Contemporary South Asian Studies

MSc in Contemporary India

Course Code | 003900 

South Asia has a fifth of the world’s population, some of the world’s oldest written cultures, fastest economic growth rates, an astonishing achievement in services, a highly sophisticated democracy and complex forms of governance.

It wields increasing influence in the world. Yet it has the world’s largest concentration of poor and malnourished people; it has a massive informal economy; it ranks low on indexes of good governance; it has pressing environmental and security problems; and some of the most severe forms of oppression persist despite seven decades of attempts to remove them.

The MSc in Contemporary India is an intensive, inter-disciplinary course, which examines all of these aspects of India’s development. It integrates politics, international relations, political economy, anthropology, human development, environment and research methods training to offer a comprehensive and critical understanding of contemporary India.

• Length of programme: Nine months
• Core and optional courses:
  • Core courses: International Relations, Politics after 1947, Political Economy, Culture and Society, Human Development and Environment, Research Methods (Qualitative and Quantitative)
    
  • There are no option courses
• Assessment consists of a 5,000-word critical theory essay, a 10,000-word dissertation and two examinations, a 2,500-word essay on the subject ‘What is India?’ , two research methods assignments and a 2,500-word research proposal
• Programme specification

The Indian Institute Library, has one of the largest collections of books on India in the country and it also houses an extensive collection of primary sources and official publications that will provide material for student dissertations.

Currently, the collection is temporarily accommodated between the Oriental Institute library and the Upper Reading Room of the Radcliffe Camera whilst the New Bodleian Library is refurbished.

In addition to the Indian Institute collection, the Bodleian Social Science Library and a number of departmental libraries - Modern History, Refugee Studies, Geography provision in the Radcliffe Science Library and Anthropology - have good and expanding holdings on India.

The MSc in Contemporary India is embedded in the dynamic research culture of the Contemporary South Asian Studies Programme (CSASP). CSASP is also home to major research projects on South Asia, involving global networks of scholars. As part of CSASP, the department runs the Contemporary South Asia seminar every Thursday, a fortnightly work-in-progress seminar, regular film and discussion nights, and small-group Hindi classes, in addition to a programme of special guest lectures and international visiting scholars.

Students who complete the MSc degree to a sufficient standard may subsequently elect to seek admission to doctoral programmes in disciplinary departments, such as Development Studies, Politics and International Relations, Anthropology, Geography and the Environment or the Said Business School.

The MSc can serve as valuable stand-alone training for those wishing to specialise on India, either in preparation for an academic career or for work in the private sector, government, NGOs, multi-lateral and bi-lateral aid and development agencies, international organisations, international relations, publishing and the media.