Programs by Campus
Bloomington
India Studies
School of Global and International Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Departmental E-mail: india [at] indiana [dot] edu
Departmental URL: www.indiana.edu/%7eisp
(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)
Curriculum
Program Information
Modern India has more than a billion citizens, nearly 16 percent of the world’s population. India today is a reflection of millennia of interaction and exchange across a wide spectrum of cultures and civilizations. Critical contemporary intellectual, political, and social issues—including security, social equality, economic and political development, and the role of historical relationships—are all being debated in India, and how these issues are addressed is of vital interest to the world community. The India Studies Program at Indiana University provides for the interdisciplinary study and critical analysis of the Indian subcontinent and its peoples from ancient times to the present.
The primary focus of the India Studies Program is on modern India. Yet in order to understand present-day India, it is important to have basic knowledge of the great periods in its history that have shaped modern India. This approach requires a sophisticated understanding of the country’s highly developed arts, music, literature, drama, philosophy, religions, and social and political structures. In addition to providing an overall, comprehensive education about Indian civilizations, the program allows for more specialized work in (a) literary and performance studies, (b) philosophical and religious studies, and (c) social, political, and historical studies. The India Studies Program also offers beginning- and intermediate-level courses in several Indian languages. All students in the program are encouraged to take language classes, as well as to consider study abroad in India.
Ph.D. Minor in India Studies
Requirements: 12 credit hours, including the core, plus advanced work in one of the three disciplinary groups of the program (excluding language courses). Specific courses as well as language requirements (if any) should be chosen in consultation with the Program Director. Ordinarily, only 3 credits from the student’s major program may be counted toward the Ph.D. minor; this course may not simultaneoously be counted toward other major or minor requirements. 4 graduate (i.e., 500-level or higher) courses, each of at least 3 credit hours. Credit will be awarded for courses listed as Dhar India Studies Program offerings, and may, at the discretion of the DISP Director, be awarded for additional, unlisted courses that have extensive content pertaining to India/South Asia. No more than 2 language courses may be counted toward the four course total; each course so counted must be taken at the second year (i.e., Intermediate) level or higher. Specific courses, as well as language requirements (if any) should be chosen in consulation with the Prgram Director. Ordinarily, only 1 course from the student's major program may be counted towards the Ph.D. minor; this course may not simultaneously be counted toward other major or minor requirements.
Cooperative Programs
Students in the Ph.D. minor in India Studies are encouraged to take advantage of programs in India Studies and South Asian Studies at participating institutions in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). Excellent work in the social sciences is available through the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin—Madison.