The Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies (CIPS) is a new Centre created in 2013 keeping in view the profound shifts that are taking place around India and India's rapidly rising stakes in the Indian Ocean and East Asia. Equally, it is also a reflection of today’s geopolitical realities. This centre has been part of the erstwhile Centre for South, Central, South East Asian and South West Pacific Studies (CSCSEASWPS). This was a division of the former centre looking at the region of South East Asia and Pacific. The Indo-Pacific as a region is emerging as the new template of reference since the confluence, interdependence and interface of the Indian and Pacific Oceans are getting strengthened not merely economically but geo-strategically as well. The Indo-Pacific, comprising a vast spatial continuum spread from the Indian Ocean all the way up to West Pacific, including the crucial regions such as Southeast Asia and South Pacific, also brings forth India’s centrality and its relationship with regions in the Indo-Pacific quite distinctly. The primary areas the Centre’s focus are Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean. First of its kind anywhere in the world, CIPS’s intent is to break new ground by focusing its research and teaching on new frontiers of knowledge and bring out newer dimensions of a rapidly changing world. The programme is supported by competent and dedicated team of faculty committed to high quality teaching and research. Plans are afoot to expand and develop it into a leading Centre of academic excellence.
The Centre offers courses in all the two programmes of study offered by the School of International Studies at the MA and Ph.D levels. The idea is to draw talented students from the graduate level programme to pursue their interests and engage in research at the Ph.D programme. Several courses are offered across the two MA programmes at the school – MA (PISM) and MA (IRAS).
Since the establishment of the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies in 2013 approximately 45-50 students have been awarded M.Phil degrees and approximately 20-25 students have been awarded Ph.D degrees.