The curriculum combines rigorous training in one or more South Asian languages with study of various aspects of modern and classical South Asian civilizations. The University has a distinguished faculty of scholars who provide instruction in diverse areas of South Asian studies, offering a rich variety of courses on these topics.?Students in the Masters Degree program in South Asian studies may specialize in one or more areas of expertise represented by the faculty. These include language, religion, culture, cinema, environment, international development, human-animal-interactions, ethnicity and nationalism, human rights, gender, migration, and contemporary politics.