Resources

South and Southeast Asia Library (SSEAL)

The South and Southeast Asia Library (SSEAL) is the Berkeley campus library reference center for South and Southeast Asian social sciences and humanities. SSEAL houses an extensive reference collection of bibliographies, indexes, dictionaries, atlases, directories, statistical annuals and core works, as well as current issues of high-use periodicals. The rest of the South Asia and Southeast Asia collection, over 600,000 titles, is located in the Doe Library as well as in other subject specialty libraries across the campus.

Institute for South Asia Studies

One of the world’s leading institutes for research and programs on South Asia, the Institute for South Asia Studies (ISAS) at the University of California, Berkeley works with faculty members, graduate students, community members, private institutions, and non-profit organizations to deepen understanding of the region and to create new generations of scholars of South Asia.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies

CSEAS is a consortium U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center, with UCLA’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies(link is external), one of seven National Resource Centers for Southeast Asia in the country. The consortium helps students and faculty at each campus collaborate on particular programs (conferences, workshops, and speaker series), furthers the development of campus resources devoted to the field (such as library acquisitions) and promotes course development and improvements in the quality and accessibility of language instruction.

Institute of East Asian Studies

The Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS) at UC Berkeley promotes teaching and research on East Asia in all disciplines and professional programs. The Institute and its regional centers sponsor a wide variety of activities including academic seminars and colloquia series, public lectures, cultural events, and other programs that facilitate deeper understanding of the Asia- Pacific region. It is the mission of the Institute to foster interaction among the academic, business, and professional communities on issues related to East Asia.

Center for Buddhist Studies

The Center for Buddhist Studies oversees a variety of research programs, scholarly events, and outreach activities, often in collaboration with units on and off campus. Activities include a colloquium series, conferences, a visiting scholar program, a film series (with the PFA), the Numata Visiting Professorship, and the International Buddhist Film Festival (with the Buddhist Film Society).

Group in Buddhist Studies

The Group in Buddhist Studies, which is comprised of faculty from the Departments of East Asian Languages and Cultures, South and Southeast Asian Studies, History of Art, and Psychology offers an interdisciplinary program of study and research leading to a Ph.D. degree in Buddhist Studies.

Group in Asian Studies

The Faculty Group in Asian Studies administers an interdisciplinary program leading to an M.A. degree. Utilizing the faculty and facilities of the entire university, this degree program cuts across conventional disciplinary lines and emphasizes a basic core of knowledge concerning one particular geographic area of Asia. Within this core, which requires course work in multiple departments and reading knowledge of at least one Asian language, the regionally-oriented students have the flexibility to design a cross-disciplinary individual program according to their interests and approaches. No two programs are alike, and students work closely with the Student Affairs office and with a faculty mentor in designing their customized academic plan. The Group is supported in its efforts by the Institute of East Asian Studies and Interdisciplinary Social Science Programs (ISSP), under Letters and Science.