South Asia Studies

Innovative Study Abroad

"Gender, Development, and Empowerment in India" students in Agra (December 2015). The course is part of the 2-credit unit C.U. in India and Southeast Asia course series.

South Asia Library Collection

Penn's South Asia Library Collection is recognized as one of the most significant libraries in the United States for research on South Asia.

A World Class Language Program

We offer the largest number of South Asian languages available anywhere in the US, with 12 modern languages taught at multiple levels.

Study the Music of South Asia

The Department offers instruction in Beginning Sitar and Tabla. Here, instructor Aqeel Bhatti demonstrates the Tabla for the students of the 2015 Startalk Hindi-Urdu Summer Program.

South Asia Colloquium

The graduate curriculum is enriched by the bi-weekly South Asia Colloquium, which features both world-renowned scholars and graduate student works-in-progress.

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How to gain a passport to success and global citizenship

Students and Faculty from several of the University’s schools and regional studies departments discuss the reasons to study and engage with the histories, languages and cultures of the world. These studies support the deepening of students’ intellectual and personal development while simultaneously enhancing their cosmopolitanism. Students deem these as pre-requisites for success in their studies, careers and lives beyond Penn.

Undergraduate
South Asia Studies is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the past and contemporary life of one-fifth of the world’s population.
Graduate
The PhD and MA Graduate program gives students a broad understanding of the study of South Asia, deep knowledge of particular fields of interest, and training in South Asian languages as the basis for original research to prepare for academia or other professional careers.

Faculty
The South Asia Studies Department is a close-knit community of interdisciplinary scholars that combines expertise in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of South Asia.

What is South Asia Studies?

The study of South Asia at Penn has a tradition stretching back over a hundred years. The department has trained generations of leaders in the field and remains one of the most distinguished places to study South Asia in the United States. Today the South Asia Studies Department is a close-knit community of interdisciplinary scholars that combines expertise in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of South Asia. The Department prides itself in its ability to meet a variety of training and learning needs.

South Asia Studies

Innovative Study Abroad

South Asia Library Collection

A World Class Language Program

Study the Music of South Asia

South Asia Colloquium

How to gain a passport to success and global citizenship

Undergraduate

Graduate

Faculty

What is South Asia Studies?

Events

CASI Lecture: Francesca Jensenius

South Asia Center Artist Residency Presents a Visual Arts Exhibition and Artist Talk

SAC Artist Residency Presents a Visual Art Exhibition and Artist Talk

South Asia Colloquium Presents: Sharika Thiranagama

South Asia Colloquium Presents: Patrick Olivelle

SAC and SAST Launch Two New CU in India and Southeast Asia Courses this Spring

SAC and SAST Launch Artist Residency Programs in Chennai and Philadelphia

South Asia Center Fall Colloquium Schedule - Van Pelt Library, Class of '58 Room. Light refreshments served at 4 pm, talks begin at 4:30 pm

URDU Proficiency & Placement Exam

We Teach More Languages Than Any Other Department in the Country

Meet Our Students

Brian Cannon