Priorities for Asian American Studies (AAS) programs for the future are discussed, along with the early history of these programs, changes they have undergone, and four impacts of the programs. Major impacts include: increased ethnic consciousness of Asian American students, increased sensitivity of colleges to Asian American curriculum and student services needs, positive support for Asian American community organizations, and research dealing with Asian Americans. Four concerns that are future priorities are as follows: (1) the need to redesign courses/curricula to better accommodate the needs, interests, and backgrounds of immigrant generation Chinese, Pilipino, Korean, Indochinese, and Asian Indian students; (2) the need to create a strong organizational network of AAS programs to exchange ideas on management, curriculum development, research, and responses to college financial cutbacks; (3) the need to develop new theoretical concepts and to explore new research topics, including the characteristics, communities, and problems of recent Asian immigrants; and (4) the need for AAS programs to closely reexamine their relations with Asian American communities. Seven additional priorities that might be addressed by AAS programs in the future are identified. The scope of a 1985 research project on AAS programs is briefly described. A four-page bibliography concludes the document. (SW)