The East Asian Studies major provides UM students with a broad understanding of the major cultures of this dynamic region and then gives students the freedom to tailor their studies to focus on either China or Japan. The major requires a spread of courses focusing on China, Japan, and either Vietnam or Pan-Asia to ensure that students receive training in the traditional cultures of the East Asian region (which represent major contributions to the world s philosophical and artistic systems and also continue to exert a strong influence on the region today) and are able to choose from a variety of contemporary political, economic, and cultural courses to suit their goals.