Malaysia
The Gender Studies Programme in the University of Malaya is the only one of its kind in the country that offers an undergraduate teaching programme for a minor in Gender Studies. The Gender Studies Programme is working towards offering a major in Gender Studies and is planning a taught Master's programme. Through the assistance of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Asian and Pacific Development Centre, the programme was established in 1994/95. By its multidisciplinary nature, the Gender Studies Programme relies heavily on part-time lecturers. In other universities in Malaysia , however, WS/GS has taken on other institutional arrangements: the teaching of WS/GS courses are spread throughout departments or WS/GS centres have been put up for applied research and continuing education, such as the Women's Studies Unit at Universiti Putra Malaysia . The Centre for Gender Research at the University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) was established in 2003. The Centre focuses its efforts on designing research programmes on gender issues in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, simultaneously pursuing the creation of a Master's of Social Sciences Programme (Gender Studies), which awaits the approval of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia . The Malaysian government has discouraged redundancies among state universities, thus limiting the formation or establishment of WS/GS departments or centres. This creates an unhealthy competition between the universities for resources and stifles the growth and expansion of WS/GS. As long as WS/GS are programmes, or units, within the university that do not request for additional resources, they are allowed. But, any step towards converting them into Centres or Departments will be hindered by the policy against redundancies. Other universities, such as the Science University of Malaysia, offer WS/GS courses in various departments and focus on research with minimal teaching in WS/GS, while the University Putra Malaysia, in 1997/1998, moved its Women's Studies Unit to the Department of Professional Development and Continuing Education which offers one course on Gender and Human Resource Development.
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