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Posted: June 16, 2025

Graduate Certificate Program in Southeast Asian Studies

Graduate Certificate Overview

A Graduate Certificate in Southeast Asian Studies enables students to gain (and demonstrate evidence of) cutting-edge knowledge of the Southeast Asian region in Asia. A Graduate Certificate can serve as a valuable tool in career development for graduate students in discipline-based programs (e.g., PhD or MA students in sociology, political science, music, or law) and for professionals in business, government, education, law, public health and other fields in which there is increasing demand for integrated, interdisciplinary knowledge about Asian cultures. Students can tailor the certificate program to meet their academic and career goals.

Graduate Certificate in SE Asian Studies

The UH Mānoa Asian Studies Program offers Graduate Certificates that are open to all students of graduate standing who meet the admissions requirements. To obtain a certificate, students must complete five relevant courses (15 credits) and demonstrate basic competence in a Southeast Asian language. 

The Graduate Certificate Program in Southeast Asian Studies affords a structured way for graduate and professional students to gain cutting-edge knowledge of Southeast Asia, augment their major field of study, and enhance future employment opportunities. With a wide variety of courses crosscutting many disciplines, students can tailor the certificate program to meet their academic and career goals.

Who can apply?

  • Individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited United States college/university or its equivalent from a recognized foreign institution of higher learning.
  • Students currently enrolled in any master’s, doctoral, or professional degree program at UHM.

For questions and further information, please contact the Asian Studies Graduate Chair, Dr. Cathryn Clayton, at cclayton@hawaii.edu.

Grad Certificate Learning Objectives

At the completion of the coursework necessary for the Graduate Certificate, students will:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of issues and problems in the arts, humanities, and social sciences as related to Asia or a region within Asia.
  • Demonstrate the ability to understand research and conduct Asia-related research using at least one of the methodologies of various disciplines, i.e. humanities, arts and social sciences.

Grad Certificate Requirements

To achieve these learning objectives, students in the Graduate Certificate Program must take 15 credits that include:

  • ASAN 600 (Scope and Methods of Asian Studies) in the region of concentration
  • At least 9 of the 15 credits must be at the 600 level or above.
  • All other courses must be at the upper-division undergraduate level (300 or 400 level).

Please note: upper-division undergraduate courses would be counted toward the degree only with the permission of the instructor and on the understanding that the graduate student would complete extra work for the course. Only those courses already permitted by Graduate Division and Asian Studies can count toward the degree.

SEA Courses

Each semester CSEAS publishes a list of SEA focused courses that can be accessed through this Google folder with your UH email address:

CSEAS Course List & Fliers