Association for Asian Studies
The Association for Asian Studies is the world's largest professional organization for Asian Studies scholars, serving approximately 6,500 members globally through its flagship journal, annual conference, book series, grants programs, and career services since its founding in 1941.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1941
- HeadquartersAnn Arbor, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Association for Asian Studies does
The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association founded in 1941 as The Far Eastern Association and renamed in 1955. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan with a staff of approximately 10, AAS serves roughly 6,500 individual and institutional members worldwide across 30 academic disciplines, making it the largest professional organization dedicated exclusively to Asian Studies. The organization operates as a member-governed entity with a Board of Directors, four regional Area Councils (East & Inner Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia), a Council of Conferences, and a Diversity and Equity Committee established in 2021.
AAS generates revenue through six primary streams: individual membership dues on a graduated income-based scale ($30-$300), institutional memberships ($250-$1,000), annual conference registration fees (the Annual Conference draws over 3,600 attendees), AAS-in-Asia conference fees (approximately 1,000 attendees), publication sales through the AAS Bookstore covering three book series and the Journal of Asian Studies, advertising and marketing services, and donations including Legacy Society planned gifts and external grants ($1,237,846 distributed in 2024). The organization does not operate technology products or APIs; its digital infrastructure consists of a membership portal, an online Community Forum, the AAS Career Center, and the #AsiaNow blog.
Core offerings center on knowledge dissemination and professional development rather than technology platforms. These include the Journal of Asian Studies (the flagship quarterly peer-reviewed journal with 83+ years of continuous publication and 2,000+ articles), three book series (Asia Shorts, Key Issues in Asian Studies, Asia Past & Present), the Education About Asia open-access teaching journal, a portfolio of book prizes across regional specializations, dissertation workshops, Digital Dialogues webinars, and grants and fellowships programs. Distribution occurs through direct online enrollment, the AAS Bookstore e-commerce storefront, in-person annual and regional conferences, and a federated network of nine affiliated regional scholarly organizations across North America.
Association for Asian Studies firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Association for Asian Studies
- Legal name
- The Association for Asian Studies, Inc.
- Website
- https://asianstudies.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1941
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- The Association for Asian Studies is the world's largest professional organization for Asian Studies scholars, serving approximately 6,500 members globally through its flagship journal, annual conference, book series, grants programs, and career services since its founding in 1941.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Association for Asian Studies is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ann Arbor
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Association for Asian Studies business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Individual Membership Dues: Annual membership fees ranging from $30-$300 depending on income bracket, with graduated dues structure to subsidize junior scholars and those on limited incomes. Student memberships at $42/year, regular members from $42-$300 based on gross income.
- Annual Conference Revenue: Conference registration fees, exhibit booth rentals, and sponsorship opportunities from the annual conference attracting over 3,600 attendees.
- Publication Sales and Bookstore: Sales of books through AAS Bookstore including Asia Shorts, Key Issues in Asian Studies, and Asia Past & Present book series. Journal of Asian Studies subscriptions.
- Institutional Memberships: Tiered institutional membership dues ranging from $250-$1,000 annually based on institutional budget size, providing benefits to academic departments and research centers.
- Advertising and Marketing Services: Banner advertising on website and newsletters, dedicated email marketing to members, print advertising in Journal of Asian Studies, conference advertising opportunities.
- Donations and Grants: Charitable contributions including general donations, Legacy Society planned gifts, and grants received and awarded ($1,237,846 in 2024).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Student Membership - $42/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Low/Lower Middle Income Country - $30/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Regular Membership - $42-$300/year based on income |
| Subscription | Annual | Patron Membership - $300/year |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Lifetime Membership - $2,500 one-time |
| Subscription | Annual | Retired Membership - $58-$131/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Associate Membership - $42/year |
| Subscription | Annual | Institutional Membership - $250-$1,000/year based on budget |
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Association for Asian Studies product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association that delivers membership services to approximately 6,500 scholars worldwide. Its core offerings include individual and institutional memberships, the quarterly peer-reviewed Journal of Asian Studies, the flagship annual conference (3,600+ attendees) and the AAS-in-Asia conference, three book series (Asia Shorts, Key Issues in Asian Studies, Asia Past & Present), the open-access Education About Asia teaching journal, grants and fellowships, book prizes, dissertation workshops, the AAS Career Center, Digital Dialogues webinars, and the AAS Community Forum.
Product overview
The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a non-profit professional association serving as the world's largest organization of Asian Studies scholars with approximately 6,500 members. Rather than a unified software platform, AAS offers a portfolio of interconnected membership services centered on knowledge dissemination and professional development. The core offerings include the Journal of Asian Studies (a quarterly peer-reviewed journal published in partnership with Cambridge University Press), the flagship Annual Conference (the largest Asian Studies conference worldwide with over 3,600 attendees), and the AAS-in-Asia Conference. The publication program encompasses three book series (Asia Shorts, Key Issues in Asian Studies, and Asia Past & Present) plus the open-access Education About Asia teaching journal. Additional services include the AAS Career Center job platform, AAS Digital Dialogues webinars, #AsiaNow blog, Community Forum, regional conferences, grants and fellowships, book prizes, dissertation workshops, and membership tiers including student, regular, patron, and lifetime options. The organization operates membership portals and event registration systems as web-based services rather than API-first products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Journal of Asian Studies (JAS) A quarterly peer-reviewed flagship journal publishing scholarly articles across 30 academic disciplines covering all regions of Asia, with over 2,000 articles published since 1941. Published in partnership with Cambridge University Press.
