Message from the Head of School
Welcome to the School of Arts and Social Sciences
The School of Arts and Social Sciences is home to a dynamic and dedicated team of scholars and teachers.
Our research is committed to issues of social justice and inter-cultural understanding, applying critical thinking and a Southeast Asian perspective to today’s global challenges. We are proud of our research strengths in: geopolitics, development, and governance; climate change communication; digital Asia; and building thriving communities. Among other things, we shed light on questions of gender, sexuality, and human rights, of cultural heritage and expression, of mobility, migration and marginalisation, in Malaysia and the region, including Indigenous communities. Our work deals with media policy and practice in a fast-changing, digitally connected region and world, and investigates the region’s socio-political and legal frameworks and relations. We work with industry and community, including NGOs, charities, and the wider public.
We imbue this expertise into our degree programs. We are a vibrant scholarly community, committed to creating future leaders with the confidence, socio-political awareness, cultural understanding, communication skills and ethical values to navigate this increasingly challenging world. We offer degrees with opportunities to specialise in media and communication, gender studies, global studies, film, television and screen studies, public relations, and writing. We also offer specialist degrees in digital media and communication. Our curriculum seeks to immerse students in real-world experiences and problem-solving, providing options for international learning experiences, study tours, work-integrated learning, and internships.
These attributes have allowed our graduates over the past two decades to embark on exciting careers worldwide in governments, international organisations, corporations, NGOs, think tanks and universities. Some of our alumni have launched their own business ventures and today are successful entrepreneurs. Do take time to hear directly from our graduates who attribute a good part of their success to their training here in the Arts and Social Sciences.
I invite you to learn more about our courses, research, staff and alumni on this site. If you choose to join us at the School of Arts and Social Sciences, I am confident you will find your experience an inspiring and memorable one that will change the way you look at the world around you and act in it, and will in turn allow you to make a difference in the world.
Professor Adeline Johns-Putra
Head, School of Arts and Social Sciences