Asian studies degrees and intercultural competence: The case of Spain

This paper analyses how Spanish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are implementing “internationalization at home” strategies through the introduction of Asian studies degrees to help undergraduate students to be ready to work in a globalized world. The selection of Asia as specialization reflects its relevance for HEIs, as the most influential geopolitical area in the context of the current economic and cultural globalization. Specifically, this study identifies the undergraduate Asian degrees developed by Spanish HEIs, in what ways they are interculturally oriented, and how the intercultural orientation was incorporated into the degrees. It is possible to identify in the programs a process of the incremental acquisition of intercultural competence, following these phases: general knowledge moves to socio-linguistic and instrumental knowledge, which then becomes intercultural self-awareness. This paper concludes that to implement successfully their strategies at home and, simultaneously, to embrace the increasing societal demand for enhanced intercultural skilled professionals, a higher level of intercultural awareness is needed in Asian studies degrees at Spanish HEIs. The paper ends with some recommendations for educational policy-makers.