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Academics

The South Asia Program does not offer any degrees or certificates, although we support undergraduate South Asian Studies majors and minors, and Master's students in the Department of Asian Studies, and graduate students throughout the campus.

Cornell offers eleven South Asian languages: Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, Pali, Persian, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tamil, Tibetan, and Urdu. We are the only university in North America to regularly offer Nepali or Sinhala at all levels.

SAP works with the Office of Global Learning to offer both short-term and long-term study abroad opportunities in South Asia.


Cornell Resources


Tata-Cornell Institute

Man pushing cart with colorful vegetables in India

 

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) is a long-term research initiative focusing on the design and evaluation of innovative interventions linking agriculture, food systems, human nutrition, and poverty in India.


Kroch Asia Library

Ezra zine cover, Bombay Poets, India

 

The South Asia Collection in the Carl A. Kroch Library, overseen by South Asia Curator Bronwen Bledsoe, includes reference books, periodicals, newspapers, microfilms and fiche, electronic resources, as well as two levels of book stacks. Notable collections include the Bombay Poets Archive, featuring the Arvind Krishna Mehrotra papers, 1960-2014, on display in the online exhibit, Films, Mills, and Poets: Mid-Century Bombay. The library also hosts an online database of NGOs in Nepal.
 

Study Abroad Opportunity
Ashoka University is a leading liberal arts university in Sonipat, India, serving 4,500 domestic and international students. As a Cornell Global Hubs partner, Ashoka fosters high-impact opportunities and international exchange for Cornell students.
Major
A major in Asian Studies is rewarding for students of all backgrounds, as the global presence of Asia becomes ever more visible.
Study Abroad Opportunity
Are you interested in the intersection of mental health and culture, global health, and community engagement? Do you want to gain field research skills and learn about indigenous communities in South India’s beautiful and fragile Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve?
Master's
This Master's degree program in Asian Studies is designed for students who want more work in language and area studies before entering the professional, business, or academic fields.
Minor
A candidate for the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science degree at Cornell University may achieve a minor in South Asian Studies by completing at least 18 units of course work.
Study Abroad Opportunity

SIT offers two unique programs in Nepal: Development, Gender, and Social Cha

Study Abroad Opportunity
The Nilgiris Field Learning Center (NFLC) is a unique partnership between the Indian NGO, Keystone Foundation, and Cornell University. It aligns Cornell faculty and students with practitioners and community members in the Nilgiris, the “blue hills” of southern India.
Minor
The minor in Sanskrit Studies is for students who wish to broaden and deepen their competence in the Sanskrit language and traditional Indian religious, literary, and philosophical culture.
Internship
This program supports CALS undergraduate students in pursuit of challenging, professionally focused summer internships and research placements.
Internship
TCI funds and operates a summer internship program that places Cornell graduate students with research internship opportunities across India.