The Dr. David Chu Program in Contemporary Asian Studies (CAS) offers undergraduate students a major program and minor program designed to comprehend Asia’s role in new global dynamics. Several of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies are in Asia, yet the outcomes of modernization across the region have been varied, as seen through differing approaches to government, wealth distribution, ethnic diversity, gender dynamics, human rights, religion, and migration. Our students consider all of these factors in present-day South, Southeast, and East Asia, in the context of the diverse histories that inform these societies. The CAS program provides a lens through which to examine the links between Asia’s history, its increasing influence in world affairs, the challenges and opportunities arising in this time of rapid transformation.
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The Centre for South Asian Studies hosts a minor program in South Asian Studies, which also has access to the faculty and resources of the groundbreaking Contemporary Asian Studies program. Students study South Asia in an approach attentive to global formations. They are introduced to the study of South Asia—Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka—through a wide angle view of Asian modernities, political economies and cultures, all the while delving into to specialist close-ups of South Asia. With open access to comparative courses in Contemporary Asian Studies program, students can learn from tenured and tenure-track faculty specialists in South, East, and Southeast Asia.
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The interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Contemporary East and Southeast Asian Studies (formerly Asia-Pacific Studies, or MAPS) is designed for students wishing to pursue careers that will require them to understand this vibrant and sometimes tumultuous part of the world, whether their chosen fields are in academia, business, government, international or non-governmental organizations. Drawing students from a dozen graduate faculties to elicit a truly multi-disciplinary dialogue, the program limits the number of students to 20 in order to facilitate learning and intellectual exchange in a small group setting.
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The Collaborative Master’s and Doctoral Program in South Asian Studies offers entry into a graduate student community, as well as a methodological grounding for students already accepted into a graduate program at the University of Toronto. The program is designed to give students an interdisciplinary overview for the critical study of South Asia as a field of expertise and as a lens through which to read a wide range of global processes. Engagement with these questions through the collaborative program will be noted on the transcripts of participating students.
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The Asian Institute offers a variety of resources to both undergraduate and graduate students in their teaching programs, and involved in affiliated activities at the Institute. to learn more about student groups, scholarships, and travel opportunities check out our Student Resources page.
Student Resources
March 6, 2021
“Don’t waste your time trying to “figure out” or “find” your purpose before you take action. Follow your curiosity, take action and then reflect back on it. Give yourself permission to live and try new things. You get to pick...
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October 15, 2020
“It does not matter where you work, but how people view your work and how you view your work.” Alice Niu (CAS ’16) completed her undergraduate degree in Contemporary Asian Studies and Ethics, Society and Law. During her time at the Asian...
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October 15, 2020
Sonia Pang (CAS ’15) is the Senior Brand Enterprise Partnerships Specialist at Shutterstock, a stock media and editing tools provider headquartered in New York City. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2015, double-majoring in Political Science and...
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October 15, 2020
Derek Li (MPP, MAPS ’17) completed his Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) with the Collaborative Master’s in Asia Pacific Studies (MAPS) at the University of Toronto. Before coming back to graduate school at U of T, Derek had a successful...
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October 2, 2020
In 2019, Contemporary Asian Studies student Thomas Siddall received funding from the Dr. David Chu Scholarships in Asia-Pacific Studies to conduct fieldwork in Beijing. Thomas researches community and solidarity as movements of postmemory and respacialization, in the Sinosphere and across...
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August 19, 2020
In an article published on the NATO Association of Canada website, Mia Nguyen—a recent Contemporary Asian Studies grad— comments on China’s hukou reform strategies that would stimulate internal migration across the country.
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June 15, 2020
Through an internship with the RCL Asian Pathways Research Lab, Bonnie Lao published two original research articles on the NATO Association of Canada (NAOC) website.
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January 21, 2020
Mariah Stewart is in her fourth and final year of studies at the University of Toronto, majoring in Political Science with a double minor in Contemporary Asian Studies and Mathematics. In July 2019, she participated in the Woodenfish Humanistic Buddhist...
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December 2, 2019
“It is my strong belief that social change occurs when you engage people who are outside of your core audience.” Adam Zivo is a student in the Master of Public Policy Program at the Munk School of Global Affairs...
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December 2, 2019
From Shanghai to Geneva: Shaping a Global Worldview “No knowledge is ever wasted – it will unexpectedly enrich who you are.” Angela Hou (CAS ’19) is a recent graduate of the Contemporary Asian Studies and International Relations programs at the University of...
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