Certificate in South Asia Studies

The South Asia Institute administers a Certificate in South Asia Studies for students matriculated in graduate degree programs at Columbia. To earn the Certificate, students must complete 24 credits of graduate courses on South Asia, in at least three different disciplines, e.g. Anthropology, Art History, Economics, History, Literature, Politics, Religion, etc.  The sequence of courses selected by the student pursuing the Certificate must be approved by the Institute director.  The requirements for the certificate must be completed by the time of graduation from the M.A. or Ph.D. program.  We recommend that students enroll in SASS 5000 Introduction to South Asia Studies, which is offered annually, and usually in the Fall term.

Additionally, students must demonstrate an Advanced knowledge of one language of South Asia, either by completing an Upper Advanced language course, taking a proficiency exam, or providing a transcript from a college or university where the language is used as the primary language of instruction.  Elementary and Intermediate language courses may not be counted toward the Certificate.  Advanced level (third or fourth year) may count toward the Certificate.  Language and Literature courses may be counted (e.g. Hindi Literature I and II; Urdu Literature I and II).

The certificate is an additional credential that graduate students may earn with courses that will count toward coursework requirement for the M.A. or Ph.D. degree.  Therefore it is possible to earn the Certificate without taking any courses beyond that required for the Ph.D. degree at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.  Students in M.A. programs will likely need to enroll in coursework beyond what is needed for an M.A. program.

Students who have further questions about the certificate should contact the Director of the MA Program in South Asia Studies, Prof. Katherine Ewing at <[email protected]>.   The Institute recommends that students consult with the MA Coordinator to obtain approval for any classes that they plan to use toward the Certificate in a given semester, to confirm that it can be counted toward the Certificate.  Courses with comparative content, where South Asia is not the principal field of inquiry and discussion, may or may not be counted toward the certificate, at the discretion of the Institute.