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Degree Programs > South Asian Languages

See also the description of the South Asian program.

South Asian Languages

Degrees Offered: Undergraduate Major, Minor (Hindi, Sanskrit) -- Graduate M.A., Ph.D.


Undergraduate Major (Hindi, Sanskrit)

This is a 75-credit major. Students must select a major and a minor language.

I. LANGUAGE COURSES:

60 credits, including 45 credits of the major language and 15 credits of the minor language:

  • HINDI 311, 312, 313 Elementary Hindi
  • HINDI 321, 322, 323 Intermediate Hindi
  • HINDI 401, 402, 403 Advanced Hindi
  • SNKRT 301, 302, 303 Introduction to Sanskrit
  • SNKRT 401, 402, 403 Intermediate Sanskrit
  • SNKRT 411, 412, 413 Advanced Sanskrit
  • INDN 410 Prakrit

II. AREA RELATED HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSES:

15 credits, including:

  • ASIAN 401 Introduction to Asian Linguistics
  • HSTAS 201 Ancient Indian Civilization

Students may choose, in consultation with their adviser, other courses from the South Asian languages course list, or from the following list:

  • ANTH 412 South Asian Social Structure
  • ANTH 464 Language Policy & Cultural Identity
  • ART H 204 Survey of Asian Art
  • ASIAN 404 Writing Systems
  • HSTAS 201 Ancient Indian Civilization
  • HSTAS 202 Modern Indian Civilization
  • HSTAS 401 History of Ancient India
  • HSTAS 402 History of Medieval and Mughal India
  • HSTAS 403 History of Modern India to 1500
  • HSTAS 404 History of 20th Century India
  • HSTAS 431 Tibetan History
  • MUSIC 316 Music Cultures of the World
  • MUSIC 428 Music of North India
  • MUSIC 447 Music of Southern India
  • PHIL 386 Introduction to Philosophical Systems of India
  • PHIL 412 Indian Philosophy
  • PHIL 418 Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy
  • RELIG 202 Introduction to World Religions: Eastern Tradition
  • RELIG 350 Buddhism and Society
  • RELIG 352 Hinduism
  • RELIG 354 Buddhism
  • RELIG 490/ASIAN 498 Special Topics (when relevant) 1-5 cr., max. 15
  • SISSA 417/POL S 417 Political Economy of India

Courses in literature in translation are exempt from language credit. Majors in Hindi ordinarily use Sanskrit as a minor language, but may substitute Persian if relevant to their proposed course of studies and with the approval of their advisers.

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Undergraduate Minor (Hindi, Sanskrit)

The Department offers a 30-credit undergraduate minor in South Asian Languages (Hindi or Sanskrit). Courses taken for the minor must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. No more than 15 transfer credits may count toward a South Asian language minor.

The minor in Hindi or Sanskrit requires fifteen credits of language classes at the second-year level or above (i.e., Hindi 321, 322, 323, Sanskrit 401, 402, 403, or above).

The remaining fifteen credits must include at least one of the following:

  • ASIAN 203 Literature and Culture of India: Ancient & Classical (5)
  • ASIAN 206 Literature and Culture of South Asia: From Tradition to Modernity (5)

and any of the following courses:

  • ART 306 Indian Art of South Asia (5)
  • HSTAS 201 Ancient Indian Civilization (5)
  • HSTAS 202 Modern Indian Civilization (5)
  • HSTAS 401 History of Ancient India (5)
  • HSTAS 402 History of Medieval and Mughal India (5)
  • HSTAS 403 History of Modern India up to 1900 (5)
  • HSTAS 404 History of 20th-Century India (5)
  • PHIL 386 Introduction to the Philosophical Systems of India (5)
  • RELIG 352 Hinduism (5)
  • RELIG 354 Buddhism (5)

Occasional "special topics" humanities courses may also be accepted at the discretion of the Undergraduate Adviser or Program Coordinator.

