Hindi Studies
Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University
Since Hindi is the official language of India and over the past 500 years has produced a rich, vigorous and highly developed literary tradition, a knowledge of Hindi is essential for students interested in any aspect of the civilisation and society of modern and medieval India. The aim of the Hindi program is to provide the ability both to communicate in spoken Hindi and to read a wide range of material written in Hindi, including novels, newspapers and scholarly works. The area of particular attention will vary with the program level.
Degree Programs
The South Asia Centre in the Faculty of Asian Studies offers a three-year pass degree, Bachelor of Asian Studies (Hindi), and a specialist four-year degree, Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist) (Hindi) which includes the Year-in-Asia program. Qualified students may switch between the three-year and the four-year degree, normally after the first two years, which are academically the same.
In the four-year Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist - Hindi) students spend the third year in universities or equivalent tertiary institutions in India, undertaking advanced language study and studying in their field of specialisation through Hindi. Year four of the Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist - Hindi) is spent back at ANU taking advanced courses in disciplinary, language and area studies. Our aim is to equip students with the linguistic and cultural competence needed to function effectively in India, and the education to enable them to understand these countries in depth.
The purpose of the four-year specialist degrees is to enable students to greatly extend their language and specialist studies and their understanding of India. The three-year Asian Studies program will continue to be offered for those who do not wish to make so heavy a commitment.
The three and four year degrees in Asian Studies may be combined with degrees in arts, commerce, economics, engineering, law, science and visual arts (please see Bachelor of Asian Studies (Combined Programs).
Hindi language courses
Applied Hindi (HIND2002) is offered each year for six weeks in January-February in a city in northern India. The course has a full year's academic credit from the Australian National University. It is open to anyone, whether an ANU student or not, who has at least a year's university-level study of Hindi or its equivalent.
The South Asia Centre courses are open to students taking Asian Studies degrees as well as to students enrolled in other Faculties.
The emphasis in Introductory Hindi is on the mastery of the fundamentals of Hindi usage and on the acquisition of basic conversational skills. Elementary texts are also read.
The Advanced Hindi courses are based on the reading of a variety of texts, including short stories and newspaper and magazine articles of current interest. As much class discussion as possible is conducted in Hindi.
Second-year Hindi can be taken in India as an eight-week summer course.
For students enrolled in the honours year, the course is conducted in Hindi and is intended to provide a comprehensive study within the field of Hindi language and literature.
The Undergraduate Handbook provides a comprehensive list of courses offered by the Faculty of Asian Studies.
Other Asia-related courses
The Centre for Asian Societies and Histories in the Faculty and the Faculty of Arts offer non-language courses in Asian history, religion and society. Courses in Asian politics, economics and law are available in other Faculties. Graduate programs in Asian Studies Asian Studies may be undertaken for the Graduate Diploma, Master of Asian Studies, Master of Arts (Asian Studies), the MPhil and PhD.
Graduate programs at the ANU are administered by the Graduate School. Please refer to the Faculty Graduate Programs page for more information about the specialised Graduate Programs in Asian Studies.
External links
ESL – Language Studies Abroad ESL – Language Studies Abroad, is headquartered in Montreux, Switzerland, where we also own a French language school. We also have additional offices in Switzerland, as well as in Sweden, Panama, France, and Italy. Our group specializes in the organization of language excursions abroad, providing access to courses in 11 languages, in over 40 countries. The languages we currently offer are: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Greek. We cater to a wide range of clients, including both children and adults, students and executives. Our language school affiliates are personally selected, ensuring that we only work with fully accredited and well known schools.
Further information
- Detailed information about Faculty of Asian Studies programs, including admission requirements, prerequisites, career possibilities, program requirements, Majors and Specialisations, and degree structure and courses, is published in the ANU online handbook, which also provides authoritative information concerning the programs and courses available in any particular year.
- You are encouraged to seek specific guidance on these matters from the Sub-Dean of the Faculty. Please email Enquiries.AsianStudies@anu.edu.au or phone 6125 2353 to arrange an appointment.