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.
Major || Minor || M.A. || Ph.D. || top
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.
Major || Minor || M.A. || Ph.D. || top
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.
Major || Minor || M.A. || Ph.D. || top
