The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) is dedicated to expanding the world’s knowledge and understanding of one of the globe’s most strategic regions through academic endeavor and public outreach.
CSEAS is one of a kind at NIU, the only U.S. Department Title VI National Resource Center on campus. Established in 1963, CSEAS grew out of one of the country’s first Peace Corps training programs for volunteers headed to Southeast Asia. Since then CSEAS has established a 59-year legacy of teaching the languages, history and cultures of Southeast Asia to thousands of undergraduate and graduate students at NIU.
Today’s CSEAS students represent 26 majors across six colleges. Dozens of alumni are now Southeast Asia specialists working in academia, diplomacy, intelligence, multinational corporations, performing arts and non-governmental organizations. Many Southeast Asian students who have earned graduate degrees at NIU have returned to their home countries in key positions as college professors, elected officials, diplomats, researchers and community leaders. Our faculty, building on years of research and experience in-country, have briefed U.S. ambassadors to the region, monitored elections in Indonesia and East Timor and trained young leaders to build peace in the Philippines.
You can help keep NIU’s vibrant Southeast Asian Studies program going strong through your contribution to the NIU Foundation. Your generosity will help support numerous CSEAS opportunities, including Southeast Asian cultural activities, scholarships for intensive language study, faculty research, and educational workshops for area K-14 teachers. Join us, won’t you?
