About the Southern Asian Institute

The Southern Asian Institute coordinates the many activities at Columbia University that relate to Southern Asia -- mainly the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. Its conferences, seminars, exhibits, films, and lecture series bring together faculty and students with widely varying interests and backgrounds. It works with many South Asia groups on campus and off. Because of its location in New York City, the Institute has lively ties with persons serving in the United Nations, the diplomatic community, and many international agencies. It is also in the midst of the largest South Asian ethnic community in North America, with all its cultural richness.

The Institute's outreach activities have included briefings for the media, particularly on events such as elections; teacher training workshops; and the collection and development of materials on South Asia for use in schools and colleges, and by the general public. Columbia's National Resource Center for South Asia is a major source of support for these activities and for instructional development within the university and with other educational institutions.

The Institute faculty come from a wide range of disciplines and, taken together in their research and teaching, cover virtually all the countries of the region -- and some neighboring areas, including Afghanistan, Tibet, Burma and other parts of Southeast Asia. Instruction is offered in four national languages -- Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and Nepali -- as well as in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Punjabi, and Tamil; Vedic, Prakrit, Braj Bhasa and Avadhi are also taught. Institute faculty teach courses on South Asia in fifteen or more departments, schools, and centers of the university.

The Columbia Libraries have one of the oldest and largest South Asia collections in the country, with some 300,000 volumes -- over 100,000 of them in South Asian Languages. Columbia's digital library web site, SARAI (South Asia Resource Access on the Internet) serves as the official World Wide Web Virtual Library for South Asia.

Undergraduate study on South Asia occurs mainly within particular disciplines, though Columbia College students can major in Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, and Barnard Students in Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures.

Graduate study is also concentrated within the disciplines, mainly Anthropology, Comparative Literature, History, Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Political Science, and Religion. Graduate students in the Ph.D programs are active participants in Institute programs. All graduate students of the university may take a defined set of courses to qualify for a Certificate in Southern Asian Studies. Students in Master of International Affairs program of the School of International and Public Affairs may pursue a Regional Concentration in Southern Asian Studies. There is a program of South Asian Studies as part of the Liberal Studies Master of Arts degree program.

There are a number of programs and centers with which the Institute has special links: the Pakistan Center; the Taraknath Das Foundation; and the Sikh Studies program. Building on a history of the development of community of South Asia scholars of national repute, the Institute looks forward to maintaining its important role at Columbia, in the New York metropolitan area, and in the country as a whole.

Contact Information
Officers of the Institute

Director:
Vidya Dehejia

Assistant Director and Outreach Coordinator:
Zainab Mahmood

Financial Assistant and Institute Manager:
Elisa Kirchheim

Program Assistant:
Shashank Mohan

Web Site Administrator:
Tyler Abrams

Information and Application for Admission
The Institute welcomes inquiries and visits from prospective students, scholars, and interested members of the public. Please write or call: The Director, Southern Asian Institute, Columbia University, 420 West 118th Street, 11th floor, Mail Code 3334, New York, NY 10027; (212) 854-3616 or e-mail: southasia@columbia.edu

For an application for admission to the M.I.A. program, and for information regarding financial aid, consult the SIPA bulletin or write:

School of International and Public Affairs
Office of Admissions
Columbia University
420 West 118th Street, Room 408
Mail Code 3325
New York, New York 10027

For information about the Ph.D programs consult the Bulletin of the School of Arts and Sciences and the homepages of the particular departments, or write: Graduate School of Arts and Science, 107 Low Memorial Library, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027

Jobs at the Southern Asian Institute
Please visit Columbia's Center for Career Education.