Programs

A major in Indonesian Studies consists of 36 senior (i.e. second and third year) units of study, selected from a basic core of Indonesian language units, with the option of including in-country study and units dealing with Indonesia and Southeast Asia offered through the Asian Studies Program.

• No, or minimal, background in Indonesian.
• HSC Indonesian, or other background knowledge, such as having lived in Indonesia.
• Background speaker of Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) or Malay (Bahasa Melayu).
• Thinking of doing Honours in Indonesian Studies.

No, or minimal, background in Indonesian:

You will need to enrol in INMS1101 Indonesian 1A (first semester) and INMS1102 Indonesian 1B (second semester) in your first year. Successful completion of these units will enable you to enter senior units of study, and begin accumulating the 36 credit points you will need if you intend to major in Indonesian. (If you do not intend to major, you may take as much or as little in Indonesian as you want, provided you have the prerequisites (i.e. are qualified) to enter the unit you want to take.)

Students in this stream would normally acquire the 36 credit points for a major by completing INMS2601 Indonesian 2A and INMS2602 Indonesian 2B in their second year of study, and INMS3601 Indonesian 3A and INMS3602 Indonesian 3B in their third year. This would represent three years of Indonesian, and account for 24 senior credit points. Note that in order to acquire a major in Indonesian, at least 24 of your senior credit points must be selected from these “language core” units. The remaining 12 points required for the major could be taken from two of the following:

• ASNS2660 Islam, Trade and Society: Arabia to Southeast Asia;
• ASNS2661 History of Modern Indonesia;
• ASNS2663 Social Activism in Southeast Asia;
• ASNS2664 Southeast Asia Transformed;
• ASNS3690 Approaches to Research in Asian Studies.

You could also make up your remaining 12 credit points by taking INMS2650 - INMS2657 Indonesian In-Country Study A-H or doing a further year of Indonesian language study at an advanced level in INMS3603 Indonesian Advanced Studies A and INMS3604 Indonesian Advanced Studies B.

HSC Indonesian, or other background knowledge, such as having lived in Indonesia:

You will begin in a second or third year unit, and so start accumulating senior credit points which can be used for a major in Indonesian right from your first year. Students who have completed HSC Continuers or Extension Indonesian or Beginners Indonesian with a result of 75 or above will generally enrol in INMS2601 Indonesian 2A (Semester 1) and INMS2602 Indonesian 2B (Semester 2). However, students may be advised by the chair of the department of Indonesian Studies to enrol directly into the third year units, namely INMS3601 Indonesian 3A (Semester 1) and INMS3602 Indonesian 3B (Semester 2). It is advisable to discuss your options with the chair of the department of Indonesian Studies prior to enrolment. Remember, however, that it is possible to amend your enrolment and move to another class within the first two weeks of semester.

Students who begin in INMS2601 and INMS2602 may acquire the 36 credit points required for a major by continuing to take “language core” units in their second and third year, i.e. by doing INMS3601 Indonesian 3A and INMS3602 Indonesian 3B in second year and INMS3603 Indonesian Advanced Studies A and INMS3604 Indonesian Advanced Studies B in their third year. However, these students also have the option of including up to 12 credit points from the ASNS units listed above, and/or INMS In-Country Study units in their major. Students who begin with INMS3601 Indonesian 3A and INMS3602 Indonesian 3B can do INMS3603 Indonesian Advanced Studies A; INMS3604 Indonesian Advanced Studies B; INMS3605 Indonesian Advanced Studies C and INMS3606 Indonesian Advanced Studies D in their second and third years, or 24 language credit points and 12 approved Asian Studies credit points. Of course you can include more than 36 senior credit points of Indonesian in your degree if you so wish. In this case, any credit points above the 36 required for the major would be considered “elective” units in your degree.

Background speakers of Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) or Malay (Bahasa Melayu):

You will need a “Permission to Enrol Without Prerequisites” form from the Faculty of Arts, which the chair of department will sign to give you permission to enrol in INMS3603 Indonesian Advanced Studies A (first semester). Once you have completed this unit, you may enrol directly into INMS3604 Indonesian Advanced Studies B, if you wish to continue Indonesian in second semester. You can also go on to do another year of Indonesian by taking INMS3605 Indonesian Advanced Studies C and INMS3606 Indonesian Advanced Studies D. You may also consult the chair for permission to enrol only in INMS3604, if you only wish to take Indonesian in your second semester.

If you wish to complete a major in Indonesian Studies, you can combine INMS3603, INMS3603, INMS3604 and INMS3605 with two relevant Asian Studies units.

Honours in Indonesian Studies:

In your second year you will normally enrol in ASNS2661 History of Modern Indonesia, and in your third year in ASNS3690 Approaches to Research in Asian Studies. Completion of each of these units with a result of credit or above, along with a major in Indonesian Studies (also with a credit or above average), is the normal requirement for entry into the Honours program. These units may constitute part of a major in Asian Studies or form part of your major Indonesian Studies. They may also simply count as electives in your degree program. The Honours year consists of two coursework units and an 18,000-20,000 word thesis on an Indonesia-related topic taken over two semesters. You can begin an Honours program in Semester 1 or 2. If you would like to do Honours, but have not studied ASNS2661 and/or ASNS3690 you may apply for special permission to do Honours. All students considering Honours in Indonesian Studies should contact the chair of department by September of the previous year. For more details on Honours, click here.