Programs

Language Programs

For more than five decades, AIIS language programs in India have been crucial to most U.S.-based scholars of South Asian area studies in the humanities and social science disciplines. More than 4,000 students have completed programs through the Institute. The AIIS Language Program offers nine-month academic year, summer and semester courses at elementary to advanced levels in many languages, including several that are rarely taught outside of India.

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upper portion: baby Krsna; Baby Krishna and Sage in Cosmic Sea `{`Markandeya Viewing Krishna in the Cosmic Ocean`}`; Cleveland Museum of Art Museum No: -1967.241. Accession No.: ACSAA_02197 Negative No.: Michigan - ACSAA (Set 21, Life of Krishna in Indian Sculptures and Paintings). Copyright:(C)Regents of the University of Michigan, Department of the History of Art, Visual Resources Collections.
Porch, Doorway, left: Buddhas and couples; Ajanta Aurangabad Maharashtra India. Accession No.: ACSAA_00364 Negative No.: Michigan - ACSAA (Set 3, Ajanta I: Architecture, Sculpture, and Paintings). Copyright:(C)Regents of the University of Michigan, Department of the History of Art, Visual Resources Collections.

Research Fellowships

  • Junior Research Fellowship

    Junior Research Fellowships are available to doctoral candidates at U.S. universities in all fields of study. These grants are specifically designed to enable doctoral candidates to pursue their dissertation research in India. Junior Research Fellows establish formal affiliation with Indian universities and Indian research supervisors.

  • Senior Research Fellowship

    Senior Research Fellowships are available to scholars with a PhD or its equivalent. These grants are designed to enable scholars who specialize in South Asia to pursue further research in India and to establish formal affiliation with an Indian institution.

  • Senior Performing and Creative Arts Fellowship

    Senior Performing and Creative Arts Fellowships are available to accomplished practitioners of the performing arts of India and creative artists who demonstrate that study in India would enhance their skills, develop their capabilities to teach or perform in the U.S., enhance American involvement with India’s artistic traditions or strengthen their links with peers in India.

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Dissertation to Book Workshop

AIIS holds an annual dissertation to book workshop at the Madison South Asia Conference every October. The workshop is intended to assist recent PhDs convert their doctoral dissertations into publishable monographs.

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lady with peacocks `{`Kakubha Ragini`}`; Private Collection. Accession No.: ACSAA_05710 Negative No.: Michigan - ACSAA (Set 57, Kanoria Collection VI: Selected Miniature Paintings). Copyright:(C)Regents of the University of Michigan, Department of the History of Art, Visual Resources Collections.
Subduing an Elephant; Private Collection. Accession No.: ACSAA_05701 Negative No.: Michigan - ACSAA (Set 57, Kanoria Collection VI: Selected Miniature Paintings). Copyright:(C)Regents of the University of Michigan, Department of the History of Art, Visual Resources Collections.

The AIIS Book Prize

In order to promote scholarship in South Asian Studies, AIIS awards two prizes each year for the best unpublished book manuscript on an Indian subject:

The Edward Cameron Dimock, Jr. Prize in the Indian Humanities

The Joseph W. Elder Prize in the Indian Social Sciences

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Digital India Learning Initiative

The Digital India Learning (DIL) Initiative of the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) promotes the creation and use of digital resources and media for the study of India, facilitates training in digital methodologies, strengthens India-related collections and projects in U.S. libraries, and fosters the digital production and dissemination of knowledge about India. AIIS’s DIL builds upon, extends and strengthens the AIIS core mission.

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From Deepthi Murali’s “Visualizing the Interwoven World of Eighteenth-Century South Indian Textiles” digital scholarship project.
From Deepthi Murali’s “Visualizing the Interwoven World of Eighteenth-Century South Indian Textiles” digital scholarship project.

International Learning

To support community colleges and minority-serving institutions, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) and AIIS offer fully-funded overseas seminars that help faculty and administrators gain the requisite first-hand experience needed to improve courses connecting international issues with domestic concerns, thereby underscoring global interconnections through the creation of new and innovative curricular and teaching materials.

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