South Asian Studies (MA) (60EC)

About the programme

The one-year master in South 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.

Programme structure

The first semester of the programme consists of:

The core course Introduction to Asian Studies that explores the place of Asian Studies in the larger field of Area Studies and among the many disciplines represented in Asian Studies;
One or two electives from the South Asia specialisation;
Optional language courses in Hindi, Sanskrit or Tibetan

The second semester of the programme consists of:

One or two electives from the South Asia specialisation;
Optional language courses in Hindi, Sanskrit or Tibetan
MA Thesis

You have the option of taking an intensive language course in Sanskrit, Tibetan, or Hindi. This course is taken instead of one elective in both the first and second semesters.

Course overview

Programme
Course	EC
Introduction to Asian Studies	10
MA Thesis Asian Studies (60 EC)	15

Electives
Course	EC
Art and Power in Asia	10
Comparative Asian Linguistics	10
Critical Approaches to Heritage Studies 10EC	10
Critical Approaches to Heritage Studies 5 EC	5
Cultural Politics of Discrimination	10
Democratizing Histories (10 EC)	10
Identity and Difference	10
Material Culture, Heritage and Memory along the Silk Roads in Central Asia	10
The Premodern in the Modern: Historicizing Gender and Sexuality	10
Pilgrimage and Holy Places	10
Sound as Heritage in Asia	10
State, Economy and Politics in Contemporary China and India	10
Urbanism and Digitality Across Asia	10
Advanced Readings in Sanskrit Literature	10
Hindi Literature	10
Hindi 1	10
Sanskrit 1	10
Tibetan 1	10
Hindi 3	10
Sanskrit 3	10
Tibetan 3	10
Tibetan 5	10
Asia's Muslim Futures	10
Consciousness in Buddhism	10
Cultures of Resistance: South Asia and the World (10 EC)	10
Contemporary Indian Politics	10
Culture and Conquest: the Impact of the Mongols and their Descendants	10
Forgery as Historiography in Korean and East Asian History	10
From Inkwell to Internet: Text and Transmission in the Muslim World	10
Multilingualism and Language Contact in Asia	10
Labor in Asia	10
The Arts of South and Southeast Asia	10
The Politics of Destruction: Targeting World Heritage	10
Hindi 2	10
Sanskrit 2	10
Tibetan 2	10
Hindi 4	10
Sanskrit 4	10
Tibetan 4	10
Internship MA Asian Studies	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.

Dr. Ritanjan Das

University lecturer

“The MA in South Asian studies offers a great opportunity to study one of the world's most vibrant, populous, and diverse regions. It offers critical insight into a region that harbours one of the oldest civilisations in the world yet where the nation-states are relatively young, and democracy is still in the making. The course provides an in-depth and interdisciplinary perspective on South Asian culture, politics, history, economy, and society in all their richness and complexities.”

Jonathan Silk

Professor of Buddhist Studies

“Leiden University has incredible strengths – it is possible, for instance, to study Buddhism across the whole of Asia. The library of our Kern Institute, the national centre of expertise for South Asia and the Himalayan region, is famous around the world for its excellent resources on South Asia and Tibet.”

Reading Buddhist texts

"I teach introductory courses on Buddhism, and advanced thematic seminars on various topics. And of course, I always love to read Buddhist texts with students in their original languages as well as in translation. The study of Buddhism should be a dynamic synthesis of factual knowledge and critical perspectives, and the Leiden master’s programme offers students just this approach."

Admission and Application

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

Check the admission requirements