Main fields of study
Asian Studies; Cooperation and Development, Economic, Demographic, Social and Cultural Structures, Globalisation

Official length of programme
Specialisation Course: 1 year
Masters Course: 2 years
Ph.D.: 5 years

Admission requirements
First degree in any scientific area, or a legally equivalent foreign degree, with the minimum final average grade of 14 (grading scale of 0-20). Applicants may also hold a degree with a final average grade lower than 14, as long as relevant experience and/or a professional or equivalent qualification is judged to be sufficient to undertake the programme.

Course Description
The integrated postgraduate course in Asian Studies offers an interdisciplinary programme at several levels (specialisation, Masters and Ph.D.), combining studies on the history, culture, heritage, religions, geography, environment and societies of the Asian world. The course integrates several research fields, intersecting past and present, and seeks to develop new methodological and epistemological paradigms. Despite its plurality, history and rich cultural heritage, the Asian world has for decades been studied in European universities based on an Orientalist perspective associated with Eurocentric 'superiorities' and fascinated exoticisms that, still today, mark a significant part of western Asian studies.
This course seeks to overcome the scientific and cultural ideologies of Orientalism to pursue the specificity and identities of Asian spaces, studying ecologies and environments, histories and heritages, as well as political systems, demographic, social and political structures or programmes and debates on Asian development and contributions to the globalisation process. This interdisciplinary approach also includes the study of Portugal's centuries-long presence in several Asian territories and enclaves that, from India to East Timor, will be re-evaluated with new methodologies and approaches. Furthermore, the course offers students the possibility to opt for studies in several Asian languages and seeks to contribute to a revival of Asian Studies in Portugal.

Structure
The Specialisation Course corresponds to seminars distributed over two semesters, with a total duration of one year. The Masters Course includes a curricular component, with seminars distributed over two semesters, and the preparation of a Masters dissertation, also over two semesters, corresponding to a total duration of two years. The Ph.D. Course includes a curricular component, with seminars distributed over four semesters, and the preparation of a Ph.D. thesis, during a period of six semesters, corresponding to a total duration of five years. The title of Doctor is awarded after obtaining approval in the public defence of the thesis.

Career Prospects
Graduates from this course may develop professional activities in the following areas:

General information

Study Plan