Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University

• To understand Asia and the Pacific from historical, political, economic, literary, linguistic, sociological, security, religious, and anthropological perspectives
• To learn a language of Asia and the Pacific at one of the top tertiary training institutions
• To study a language not taught anywhere else in the country, or indeed any other tertiary institution
• To live and study in Asia and the Pacific
• To prepare for a job with an international NGO, the government, private enterprise, overseas

The answers to why people pursue their undergraduate studies at the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific are as diverse as the people you’ll meet here:

The undergraduate program of the Faculty of Asian Studies in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific is an elite program arranged around two primary goals: and learning a language of the region and understanding the context of Asia and the Pacific.

It is a cliché, but learning a language of Asia and the Pacific opens a world to you. Or, put in the inverse, as all information must come through the filter of someone else's translation, not knowing a language of the region limits the level of understanding one will ever attain of the region. This is a truism that backpackers and expatriates all know, but it is also one that the government, NGOs, and business appreciate. This is particularly true in the best of times—for example, being able to capitalise on the economic booms of China and India—but also in the hardest of times—for example, being able to speak Japanese in 1940, Vietnamese in 1970, and Arabic in 2001.

The Faculty of Asian Studies is proud to be one of the world's leading teachers of Asian and Pacific languages. We teach more languages to the level of a major than any other university in Australia including: Arabic, Chinese, French (for students pursuing Pacific Studies), Hindi (the official language of the central government of India), Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Urdu (the national language of Pakistan, among others), Sanskrit (the classical language of India), Thai, and Vietnamese. In addition, we offer on a less regular basis: Burmese, Cantonese, classical Chinese, classical Japanese, Javanese, Lao, Malay, Pacific Pidgins, and Tetum (the language of East Timor). The Faculty offers the best staff to student ratio for language tutorials, ensuring the most effective learning environment.

Language taken without an understanding of the context in which it operates is an empty vessel. Thus, the Faculty of Asian Studies also takes seriously teaching the history, culture, society, politics, religions, economics, linguistics, and literatures of the region, both at the local level and at the trans-national level. For example, our undergraduate students study the security of Asia and the Pacific (including, among other ‘hot spots', Timor, Bali, Solomon Islands, and Aceh), manga in Japan, the Art of War in China, environmental problems that cross borders, and the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism. The program is designed to provide a progressive structure balancing thematic, disciplinary, and area courses that students can tailor to their own objectives with the guidance of an academic advisor. Furthermore, the undergraduate program allows maximum flexibility in pursuing electives across the offerings of the entire ANU.

Augmenting the language and contextual studies at the ANU, the Faculty boasts of more opportunities to live and study in the countries of Asia and the Pacific. Intensive in-country courses are offered during the Summer and Winter periods in a number of areas including Vietnam, Java, Northern India, Thailand and the Thai-Burmese border, and East Timor. Internship possibilities for credit are available by student arrangement in a number of countries including China, Japan, and Korea. Semester-abroad programs throughout the region are developing. Most significantly, the Faculty's flagship Year in Asia and the Pacific program is the most developed of any Australian university and provides deep immersion for all of our primary programs.

Our students learn from some of the world's top experts on the region at the world's leading centre for research and teaching on Asia and the Pacific. This education leaves students prepared for the challenges of a diverse workplace. This includes, among other things, guiding investors and providing professional services for private business; consulting, advising, and translating for international organisations and NGOs; working as a diplomat, providing security analysis, giving cultural advice to the government; and leading the country as Prime Minister.

If you want to truly know Asia and the Pacific, and if you want to pursue the opportunities only available for those who do, consider joining the small elite cohort of undergraduates in the Faculty of Asian Studies of the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

Professor Kent Anderson
Director, Faculty of Asian Studies