ACICIS Study Indonesia: West Java Field Study (WJFS)

The West Java Field Study Program hosted by Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (UNPAR), Bandung, West Java, is a semester-long field study option. Students propose, refine, and undertake a semester-long field study project under the guidance of a nominated UNPAR supervisor.  It is open to advance Indonesian-language students (who compose their mini-thesis in Indonesian) and non-Indonesian speakers for whom all course components are conducted in English. In many respects the program is similar to an Australian honours semester. It is a unique opportunity to undertake original field study activities in one of Indonesia’s most dynamic cities and the country’s largest province (by population). The program demands a relatively high degree of discipline as candidates undertake what is often their first foray into the postgraduate world.

The program adheres to published academic calendar dates for UNPAR and is regarded by ACICIS as a fulltime equivalency semester. Candidates are formally enrolled as undergraduate students (the mini-thesis unit is an undergraduate level course in Indonesia) and must meet all assessment criteria including regular consultations, oral presentation of findings, and completion of an 8-10,000 word report. Supervision is sourced from the UNPAR faculty with the most relevant expertise in the candidate’s proposed area of interest. Supervisors assist in the identification of appropriate field sites, brokering contacts, providing practical advice on data collection techniques and analysis, and in structuring the final report. Assessment is conducted by UNPAR and official university transcripts issued. The ACICIS Resident Director serves as an additional source of academic guidance.