Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University

The Indonesian Program encompasses a much wider area than the national boundaries of Indonesia. The culture, literature and mass media forms of expression in Malay/Indonesian cover the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the southern Philippines, Brunei and East Malaysia, as well as the Indonesian archipelago. Indonesian in its modern form as a national language is a comparatively recent construction and is therefore intimately involved in the development of nationalist thought, independence and modern political expression.

The aim of the Indonesian Program is to bring students to a high level of competence in spoken and written language, thus enabling them to come into direct contact with the cultural traditions of their region of specialisation, to experience the lifestyles, values and thought of peoples through their own expressions of them, and to recognise in the present both continuities and discontinuities with the past.

The Southeast Asia Centre is conscious of a dual role, that is to provide students with competencies in contemporary language, as well as making available older languages of the region and traditional texts. When staffing permits, regional languages are also offered. Degree Programs

The Southeast Asia Centre in the Faculty of Asian Studies offers the three-year Bachelor of Asian Studies degree and a specialist four-year degree, Bachelor of Asian Studies (Indonesian) 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 year three, Bachelor of Asian Studies students complete their degree, while the Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist) students spend the year in universities or equivalent institutions in Indonesia doing advanced language work and studying in their field of specialisation (under the Year-in-Asia program). Year four of the Bachelor of Asian Studies (Specialist) is spent back at the ANU taking advanced units in disciplinary, language and area studies.

The three and four year degrees in Asian Studies may be combined with degrees in arts, commerce, economics, engineering, law, science and visual arts.

The Southeast Asia Centre courses are open to students taking Asian Studies degrees as well as to students enrolled in other Faculties.

Language and Indonesian-related courses

The first-year Indonesian language course is designed to give the student rapid competence in spoken Indonesian. The second and third-year courses aim to develop and enhance the students’ sophistication in the usage of the language. The third-year tuition program emphasises the exchange of ideas in Indonesian as well as more diversified skills in translation. At all levels language is taught in its cultural context and in its contemporary mode.

Students are encouraged to work towards a period of in-country study under arrangements made between the ANU and an Indonesian university. During their Year in Indonesia, Bachelor of Asian Studies (Indonesian) students will undertake a combination of intensive Indonesian language study, approved Indonesian university courses in language/literature and in a discipline, together with preparation for a study project to be completed back at the ANU in their fourth year.

Two courses focus on the performing arts in Asia (Introduction to Asian Performing Arts / Authenticity, Identity and Technology) emphasising practical performance skills and the study of genre, identity and intercultural translation of performance conversions.

The Undergraduate Handbook provides a comprehensive list of courses offered by the Faculty of Asian Studies.

Graduate studies in Indonesian

Indonesian 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.