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About the Center for Southeast Asian Studies

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies promotes innovative, interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship that have established UCLA as a world leader in the study of this dynamic region. It sponsors research, student scholarships and fellowships, language instruction, public lectures and conferences, and outreach to schools and communities.

Leadership

A year after its founding in 1999, CSEAS joined with its counterpart center at the University of California, Berkeley, in a consortium that was designated a National Resource Center (NRC) by the U.S. Department of Education. An extraordinary honor for a young institu- tion such as CSEAS, the designation was accompanied by Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships that since then have allowed graduate and undergraduate students to immerse themselves in the region. As part of its mission as an NRC, the Center organizes training workshops and develops curricular materials for California's K-12 schoolteachers.

In recognition of its leadership, the Center has been the beneficiary of two Ford Foundation grants for post- doctoral research and public programming on Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma and Vietnam. Gifts from other donors have helped to support our Indonesian Studies and Thai Studies programs.

Vision for the Future

While working to maintain the excellence of its programs, CSEAS continues to develop new ideas for expanding Southeast Asian studies at UCLA. These programs are also opportunities for individuals and foundations to support our mission. They include:

• Additional language offerings to serve the broad needs of Southern California and continue our national leadership in the study and teaching of Southeast Asian languages.
• High-level language courses leading to fluency in Filipino, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese.
• Establishment of additional study abroad programs and partnerships with institutions of higher learning abroad. Travel grants for undergraduates to study abroad.
• Endowed fellowships for UCLA graduate students whose work will advance Southeast Asian studies.
• Travel grants for students to develop dissertations and promote their studies throughout the region.
• Endowed faculty chairs in Southeast Asian Studies to recruit and retain top scholars in particular disciplines and countries of the region.
• UCLA-based colloquia, conferences and seminars on Southeast Asian topics.
• Innovative programs bringing new approaches to the region in such areas as public health, science and the environment.