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
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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September 13, 2019
Shahd Fulath Khan is a Munk One ‘18 alumna in her third-year of university, studying Psychology, Neuroscience, and Political Science. She is the recipient of the Dr. David Chu Scholarship, which is awarded to students who are pursuing research activities...
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August 20, 2018
The student-led global governance research groups at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy are made up of the G7, G20 and BRICS Research Groups. Having been a member of all three research groups throughout my undergraduate career...
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August 20, 2018
Master’s student Mary-Anne Meerasabeer reflects on what she learned about environmental sustainability in Thailand during a summer internship at CanCham Thailand.
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June 25, 2018
Composed of the world’s five largest emerging economies, the BRICS has commonly been perceived in competition with the G7, a group of industrialized, democratic and developed states. Since the inception of BRICS summitry in 2009, most popular commentary and analysis...
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June 21, 2018
On 25-27 July 2018, the tenth annual stand-alone BRICS summit will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa. In the aftermath of the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada, on 8-9 June 2018, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Qingdao,...
Read full articleNovember 27, 2017
Opportunities and Awards
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June 13, 2017
The annual China Central Television English Speaking Contest is regarded as the most difficult English-speaking proficiency competition in the country. It attracts millions of viewers from across the nation. The event is particularly well known and widely viewed in Xinjiang,...
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October 13, 2016
In late 2015, when the Asian Institute announced the Richard Charles Lee Big Ideas Competition – calling on University of Toronto students to develop big ideas for social entrepreneurship in Asia – the three of us began brainstorming what would...
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