South Asia Studies

The South Asia region is the new vibrant center of global transformation, carrying with it the hopes and challenges of a fourth of humanity. It encompasses the tremendous richness of regional cultures and peoples in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and the Maldives and their overseas communities. South Asia Studies at UC Davis is a close-knit community of interdisciplinary scholars in the social sciences and humanities that combines expertise in the histories, languages, literatures, arts, religions, ecologies, cities and cultures of South Asia and its extensive overseas communities around the world. Today, more than 75 UC Davis faculty members enjoy research and educational ties with South Asia, many of whom are experts in the study of the region. UC Davis students can enroll in over 50 courses on South Asia in the humanities, social sciences and languages. UC Davis enjoys an active student body, with numerous Indian, Sikh, Pakistani, Afghan and other student organizations on campus that organize various speaker and cultural events, and who are eager for further studies of South Asia.

We are building financial support for graduate and undergraduate students, an annual South Asia conference, public lectures and speaker series, a residency for renowned scholars, writers and artists from South Asia, and endowed faculty positions for the study of the region from a multicultural and global perspective.