Council On Southeast Asia Studies at Yale

The COUNCIL ON SOUTHEAST ASIA STUDIES at Yale University oversees a multifaceted interdisciplinary program located within the WHITNEY AND BETTY MACMILLAN CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES.

The Council aims to facilitate training of graduate and undergraduate students, and to promote education, research, and intellectual exchange on the cultures, politics and economies of Southeast Asia (primarily Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), both historical and contemporary. (View Map)

Established in 1947, Southeast Asia Studies was the first formal area studies program at Yale – and the first in the United States to embark on the study of Southeast Asia in all disciplines. The SEAS curriculum was an outgrowth of Yale faculty participation in Army Specialized Training Programs in languages and area studies initiated during World War II, and was formally encorporated into University arts and sciences thanks to funding from the Carnegie Corporation and the efforts of several dedicated Yale faculty. (See History)

Current Council faculty members are affiliated with a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, as well as professional schools such as the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  Under the supervision of its curator, and with Council contributions, Yale maintains one of the most extensive Southeast Asia library collections in the United States.

[Official website: https://cseas.yale.edu/about]