Introduction
At the graduate level, the South Asian Languages Program offers both the MA and PhD degrees, with concentrations in Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, and Buddhist Studies. It provides an excellent environment for not only developing advanced proficiency in South Asian languages, but also, through its various classes, seminars, and colloquia, for acquiring professional training in the description, analysis, and critical interpretation of South Asian languages and literary texts. A sample of classes and seminars rarely taught elsewhere include those on the decipherment, translation and interpretation of early Buddhist texts, Sanskrit Epigraphy, on the life of Buddha in comparative perspective, on Pali, Prakrit, and Gandhari, on medieval Hindi literary languages (e.g. Braj, Avadhi, Rajasthani) and literatures and on the study of Indian religious themes and motifs throughout history.
There are several areas of research in which the Department's faculty and programs in South Asian languages are particularly well known, including the following: Sanskrit literature and language; Middle Indo-Aryan languages and literatures; Indian religion; Buddhist studies; epigraphy, paleography, and the history of Indic writing systems; Hindi and Indo-Aryan linguistics; medieval devotional texts and religion; comparative mythology; hagiography, and the description of Indian gods and goddesses throughout the course of South Asian history. The Department of Asian Languages and Literature is the home of the Early Buddhist Manuscript Project, a joint enterprise of the University of Washington and the British Library, which has attracted international attention for its research into the language and texts of the earliest surviving written materials of the entire Buddhist tradition.
The Department of Asian Languages and Literature sponsors many lectures and colloquia, many in conjunction with other units on campus. The University of Washington Libraries boast one of the most extensive collections of South Asian materials in the country. The University of Washington is the location of a National Resource Center for South Asian Studies, funded through a grant from the United States Department of Education. Opportunities to participate in South Asian cultural events abound as Seattle is home to a significant South Asian population with an active cultural and arts scene. Seattle is the site of many concerts of classical and popular South Asian music, of festivals of South Asian film, and of exhibitions of South Asian art. Seattle is also the home of a vibrant and growing South Asian community, which interacts with faculty and students at the University in numerous ways.
Advisers
Admitted students will be assigned an interim faculty adviser. Each student is expected to work out a course of study with the adviser which concentrates on areas pertinent to the language specialization. In addition, all students are required to comply with the departmental MA and PhD policies and procedures.
MA Program
Admission
The applicant must meet the minimum admissions requirements of the Graduate School. For admission to the MA 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 MA program; however, they must remedy any deficiencies by adding, as early as possible, such courses as their faculty adviser considers necessary. South Asian languages in which MA specializations are offered at the University are Hindi, Sanskrit, and Urdu.
Prospective applicants to this program should be aware that there is also an MA program in South Asian Studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. These two South Asia-focused 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.
Coursework and Credits
Students in the MA program must satisfy the degree requirements set by the Graduate School at the time of their graduation. The MA program requires a minimum of 45 credits at the 400-level or higher. At least 18 credits must be completed in numerically graded courses at the 400 and 500 level, and 18 credits at the 500 level and above. Credits may be earned through a combination of coursework and research. Each student will customize their course of study in consultation with their faculty adviser.
In addition to coursework and the general examinations, the MA degree requires students to submit original research in one of two ways:
- as a thesis, in which case the student takes at least 36 course credits and 9 thesis credits, OR
- in the form of two research papers that have been written either independently or as part of their coursework, in which case all 45 minimum credits will be course credits.
The MA and PhD programs are separate and independent. Admission to the MA program does not guarantee admission to the PhD program. MA students who wish to proceed to the PhD program must file a Petition to Proceed no later than their final quarter as an MA student, and the petition must be approved prior to the MA degree being awarded. See department policy 2.5 and consult the Academic Counselor for more information.
PhD Program
Normally, entry into the PhD program is contingent upon successful completion of the MA degree in Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Washington and a satisfactory petition to the South Asian Language Program faculty (see above). Students with sufficient background, usually the successful completion of a relevant MA degree at another institution, may be considered for direct admission into the PhD program. PhD students are expected to fulfill the Graduate School's graduate degree requirements, to fulfill foreign language requirements, to pass a series of examinations (described below), and to write and defend a dissertation.
Students must demonstrate competence in their major South Asian language. 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. This language may be an Asian or European language.
Students are also required to pass three written field examinations, at least two of which must fall within the general purview of South Asian languages and literature. The third can have as its subject an adjacent field or discipline, if 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 (the General Examination), administered by the student's supervisory committee. When that has been passed, students are accorded candidate status (PhC) and are ready to submit a dissertation proposal. The PhD is conferred once the completed dissertation has been defended before the student's supervisory committee.