We welcome inquiries from prospective applicants interested in exploring the rich cultural, social, and religious histories of South and Southeast Asia and/or the living contemporary cultures of these areas. We are a humanities department with a strong emphasis on language training.
As a graduate student at SSEAS, whether in our MA or Joint MA/PhD Program, you will design your own curriculum around central requirements. Your course load might include cultural history, the classical literary canon, religious literature, folk and popular works, oral traditions, performance media (including recitation, musical and dramatic performance, dance, and film), and modern literatures of the colonial and post-colonial periods. Whatever your research interests, a central strand of your graduate training will be the development of advanced research proficiency in your language of emphasis, and training in critical textual analysis. Our admissions requirements reflect this focus, and are detailed more fully below.
Before filing an application, we encourage you to explore both our Graduate Programs and our faculty research areas. We also recommend that you send a preliminary email of inquiry to those faculty working in your primary area of interest. If you are interested in applying for the 2025-2026 academic year, you may do so online through the Office of Graduate Admissions, where you will also find details about the application process.
Before filing an application, we encourage you to explore both our Graduate Programs and our faculty research areas. We also recommend that you send a preliminary email of inquiry to those faculty working in your primary area of interest, to ensure that your interests and proposed research topics fall within their area of specialization, and to gain a better understanding of how your goals may be served through your enrollment in the program.
Our Student Affairs Adviser is available to answer any questions about our department's specific admissions requirements and the application process. If you are unable to complete the online application contact the Graduate Division via phone at (510) 642-7405 or by e-mail.
UC Berkeley Admissions Application
Application Materials
- unofficial transcript
- TOEFL or IETLS if applicable
- 3 letters of recommendation
- personal statement
- statement of purpose (1-2 single spaced pages)
- a writing sample (no less than 15 pages)
(Note: the GRE is no longer required for admissions)
An Ideal Candidate Might Bring the following to their application:
There are several paths to preparation for our program. The admissions committee will look at a variety of factors to determine your readiness for our program. A competitive application might include several of the following:
- Demonstrated competence in language and language acquisition (ideally literacy in one or more languages of the region)*
- Coursework in South & Southeast Asian religion, history, literature and arts
- Experience studying or working in region
- Coherent and relevant statement of purpose that aligns with direction of the department
- A writing sample that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to conduct original research
Language Training
At least two years of college-level study (or the equivalent as determined by the Head Graduate Adviser) in your language of emphasis is a prerequisite for admission to our program. Our languages of emphasis areBurmese, Hindi, Khmer, Filipino, Indonesian, Malay, Tamil, Tibetan, Urdu, Sanskrit and Vietnamese.
Personal Statement & Statement of Purpose
Be concise; an ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. A well organized essay of 500 to 1000 judiciously selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is preferable to one that is overly long.
Writing Sample
We require a minimum of one writing sample of no less than 15 pages. Two samples are highly recommended. You are advised to include work in the humanities and ideally related to the region. The writing sample is a crucial element of your application and is used to gauge your preparedness for graduate level training, including your ability to work with primary source materials. Ideal samples might include a research paper or capstone project, a senior, honors or masters thesis.
Do not miss this opportunity to share your best work. Please choose a writing sample that best reflects your knowledge, interest, and ability to think critically and write clearly.
If you are interested in applying for the next academic year, you may do so online through the Office of Graduate Admissions, where you will also find details about the application process.
Deadlines: All applications must be submitted by December 17, 2024. Specific deadline information can be found on the Graduate Division’s SSEAS Admissions page. We strongly recommend that you submit all supporting materials (listed below) by this deadline. While we can accept letters of recommendation and TOEFL/IETLS scores after the deadline, we cannot guarantee that supporting materials arriving after this deadline will be included in the departmental admissions process. Admissions decisions are generally made in late January.
Our Student Affairs Adviser is available to answer any questions about our department’s specific admissions requirements and the application process.
If you are unable to complete the online application contact the Graduate Division via phone at (510) 642-7405 or e-mail.
For information about how to request an Admissions Fee Waiver, please visit: https://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/fee-waiver/
- Prospective students will be notified of the department’s admissions decisions typically in late January.
- Students who are denied admission will hear directly from Berkeley Graduate Division.
- Students who are offered admission, will receive an email directly from the department.
- Students who are being offered funding that originates from inside the department, will be notified of their funding package in that initial offer letter.
- Funding decisions are made subsequent to admissions decisions. Students will generally be informed of their funding packages in early March.
The GRE / TOEFL / IELTS instructions are clearly explained on the Berkeley admissions page. Note that in general, the Department is dedicated to the holistic evaluation of each applicant, and does not give undue weight to standardized tests. Please note that submitting GRE scores is no longer required.
Students who are offered admission to the joint MA/PhD program are generally provided with a guaranteed five-year funding package, which consists of a combination of fellowship and paid teaching responsibilities. This package covers tuition and fees, as well as a predetermined living stipend. All admitted applicants will be required to apply for a FLAS (Foreign Languages and Area Studies) fellowship.
Admitted students are normally invited to visit the campus to meet faculty and current graduate students, familiarize themselves with campus and departmental resources, and sit in on seminars. These visits usually occur in mid-March, and are timed to coincide with the campus-wide Diversity Day.
