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The Department of Southeast Asian Studies (DSEAS),
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya
was established in 1975 in accordance with one of the
objectives of the 1967 ASEAN Declaration, namely to
promote Southeast Asian studies. DSEAS is the only
department in Malaysia offering undergraduate and
postgraduate programmes in Southeast Asian Studies.

The Bachelor of Arts in Southeast Asian Studies programme
is a platform for the development of teaching and learning,
emphasizing an intensive study of the region comprising
its politics, economy, culture, maritime, environment and
security. Based on an interdisciplinary approach, students
take core subjects including a Southeast Asian language.
Students in the final year of study produce a research
paper an any of the following themes : politics, economy,
socio-culture, performing arts, ASEAN, urbanization,
maritime economy and contemporary issues in Southeast
Asia.

The new curriculum of the Bachelor of Arts in Southeast
Asian Studies programme focuses on regional knowledge
in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDG) and the equipping of students with various
essential soft skills. This will produce graduates who
are able to apply and adapt knowledge in the context of
contemporary regional and global developments as well as
make significant contributions to the wellbeing of society.

Graduates of Southeast Asian Studies are employable in
the public and private sectors. Most of the graduates of
the department are employed as ambassadorial officers,
economic advisors, lectures, journalists, writers, activists,
policy analysts, market researchers, bankers, officers in
the customs and immigration sectors, civil servants and
researchers in government as well as non-governmental
organizations. Among notable alumni of the Department
of Southeast Asian Studies include Dato’ Jojie Samuel
Ambassador of Malaysia to Thailand and the late Professor
Dato’ Dr. Shaharil Talib, eminent historian of Malayia