Other Nordic and European Courses on South Asia

South Asian studies at Copenhagen University

The History of Religions Section, Institute of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, offers South Asia related courses on Science of Religion. 
More information on the BA, MA, and PhD programmes. 
Contact person: Dr. Peter Birkelund Andersen 
 

The Asian Studies Section, Institute of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, offers courses in Indology, including Sanskrit, and Pali. More information on the Indology courses. 
Contact person: Dr. Ken Zysk 
 

The Tranquebar Initiative of the National Museum of Denmark is an interdisciplinary endeavour and prepared in close collaboration with a number of Indian authorities and Indian and Danish research institutions. The Initiative ranges from various research projects to restorations of buildings from the colonial time and the collecting of ethnographical items to elucidate present daily life, as well as historical and ethnographical exhibit activities in Denmark and India. 
More information about the Tranquebar projects. 
Contact person: Dr. Esther Fihl
 

A new initiative was introduced by the Institute of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies in 2007, courses in Business relations. These courses, called Kulturstudier.dk are concerned with the meeting between different cultures, religions and languages and being designed to cater for businesses or organisations that are establishing themselves abroad, hiring foreign employees or are facing cultural problems in connection with enterprises in the non-Western World. 
More information about Kulturkurser.dk. 
Contact person: Dr. Charlott Hoffmann Jensen

Researchers and teachers involved in Asian studies at the Faculty of Humanities, Copenhagen University are taking part in a joint project with colleagues at Lund University, and SASNET, to promote possibilities to combine courses in Asian languages and religious studies given on both sides of the Öresund. The so-called ØRNAST educational cooperation project was formally inaugurated with a ceremony at Copenhagen University on Tuesday 14 September 2004. The purpose behind ØRNAST is to strengthen East, South-East and South Asian education and research at the universities and university colleges involved in the Øresund University Consortium. 
More information on ØRNAST. 
 

The Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), based at Copenhagen University, three times a year offers Contact Scholarships for Nordic Graduate Students, as well as Guest Researcher Scholarships for senior researchers and postgraduate students based in the Nordic countries. 
More information on NIAS, and the scholarships it offers.

South Asian studies at Oslo University

Asian Studies at the University of Oslo
– The Faculty of Arts at the University of Oslo offers a variety of programmes in South Asia related Studies. The Institute for Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS) offers courses in three South Asian languages: Hindi, Sanskrit, and Urdu.
– The Institute for Archaeology, Conservation and Historical Studies (IAKH) offers courses in South Asian Studies, covering topics as modern history, religion and political anthropology, with a focus on India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and with a thematic focus on the emergence of nationalism and ethnic conflict in South Asia. More information.

The Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM – Senter for utvikling og miljø) is a research institution formally under the University of Oslo. Since 2004, every year SUM organises a 20 credits course titled ”Development and the Environment: From Theory to Practice”. Attention is given to the relationship between North and South and to the political and commercial sides of development. A unique aspect of the course is that students will get a view from the South through lectures, discussions and excursions organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) during a one month stay in New Delhi, India. There, students are formed into groups and do research that lead to a common group report under the guidance of advisors from CSE. More information about courses offered by CSE’s Anil Agarwal Green College. 

Other important institutions in Norway regarding South Asian studies/development studies

– Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) in Bergen. One of the largest and oldest independent institutions in Northern Europe for social science research and advisory work on development and human rights issues in developing countries.
– International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). Conducts research within three main themes: Conditions of War and Peace, Ethnic and Nationalist Conflicts, and Foreign and Security Policies. The institute also publishes a book series and two journals.
– The Dept. of International Environment and Development Studies (NORAGRIC), at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, has a resource management programme in cooperation with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Northern Pakistan.

South Asian Studies programmes at other European universities

From September 2011, the Centre for South Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh introduces a new MSc program in South Asia and International Development. It will be the only UK postgraduate international development programme with an explicit South Asia focus. This programme is linked to the University of Edinburgh's Global Development Academy, which fosters a dynamic interdisciplinary community of scholars who are working in partnership throughout the world to tackle the most important issues facing international development. Courses will provide analytical skills to help students to understand the processes that have shaped poverty and underdevelopment with particular reference to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The programme is interdisciplinary, combining rigorous training in analytical and qualitative methods with an emphasis on policy and practice as they relate to international development. It has two compulsory, core courses. They are ”Politics and Theories of International Development” and ”South Asia: the Roots of Poverty and Development”. 
Contact person: Professor Patricia Jeffery(photo), MSc Programme Director, School of Social and Political Science. 
Closing date for applications is 15th July 2011, but please note that it is in your interest to apply well before the closing date: Scholarship and funding schemes have different closing dates for application and generally require applicants to have a firm offer of a place at Edinburgh. The paperwork connected with visas and immigration takes time to process. 
More information on the program web page
See also a poster for the programme. 
 