- AAS Annual Conference The largest Asian Studies conference worldwide, held annually in North America with over 3,600 attendees and 2,000+ presentations across 450+ sessions covering all countries in Asia.
- AAS-in-Asia Conference
Quantifiable outcome
- Largest Asian Studies conference in the world with over 3,600 attendees and 2,000+ presentations
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Association for Asian Studies
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Association for Asian Studies technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Association for Asian Studies partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)coreThe AAS is a member of the American Council of Learned Societies, actively participating with its sister societies in a wide range of activities including joint participation in research and informational exchanges. This membership positions AAS within the broader ecosystem of humanities and social science scholarly organizations.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves12 records
Association for Asian Studies competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- American Historical Association: The largest professional society for historians in the US, with comparable membership model, peer-reviewed journal (American Historical Review), annual conference, and book prize/grant programs. Operates as a similar scholarly membership association in an adjacent academic discipline.
- Modern Language Association: Major scholarly association for humanities scholars in languages, literature, and related fields, with a comparable peer-reviewed journal (PMLA), annual convention, and member-benefit pricing model directly comparable to AAS.
- Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies: A scholarly association for an area-studies region (Russia/Eastern Europe/Eurasia) with a very similar structure: peer-reviewed journal, annual conference, area councils, book prizes, and institutional memberships in universities with regional area-studies programs.
- Middle East Studies Association: Area-studies scholarly association for Middle East studies with a comparable journal (International Journal of Middle East Studies), annual meeting, book prizes, and graduate-student-focused programs. Directly comparable in mission and operating model to AAS.
- Latin American Studies Association: Area-studies scholarly association for Latin America with similar structure: flagship journal, large annual congress (3,000+ attendees), institutional memberships, area-section governance, and book/article prizes — directly comparable to AAS in scale and operating model.
- African Studies Association: Scholarly association for African Studies with peer-reviewed journal (African Studies Review), annual meeting, area councils, and book/film prizes. Directly comparable area-studies peer with similar academic-member base.
- International Convention of Asia Scholars: The other major international scholarly association focused specifically on Asian Studies. ICAS hosts a biennial international convention and operates the electronic Journal of Asian Studies, directly competing for the same global Asian Studies scholar audience.
Regional players
- European Association for Asian Studies: European-based scholarly association for Asian Studies with a biennial conference and similar journal/newsletter offerings. Regional peer with directly comparable mission but primarily serves European-based Asia scholars rather than the North-American-centric AAS membership base.
Broad incumbents
- American Political Science Association: A larger established social science scholarly association with a flagship journal (American Political Science Review), annual conference (~6,000+ attendees), and similar membership/pricing model. Broader than AAS (politics rather than Asia) but structurally analogous as a discipline-based scholarly society.
Others
- American Council of Learned Societies: Umbrella organization of which AAS is a member society. ACLS coordinates humanities and social-science scholarly organizations, administers cross-disciplinary fellowship programs, and provides shared infrastructure that supports member associations like AAS.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Association for Asian Studies financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Association for Asian Studies leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Association for Asian Studies funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Association for Asian Studies M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Association for Asian Studies
What does Association for Asian Studies do?
The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association that delivers membership services to approximately 6,500 scholars worldwide. Its core offerings include individual and institutional memberships, the quarterly peer-reviewed Journal of Asian Studies, the flagship annual conference (3,600+ attendees) and the AAS-in-Asia conference, three book series (Asia Shorts, Key Issues in Asian Studies, Asia Past & Present), the open-access Education About Asia teaching journal, grants and fellowships, book prizes, dissertation workshops, the AAS Career Center, Digital Dialogues webinars, and the AAS Community Forum.
Is Association for Asian Studies a public or private company?
Association for Asian Studies is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Association for Asian Studies founded?
Association for Asian Studies was founded in 1941.
Where is Association for Asian Studies based?
Association for Asian Studies is headquartered in Ann Arbor, United States, in the North America region.
How does Association for Asian Studies make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Individual Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are annual Conference Revenue, publication Sales and Bookstore, institutional Memberships, advertising and Marketing Services and donations and Grants.
Who are Association for Asian Studies's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are American Historical Association, Modern Language Association, Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Middle East Studies Association, Latin American Studies Association, African Studies Association and International Convention of Asia Scholars. European Association for Asian Studies is listed as a regional player. American Political Science Association is listed as a broad incumbent. American Council of Learned Societies is listed as an others.
Does Association for Asian Studies have an API?
No public API is recorded for Association for Asian Studies.