Degree Programs in Southeast Asian Studies

Bachelor of Arts Degree

Students at the University of Washington may work toward a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Asian Studies, Southeast Asia concentration. The degree is earned through the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.

Minor in Southeast Asian Studies

Students may choose to minor in Southeast Asian Studies, Indonesian Language & Culture, or Vietnamese Language & Culture studies while majoring in another area.

Master of Arts Degree

The Master of Arts program in Southeast Asian Studies offers students a framework within which to carry out the interdisciplinary study of the peoples and nations of insular and mainland Southeast Asia.

Ph.D. Degree

Graduate students can also specialize in Southeast Asian Studies while pursuing a Master’s or PhD in another academic department. Within the framework of departmental requirements, they can focus study and research on issues within Southeast Asia.

Graduate students can also specialize in Southeast Asian Studies while pursuing a Master’s or PhD in an academic department. Within the framework of departmental requirements they can focus study and research on issues within Southeast Asia. Currently, students with Southeast Asia interests are pursuing advanced degrees in anthropology, asian languages and literature, architecture, communication, comparative literature, economics, ethnomusicology, geography, history, forestry, public heath, law, linguistics, political science, social work, sociology. Students interested in pursuing advanced degrees in these departments and colleges should refer to the list of core Southeast Asia faculty and confer with them directly about procedures and requirements for admission into these programs.

Southeast Asian Language Instruction at the University of Washington

The Department of Asian Languages and Literature offers instruction in Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese while the Department of American Ethnic Studies offers instruction in Tagalog. Khmer and Burmese are offered through the Jackson School of International Studies. Emphasis is placed on the roles of these languages within the cultures they serve as well as on linguistic, textual, and literary analysis. The Language Learning Center provides services and resources that advance language study and instruction for students, faculty, and departments at the University of Washington. Finally, the Experimental College offers non-credit instruction in Conversational Tagalog.

Through the Office of Student Services at the Jackson School of International Studies, academic-year Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships are awarded for language and area studies relating to Southeast Asia. For graduate students, awards pay up to $18,000 for tuition and most fees, including graduate appointee health insurance, plus a stipend of $20,000. Undergraduate student awards include up to $10,000 tuition and $5,000 in living stipend funds. Summer FLAS fellowships are awarded solely to support intensive language study. They provide tuition up to $5,000 and a stipend of $2,500 for either graduate or undergraduate students, and may be used at the University of Washington, at other US universities, or abroad.