Second language skills are seen as an asset enhancing the study of all other fields and which provide students with practical as well as theoretical bases for a variety of paths after graduation. You will be prepared to continue graduate studies in second language-related areas such as linguistics and literature or you may use your undergraduate experience and background as a complement to careers in fields such as the arts, government or public service, volunteer work, technology, business and management, law, and other areas in which proficiency in a second language and knowledge of other cultures is of great benefit.
With a PhD in Asian Studies at Universidad de Costa Rica you will typically have majored in Modern Languages allowing you to acquire communicative language proficiency in your language of specialization. You will typically have taken courses in culture and civilization providing you with a solid foundation in the main currents in national literatures as well as artistic and social movements. You will typically have integrated study of cultures with skill development in reading, writing, and aural/oral communication. In addition, as a major in Modern Languages you will have developed a perspective on the learning and use of second languages, from both a social and cognitive point of view, within the society in which you live and in an increasingly global communal environment. As a language major you will have been guided to develop personal interests by taking courses in other disciplines such as the fine arts, history, psychology, philosophy, and other humanities and social sciences.
If you choose a study program which involves ‘Studies’ i.e ‘Indian Studies’, for example, you will, along with acquiring the necessary language skills, also be introduced to the literature, religious and socio-cultural heritage of the country/countries, and you will also look at the historical, socio-political and economic aspects of the relevant society.