Thai Studies

Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Thailand's sacred animal and national symbol is the white elephant. Albino elephants are rare in the wild. The white elephant represents royalty and is associated with Thailand's revered god Ganesha, who is depicted as a man with the head of an elephant.

Southeast Asia is one of the most dynamic and diverse regions of the world, currently home to about 8% of the world's population. Most experts agree that in the next twenty years, Southeast Asia will become one of the major players on the global economic and political scene. The leading countries of Southeast Asia have took a unique path in their development from peripheral economies through export-oriented growth to developed economic systems, and they did it in a fairly short period of time.

Thailand is the second Southeast Asian economy after Indonesia, one of the world's most popular tourist destinations and the world's largest exporter of rice and sugar. Since 1996, Thailand has consistently ranked first among ASEAN countries in terms of bilateral trade with Russia, and trade turnover between the countries continues to increase. Russia and Thailand maintain an active dialog at the governmental level, work on the development of investment and scientific and technical cooperation and are interested in increasing cooperation in the energy sector. All of this creates a demand for specialists who speak Thai and understand the cultural uniqueness of the region. The Thai Studies specialization is a unique educational pathway that includes tracks devoted to the peculiarities of the country's current economic development, its political and social phenomena, and cultural identity. Students in the specialization gain access to interdisciplinary knowledge in the areas of Thailand's economy, politics, state, society, institutional environment, and culture. Graduates of the programme will be able to raise awareness of the cultural characteristics of this country among decision makers in the private and public sector, media, etc.

Third-year students study in Kyung Hee University (Republic of Korea) during the Fall semester, then travel to Thailand for the Spring semester. After the graduation, students receive two diplomas: of HSE University and Kyung Hee University.

All language disciplines are taught by highly skilled and experienced professors and native speakers. A specially developed methodology for teaching the Thai language will allow graduates not only to pass the international exam to determine the level of language proficiency at the highest levels, but also to acquire translation skills sufficient for interpreting as well as reading specialized literature.