Southeast Asian Studies (MA) (60EC)

About the programme

The one-year master in Southeast Asian Studies, a specialisation of Leiden University’s master in Asian Studies, offers a large and varied selection of subjects and the freedom to choose the areas on which you will focus.

The curriculum of this master's programme consists of compulsory core courses, electives, a research seminar and an MA thesis.

The first semester consists of the compulsory core course Introduction to Asian Studies that all students of the MA in Asian Studies have to take. In addition, you will take two compulsory core courses on Southeast Asia, and elective courses. The Southeast Asia core courses deal respectively with viewpoints on Southeast Asian history, and with the politics of culture in Southeast Asia. The elective(s) introduce the issues, debates and methodologies of a discipline with a regional focus on one of the countries or regions of Asia.

In your second semester you will again take one or two electives of a minimum of 15 EC, or fulfill this partially by an internship, and write your MA-Thesis (15 EC).

You also have the option of taking an intensive modern Indonesian language course. This course is taken instead of an elective in both the first and second semesters.

Course overview

Courses (September start)
Course	EC
Introduction to Asian Studies	10
Comparative Asian Linguistics	10
Democratizing Histories (10 EC)	10
Democratizing Histories (5 EC)	5
Critical Approaches to Heritage Studies	5
Economic Development and Social Change in Southeast Asia	10
Religious Syncretism and the Study of Southeast Asian Cultures (10 EC)	10
Religious Syncretism and the Study of Southeast Asian Cultures (5 EC)	5
Histories of Southeast Asia (10 EC)	10
Histories of Southeast Asia (5 EC)	5
Urban Ecology of Asian Cities	10
Indonesian 1	10
Introduction to Asian Studies	10
MA Thesis Asian Studies (60 EC)	15
The Politics of Destruction: Targeting World Heritage	10
Ecofeminism in Island Asia and Oceania	10
Politics of Culture in Southeast Asia (10 EC)	10
Politics of Culture in Southeast Asia (5 EC)	5
Oral Traditions	10
Hands-on Museum Research Experience (10 EC)	10
Hands-on Museum Research Experience (5 EC)	5
Cultures of Resistance: South Asia and the World (10 EC)	10
Cultures of Resistance: South Asia and the World (10 EC)	5
Political Economy of Southeast Asia (10 EC)	10
From Inkwell to Internet: Text and Transmission in the Muslim World	10
Indonesian 2	10

For a detailed programme, see the Prospectus.

Please note that this guide applies to the current academic year, which means that the curriculum for next year may slightly differ.

Bernard Arps

Professor of Indonesian and Javanese Language and Culture

“There are very few departments anywhere in the world that can measure up to the department at Leiden, which has a long tradition in the study of Indonesia. An important characteristic of our study is that it is strongly empirical: we offer factual material as well as comparative historical perspectives.”

Unparalleled collections

"The book collection in the University Library is unparalleled anywhere. Outside of the university, students have access to unique sources such as the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). The staff corps also has eminent and active researchers."

Admission and Application

Do you want to find out if you are eligible for this Master's Programme?

Check the entry requirements