Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean history is a dynamic and burgeoning field of history. Transregional and connective in its approach, Indian Ocean history explores interrelations between Eastern and Southern African, Southern Arabian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Australian regions along the Indian Ocean rim. The field has continued to grow since its initial formulation in the 1980s, achieving renewed growth in the twenty-first century, as the social, cultural, economic, and geopolitical significance of the Indian Ocean continues to extend well beyond the region.  

UC San Diego is uniquely positioned for strong graduate training in the field, and for supporting a broad variety of research projects in the Indian Ocean region. Our History faculty specialize in the full range of Indian Ocean history – from the ancient to the contemporary period. Core faculty in the graduate field regularly host talks, seminars, and workshops featuring cutting-edge work on the Indian Ocean across disciplines, and have co-founded the key interdisciplinary journal in the field, Monsoon: Journal of the Indian Ocean Rim, published by Duke University Press. Faculty specializations in other departments, as well as African, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and other regionally focused research clusters – and, not least, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography – provide excellent support for a variety of interdisciplinary projects. 

Graduate students are required to complete two minor fields: one on a region of the Indian Ocean arena, supervised by one of the core faculty members; while the other can be a different regional specialization or a thematic field. Advancing to PhD candidacy requires demonstration of research skills in two languages, apart from English: either two languages used in the Indian Ocean region, or one language of the region and another language relevant to the research (such as an European language). Applicants are generally expected to have started language training prior to joining the PhD program. 

Prospective students are encouraged to contact the core faculty most relevant to their regional and thematic specialization.