Master of Arts Cultural and Religious History of South Asia (Classical Indology)
This program aims to enable a student to conceive and phrase research questions in the field of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia and work them out using the scientific methods of the discipline. During the Master's program, the students acquire a comprehensive and strengthened knowledge of the contents of the subject area specially the methodological and theoretical foundations of Ethno-indology. The focus on Sanskrit facilitates the study and interpretative analyses of primary sources with the methods of philology and comparative linguistics and situates them in their historical contexts as also their later receptions. It also encourages the students to pursue a second language of South Asia e.g., Pali or other languages offered at the South Asia Institute.
Program structure
There are different program structures you can choose from:
- Major (120 credits)
- Major (100 credits)
- Minor (20 credits)
Unique language program on the region of South Asia
In addition to deepening their knowledge of Sanskrit, students may also learn or deepen their knowledge of the following languages at SAI as part of the program or through the MAKLM Minor: Classical Tibetan, Nepali, Pali, Sinhala, Dari, Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, and Urdu.
Study and research environment
The South Asia Institute is Europe's leading center for South Asian studies, characterized by interdisciplinary teaching and research that addresses the regional diversity of South Asia. Scholars at our institute have been studying the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka for more than 60 years. Together with our international research network and our branch offices in several South Asian countries, we offer all students and researchers an ideal platform for interdisciplinary applied learning and research.
The governments of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sponsor four visiting professors at SAI whose courses complement and enrich the curriculum. Students also have the chance to meet external scholars, writers, and social and cultural activists through weekly lectures and workshops.
Admission Requirements
- Applicants have an above-average bachelor's degree in South Asian studies or an equivalent humanities degree
- Proof of knowledge of Sanskrit, equivalent at least to four semester study of the language in a university or equivalent level institution. Or proof of knowledge of Sanskrit of an equivalent level gained otherwise. The admission committee may conduct a test to ascertain the adequate level of the knowledge of Sanskrit language