MA ASEAN Studies, Consortium of Open Universities

The MA in ASEAN Studies of the consortium of five open universities in the region—Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia), Open University of Malaysia, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (Thailand), Hanoi Open University (Vietnam), and University of the Philippines Open University—was established in 2013. The program aims to:

Demonstrate comprehensive understanding, insights, and mastery about ASEAN and the countries comprising it;
Contribute to an enhanced and heightened ASEAN community’s consciousness and awareness of its ties of history, culture and bound by a common regional identity but celebrating diversity;
Apply balanced theoretical and practical perspectives in engaging with issues and problems in the ASEAN region;
Contribute to knowledge creation, research development and sharing in ASEAN studies; and
Undertake further and advanced study in ASEAN studies and related areas. (https://fmds.upou.edu.ph/academics/post-bac/mas/)
The core (required) courses, however, suggest that the terms ‘Southeast Asia’ and ‘ASEAN’ are conflated, except in two courses on regionalism and the ASEAN organization (ASEAN 202 and 203), which clearly refer to the institutional entity and structure. The rest of the courses use ‘ASEAN’ to describe the geographies, histories, politics, and economies of countries in the Southeast Asian region (ASEAN 201, 204, 205, and 206).

ASEAN Course Catalogue

Course No. and Title	Course Description
ASEAN 201. ASEAN Studies I	Introduction to the region’s geography, cultures, history, politics, economies and record of interactions; and selected current issues facing the region.
ASEAN 202. ASEAN Studies II	ASEAN regionalism, regional order, regional integration and community building through various theoretical perspectives.
ASEAN 203. The ASEAN Organization	The ASEAN as an organic entity established by the individual and collective will of the member organizations. History, organization, structural, and functional changes and developments, influence of intra-ASEAN and extra-ASEAN factors and dynamics to the developments and organizational evolution.
ASEAN 204. Comparative Study of the History, Culture and Religion of ASEAN Countries	Introduction to the history and the cultural and religious traditions of the ASEAN region. Regional identity.
ASEAN 205. Comparative Study of Social, Economic and Political System of ASEAN Countries	Comparison of social, economic, and political aspects of ASEAN countries which include commonalities and uniqueness of individual countries in ASEAN in terms of system, development, and issues.
ASEAN 206. Comparative Study of the Geography and Natural Resources of ASEAN Countries	Geography, characteristics, structure, function, resources and biodiversity of major natural habitats of the ASEAN region including unique bio-cultural landscapes and seascapes, its conservation and sustainable use of its resources.

Source: University of the Philippines Open University, Master of ASEAN Studies <https://fmds.upou.edu.ph/academics/post-bac/mas/>). Accessed 10 January 2021.