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Area Studies

UW-Madison has signed agreements with six Thai universities. The breadth of the agreements is the product of a shared history and several high level visits. In 1996, the UW-Madison inaugurated the Asian Partnership Initiative to expand research and education cooperation with Thailand, China and other Asian countries. In 2004, Chancellor John Wiley, UW-Madison and Thai faculty attended the Thailand-University of Wisconsin Forum on Science, Medicine and Technology (photo, right), which made it possible to explore new and deeper partnerships. UW-Madison, the government of Thailand and Thai universities are partners in a variety of rich and promising research initiatives, including:

CALS is working with several Thai partners on vitamin A research (Mahidol University), potato production and disease control (Kasetsart University), cattle feeding and management practices (Khon Kaen University).

The International Research Experience for Students in Microbiology, directed by the Department of Bacteriology and CALS, offers an undergraduate research experience for five undergraduates from UW-Madison and Milwaukee with ten weeks in a lab in Bangkok under the direction of Mahidol University faculty.

The Center for Global Health and the campus’ health sciences schools are exploring partnerships in conjunction with a new course on health and disease in Thailand. Taught in 2007 by Connie Kraus (Pharmacy) and Christopher Olsen (Veterinary Medicine), the course surveys pathogens, animals, people and healing plants, and has a field component in Thailand. The School of Pharmacy is part of a U.S. consortium cooperating with a consortium of Thai schools of pharmacy.

The Law School has a series of exchanges with Thammasat and Chulalongkorn Universities. Thammasat hosts UW-Madison’s Thai internship program, with law students receiving an orientation in Thai law and culture from Thammasat faculty followed by internships at Thai law firms in Bangkok. The Law School has a dual degree program in which Thammasat’s students enroll in UW-Madison’s program.

The School of Education (SOE) and the Center for Biology Education (CBE) both cooperate with Thai universities (Srinakharinwirot and Mahidol Universitie) in training Ph.D. students in science education, with the students coming to the UW-Madison campus. Both SOE and CBE cooperate with the Thai Ministry of Education in strengthening science education training for leaders in curriculum development.

Ongoing exchanges promote postdoctoral research and training in agronomy, oncology, physiology and history through the Thailand Research Fund.

UW-Madison faculty and staff interact frequently with the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Board of Foreign Trade, the Ministries of Education, Justice and Foreign Affairs.