, international, comparative, and multi- and inter-disciplinary perspective, students explore Asian American experiences as fundamental to the on-going development of America and as linked to both the experiences of other racial minorities in the United States and the experiences of Asian migrants across the world. In addition, Program courses are dedicated to illuminating the intersectional nature of Asian American identity, community formation, and politics by emphasizing the connections among race, class, ethnicity, national identity, gender, and sexuality.

The centerpiece of the Asian American Studies Program's curriculum is its undergraduate concentration. Open to all undergraduates throughout Cornell University, the concentration affords students an opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Asians in the hemispheric Americas. The course of study stresses developments within the United States, but also underscores the transnational and comparative contexts of Asian America and the field's connections with African American, American Indian, U.S. Latino, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Students must work with a faculty advisor from among the Program's faculty and must complete at least 15 units of credit as follows: a) AAS 110 and two additional courses in Asian American Studies; b) one course in African American, American Indian, U.S. Latino Studies, or Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and c) one course in East Asian, South Asian, or Southeast Asian Studies.

The Asian American Studies Program offers one of the most flexible and dynamic concentrations offered at Cornell University. One key benefit of the program lies in the reality that many occupations are looking for individuals with strong multicultural perspectives and a broad understanding of ethnic issues.

Furthermore, the Program teaches writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills that enhances or complements any major degree program at Cornell University. Graduates of the Program enter into fields such as law, research, medicine, technology, non-profit, politics, and journalism.