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M.A. and Ph.D. Programs

Admission

The applicant must meet the requirements of the Graduate School as outlined in the University Catalog. An undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 in the last 90 quarter or 60 semester credit hours is a prerequisite for admission, together with three letters of recommendation, and a statement of purpose. for admission to the M.A. program with specialization in South Asian Languages and Literature, preference will be given to students with prior preparation in a South Asian language and literature, in South Asian regional studies, or in a humanistic discipline pertinent to the study of South Asian civilization. Students lacking such preparation may be admitted to the M.A. program; however, they must remedy any deficiencies by adding, as early as possible, such courses as the academic adviser considers necessary. South Asian languages in which specializations are offered at the University are Sanskrit and Hindi. 

Prospective applicants to this program should be aware that there is also an M.A. program in South Asian Studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. These two South Asia-focussed programs are partially overlapping, but have significantly different emphases. In general, the South Asian studies concentration in Asian Languages and Literature is designed for students with interests in any studies which are primarily based on the study of languages and/or linguistics, and in textual or philological studies. The Jackson School South Asia program is intended for students who are more interested in a general interdisciplinary area studies program, particularly (though not exclusively) with an emphasis on the social sciences.

Advisers

Students should request an adviser within one year and one term of the beginning of their program; if no adviser is requested within that period, one will be assigned. Each student is expected to work out a course of study with the adviser which concentrates on areas pertinent to the language specialization (e.g., Hindi devotional literature, Sanskrit poetry). In addition, all students are required to comply with the rules and procedures of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature (copies of which are available from the Department).

M.A. Program

I. Requirements for Course Work and Credits

1. For the M.A. non-thesis, 45 course credits, 18 of which must be 500 level and above, are required. Students are also required to complete language study through the fourth-year level in their major language and through the second-year level in a second South Asian language. In addition, the student must present two seminar papers which are approved by the student's adviser and at least one other faculty member in the Department.

2. The M.A. thesis program requires a minimum of 45 course credits plus 9 thesis credits. At least 18 of the 45 credits must be taken at the 500 level or above. The language requirements in this program are the same as in the non-thesis program. In addition, the student must write an acceptable M.A. thesis according to the rules and policies of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature and pass an oral examination.

II. Foreign Language Requirements

Students must demonstrate competence in their major South Asian language, and must complete the course requirements in their second South Asian language as outlined above. In addition, students must demonstrate through a written examination reading knowledge of one foreign language relevant to their research, which must be other than English and the student's native language. At the M.A. level, this language may be the student's second South Asian language or a European language.

Ph.D. Program

Normally, entry into the program is contingent upon successful completion of the M.A. degree in Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Washington and a satisfactory evaluation by South Asian Language Program faculty. Students with sufficient background, usually the successful completion of a relevant M.A. degree at another institution, may be considered for admission into the Ph.D. program. Students are expected to fulfill the Graduate School's residence requirements (see the Department of Asian Languages and Literature's Policies and Procedures), to fulfill foreign language requirements, to pass a series of examinations (described below), and to write and defend a dissertation. Students who have completed an M.A. in Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Washington with specialization in a South Asian language, as described above, will often have fulfilled the residence requirements for the Ph.D. as set out by the Graduate School. If not, these must be satisfied as the student moves toward the Ph.D. Often, course work will continue to be appropriate.

For the Ph.D., students are required to demonstrate competence in their major South Asian language and pass written examinations in two research languages other than English and the student's native language (that is, one written examination in addition to the examination completed at the M.A. level). One of these two research languages must be a European language.

Students are also required to pass four written field examinations, at least three of which must fall within the general purview of South Asian languages and literature. A fourth can have as its subject an adjacent field or discipline, of the candidate so chooses--an aspect of South Asian history or art history, for example. Once these field examinations have been satisfactorily completed, the student is eligible to take a two hour comprehensive oral examination, administered by his or her supervisory committee. When that has been passed, students are accorded candidate's status (Ph.C.) and are ready to submit a dissertation proposal. The Ph.D. is conferred once the completed dissertation has been defended before the student's supervisory committee.

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