The Pacific Rim Research Program promoted the study of the Pacific Rim as a distinctive region. For the purposes of this Program, the term "Pacific Rim" encompasses all areas and nations that border the Pacific Ocean, including Southeast Asia and East Asia, Australia/New Zealand, the Pacific islands, and Pacific Latin America. The states and nations bordering the Pacific Ocean are densely linked by patterns of historical contact, geology, trade, investment, international agreements and conflicts, migration, environmental and disease vectors, and the incessant flow of ideas and cultural practices.

The Program placed priority on research that is new, specific to the region, and collaborative-reaching across national boundaries and bridging academic disciplines. The program concluded in 2015.