About Centers & Programs

Armenian Studies Program

In 1976, ASP began with the introduction of courses in Western Armenian and Armenian history. In 1981, the Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Language and Literature was created, making U-M a major center for Armenian studies in the United States. Courese in Armenian language, literature, and history constitute the core of the ASP and are complemented by outreach activities and the Armenian Language Summer Institute in Yerevan, Armenia.

China Data Center

CDC aims to advance the study and understanding of China through the use of computer readable data, in particular, those with geographic referents. A primary goal of CDC is the integration of historical, social, and natural science data within the geographic information system, where spacial and temporal references are maintained through a relational database. This facilitates comparative and interdisciplinary uses of the data, enabling both non-specialists and China scholars to understand and utilize these data. CDC promotes research and instruction at U-M and in the wider academic community through various public events.

Center for Chinese Studies

Founded in 1961, CCS has become one of the nation's premier centers for the study and understanding of traditional and contemporary China. It brings together over 30 active faculty associates representing the full rnage of humanities and social science disciplines, and serves as a nexus for the exchange of information about projects concerning China throughout U-M. It offers an interdisciplinary M.A. degree in Chinese Studies and a joing M.A./M.B.A. degree with the Business School. Student-initiated dual degree prgorams with other schools and departments on campus are also possible. CCS administers its own scholarly press and is a regional resource for expertise on Chinese society and culture, serving schools, colleges, and the general public.

Center for European Studies-European Union Center

CES has provided an interdisciplinary forum for understanding Western Europe's historical and social complexity and its ideological, political, artistic, and intellectual debates. CES faculty of over 100 social area specialists and visiting scholars teach 180 courses each term on the cultures, arts, history, languages, law, and economy of the region. CES offers a minor in Modern Western European Studies; organizes a scholarly and public lecture series; and awards grants to students for research projects and internships. CES overseas the GIS in the Humanities and the Social Sciences initiative, and aministers the fifty-year-old Netherlands Visiting Professorship, which brings a Dutch scholar to U-M each year. In 2001, CES was awarded a grant from the European Commission to open a European Union Center at U-M and is now one of 15 centers in the U.S. devoted to enriching research, instruction, and outreach on European integration. EUC focuses on human rights legislation, taxation, urbanism, architecture, the impact of migration from Muslim countries, the role of technology in shaping contemporary society, international organizations, and the enlargement of EU to central European and Mediterranean countries.

Center for International Business Education

CIBE is a U.S. Department of Education-supported National Resource Center, dedicated to strengthening the global competitiveness of the U.S. through the development of international business knowledge and skills among Americans and American firms. In pursuing its mission, CIBE promotes international business curriculum development at all educational levels; creates and disseminates international business knowledge to academic and corporate audiences; trains students to be effective managers in a global economy; and serves as a forum for the discussion and debate of salient international business issues through publications, seminars, and conferences. It funds faculty and doctoral research in international business, international internships for U-M students, and business language courses in eight languages. In 2000, CIBE inaugurated the Global Summer Business Institute, a national program providing undergraduate liberal arts students with international management knowledge and skills.

Center for International and Comparative Studies

CICS, formerly known as the Advanced Study Center (ASC) provides a forum for interdisciplinary learning, bringing together scholars from Michigan and throughout the world as they address emerging global problems and engage with practitioners and multilateral institutions. The activities and programs of the Center for International and Comparative Studies will give particular attention to three themes: Human Rights, International Development and International Security and Cooperation.

Center for Japanese Studies

CJS, now a Department of Education-supported National Resource Center for East Asia, is the oldest American interdisciplinary institute devoted to training and research on Japan. CJS's mission is to cultivate innovative perspectives on Japan and its place in the world by bringing together a diverse corps of teachers, students, scholars, foundations, corporations, and government agencies. Japan-area specialists and visiting scholars now teach nearly 100 courses focusing on Japan that annually enroll over 1,000 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Center offers an M.A. program in Japanese Studies and joint M.A./M.B.A. and M.A./J.D. programs in business and law. Outreach programs include public lectures, film series, performances, conferences, and a K-14 education program.

Center for Korean Studies

CKS, together with CJS and CCS is a Department of Education-supported National Resource Center for East Asia. Established in 1995 to support and develop research and teaching on Korea, CKS provides funding for public programs (art exhibitions, film festivals, lectures, and conferences), individual faculty research, development of new courses, and the expansion of the Asia Library's Korea collection. It maintains an active colloquium series and has an established senior professorship in Korean Studies due to a generous gift from Elder Nam and the Korea Foundation.

Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program

LACS was founded as an undergraduate concentration program in 1984. Over the years LACS has grown into a major interdisciplinary program, linking more than 70 faculty members from over a dozen departments and professional schools with research interests in Latin America. Currently, LACS offers undergraduate minor and graduate certificate programs in Latin American Studies, in addition to the original concentration program. Since 1997 LACS has received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to award Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships for the study of Quechua and Brazilian Portuguese. The Program organizes and co-sponsors over 50 public events, including lectures, exhibits, film screenings, workshops, and conferences each year and has become a resource for scholars and the public throughout Michigan and the Midwest. LACS also offers a summer Quechua Language Program in Cuzco, Peru, as well as regular courses and special courses taught by visitors from Latin America.

Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies

CMENAS was established in 1961 to facilitate interdepartmental and interdisciplinary training and research on North Africa, the Middle East, Northern Caucasus, and Central Asia. One of 17 National Resource Centers for the Middle East supported by the U.S. Department of Education, CMENAS has 50 faculty associates from the social sciences, health sciences, humanities, and professions. An undergraduate B.A. concentration and minor and a graduate M.A. program in Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies emphasize a combination of disciplinary, linguistic, and area training. The first Middle East center in the U.S. to offer a dual degree program with the School of Public Health, CMENAS also has dual graduate degrees with the Business and Law Schools. Students can also specialize on the region while undertaking degree work in many another departments or programs.

Center for Russian and East European Studies

CREES was first designated an NDEA Slavic Language and Area Center in 1959, and is now one of 20 U.S. Department of Education-supported National Resource Centers for Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. It is renowned for its regional programs in Central European, Russian, and Southeast European studies. The Center's outstanding faculty of over 70 area specialists and visiting scholars offers over 150 courses each year in U-M's departments and professional schools. Over 200 students are enrolled in interdisciplinary REES B.A. and M.A. degree programs, REES minors and graduate certificate programs, graduate-level dual degree programs with professional schools (business, law, and public policy), and school and departmental graduate-level programs. CREES organizes over 50 public events each year and provides instructional and informational services to schools and colleges, media, and businesses in Michigan and the Midwest.

Center for South Asian Studies

CSAS emerged in 1999 from the former Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, which was established in 1961. One of the largest programs in the U.S. devoted to this region, CSAS is a U.S. Department of Education-supported National Resource Center for South Asia, with over 40 faculty associates who teach over 100 courses on South Asia each year in U-M's various departments and professional schools. Research resources include rich library collections, the Asian Art Archives, and Koelz Collection of Tibetan tangkas. CSAS offers an M.A. in South Asian Studies and a joint M.A./M.B.A. degree program with the Business School. CSAS sponsors lectures, conferences, performances, films, teacher-training workshops, and innovative curricular outreach targeted at elementary school students. CSAS has an active publications program that solicits scholarly manuscripts on topics relating to South Asia.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies

CSEAS is one of the largest programs in the U.S. devoted to this region, and promotes a broad understanding of Southeast Asia. First designated an NDEA Southeast Asia Area Center in 1963, CSEAS is now a U.S. Department of Education-supported National Resource Center for Southeast Asia. Nearly 30 Southeast Asia specialists offer courses in U-M's various departments and professional schools. CSEAS offers an M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies and a joint M.A./M.B.A. degree program with the Business School. Resources include library collections, the Gedney Collection of Thai materials, the Worcester Collection on Philippine life, and archival materials donated by the Southeast Asia Art Foundation. CSEAS publishes books on issues relating to Southeast Asia; sponsors lectures, conferences, and performances; and serves as a regional resource for expertise on the region to media, schools, colleges, and the general public.

Summer Language Institute

SLI offers courses during the spring and summer half terms in approximately 15 languages, including many less-commonly-taught languages. Offerings typically include intensive and semi-intensive courses in: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). Language courses are directed and taught by faculty from U-M Departments of Asian Languages and Cultures, Germanic Languages and Literatures, Near Eastern Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures, as well as the English Language Institute. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students; practicing professionals; graduating high school seniors; and interested community members are eligible to participate.

Center for World Performance Studies

CWPS was established in 2000, and strives to be a place where boundaries are traversed and called into question. CWPS is dedicated to building an interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary vocabulary which engages performance on a global scale, from the intensely local to the transnational. CWPS offers seminars that bring together graduate students and faculty from a diverse constellation of disciplines and provides short and long-term visiting artist/scholar residencies. CWPS hosts numerous scholarly and performance events that create vibrant discourse with other disciplines.

Center for Afroamerican and African Studies

CAAS functions as an academic department in the areas of African Studies, African American Studies, and Afro-Caribbean Studies. One of the few programs in the country to combine African Studies with the study of the people and cultures of the African diaspora, CAAS offers an undergraduate program and courses and is also home to the South African Initiatives Office and the African Studies Initiative Program. Established in 1970 in response to African American students who wanted to bring a richer representation of the Black experience to the U-M course offerings, CAAS offers a rich and fertile environment for the study of people of African descent using the methods of history, sociology, psychology, economics, political science, and the arts.