The UCLA Indonesian Studies Program sponsors campus and community programs, provides student research support, hosts visiting scholars, and organizes conferences and workshops related to Indonesia. It remains the only program of its kind in the U.S.
The Indonesian Studies Program was founded in 2008 with a substantial gift from anthropologist and filmmaker Robert Lemelson. A series of subsequent generous gifts by Professor Lemelson through 2015 helped broaden the program and support the Advanced Indonesian Abroad Program.
In 2016, Julia Gouw, a friend of UCLA, made a generous gift to sustain the Indonesian Studies Program. Gouw continues to be the benefactor of the program. In 2018, the Indonesian Studies Program established the Julia and Ken Gouw Centennial Undergraduate Scholarship for Study Abroad in Indonesia.
Read more: History of Indonesian Studies Program at UCLA
2025-2026 Highlights
The Indonesian Studies Program hosted the 2025 Los Angeles Indonesian Film Festival with a screening of SORE: A Wife from The Future, submitted for consideration in the best international feature film category for Indonesia at the 98th Academy Awards (Oscars 2026).
We also hosted a second Pragmatics Symposium for Asian language instructors and linguistics scholars in January 2026 and cosponsored the UCLA Association of Indonesian Americans 5th Annual Indonesian Culture Night: Sahala in April 2026.
CSEAS sent five undergraduate students to study abroad at Ngurah Rai University in Bali, Indonesia, in summer 2026.
Read more: Highlights from the Indonesian Studies Program