Since 2008, the South Asia Institute at University of Heidelberg, Germany, runs an interdisciplinary Master's programme entitled ”Health and Society in South Asia”. The programme is a taught, two-year interdisciplinary degree with a focus on Medical Anthropology and South Asian Studies. It is intended for students who plan to work (or already work) in health-related fields but also for those who wish to pursue an academic career. The programme is administered by the Dept. of Anthropology at the South Asia Institute, specializing in Medical Anthropology, with various staff members conducting research on ritual healing, folk medicine, South Indian medicine, health and environment, Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine, gender and health, women's reproductive health and Islam, and other topics. In the first semester, students are introduced to the main theories and research themes in the field of Medical Anthropology as well as to the major medical traditions and current health issues in South Asia. In the second semester all students are obliged to learn one South Asian language, and also receive training in research methods and presentation skills. The third semester is used for the extensive preparation of a practical field experience or a work placement, which will form the basis for the Master's thesis, which will be prepared and written over the fourth semester. 
A new programme started in April 2010. 
More information. 

Heidelberg University starts a new Master Programme Transcultural Studies in October 2011. Across disciplines and national borders, students from around the globe can explore the dynamics of cultural exchanges. The M.A. Transcultural Studies is an interdisciplinary programme in the humanities and social sciences with a transregional focus. It offers a wide range of courses taught in English within an international research environment. Students are trained in transcultural theories and methods as well as in the study of cross-cultural exchanges. During the programme they can specialise in one of the three areas: "Society, Economy, and Governance", "Visual, Media, and Material Culture", or "Knowledge, Belief, and Religion". Each is cutting across disciplines and not confined to one region.
Applicants must hold a B.A. or equivalent (minimum three years of study) in a discipline of the humanities or social sciences. Furthermore, proficiency in English and two more languages is required. More information on the programme and the application.

The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK introduces a 2 years MA programme in Anthropological Research Methods and Nepali from September 2011. It will be offered jointly by the Department of Anthropology and the Department of South Asian Languages and Cultures. It is intended for students who wish to conduct doctoral-level research in Nepal, or in preparation for professional employment in e.g. a government agency or international NGO.
This is the only Masters-level programme offered anywhere in the world that provides students who intend to proceed to conduct anthropological research (broadly defined) in Nepal with the necessary skills (disciplinary, linguistic, methodological). Applicants will need to produce documented evidence of language learning ability (a language A level or equivalent, or successful completion of an undergraduate language course). More information. 

Oxford University, UK, again organises a MSc in Contemporary India, a three-term, nine-month course. Deadline for applications for the current course was Friday 12 March 2010. This unique programme provides students with opportunities for a multidisciplinary immersion in knowledge about India’s signal achievements and her persistent problems, together with high quality training in research methods and in the critical analysis of theory in the main social science disciplines.
Students will develop or extend a knowledge and critical understanding of:

– the relationships between India’s development achievements and her persistent problems and the relevant academic scholarship and debates
– social science research methods, strategies and ethics that pertain to the study of contemporary India
– the principal theoretical ideas and paradigms with which research on contemporary India is conducted
critical analysis of sources and the capacity to present findings effectively, verbally and in sustained writing exercise
– the identification, execution and completion of a workable research topic
– the problems and potentials of interdisciplinarity

The degree is designed for students from a wide range of backgrounds, particularly the Social Sciences and History but not excluding any discipline. Undergraduate coursework on India or South Asia is not a prerequisite for admission. The course will serve as a valuable stand-alone training for those wishing to specialise in India, either out of academic interest or as preparation for work in the private sector, international organisations, government, NGOs, multi-lateral and bi-lateral aid and development agencies and media organisations. The course will also serve as first stage preparation for subsequent doctoral research on India. More information.