The Southeast Asian Studies master's program provides a flexible curriculum, one that permits students to enroll in courses offered by a range of schools and departments across the university.  Courses can be taken in areas such as Anthropology, Business Management, Geography, History, International Studies, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science and Telecommunications.  Upon graduation, students receive a Master of Arts in International Affairs (MAIA) degree with a specialization in Southeast Asian Studies.

The Master's Program requires a minimum of 70 credit hours of which 10 credit hours can be in language coursework. Students must complete 40 hours from designated core courses in a minimum of three disciplines.  The remaining 30 hours of the program can be filled by coursework in a scholarly or professional specialization, by the completion of a graduate certificate, or through language study (up to 10 credit hours of language coursework can count towards the 70 hours to complete the program). Core SEA courses, as well as additional electives, are listed in the Course Catalog. Students selecting the professional project or thesis capstone option are required to complete a course in research methodology prior to conducting research, appropriate to the nature of the research.

Master's degree students in Southeast Asian Studies must enroll in INST501, Introduction to Southeast Asia, during their first 12 months in the program. INST 501 is offered only during Fall Quarter each year. Additionally, all students are required to take INST 690, Southeast Asia Colloquium, each quarter that they are enrolled.  Attendance at weekly colloquium sessions is mandatory. The course work may be completed in as little as fifteen months.  The course of study concludes with a capstone project. Three capstone project options are available: the comprehensive written examination during the last term of a student's program, a professional project, or a thesis.

An important element within the Southeast Asia program is proficiency in a Southeast Asian language. Two years of course work or its equivalent in a vernacular Southeast Asian language is required of non-native speakers. Presently Ohio University offers classroom instruction in Indonesian, Khmer, Thai and Vietnamese.