Postgraduate study at SOAS

We provide exceptional support to our valued cohort of postgraduate students, both on the research and taught tracks of study. Whether you wish to specialise in your chosen discipline or explore options across the whole breadth of modules available – SOAS provides a nurturing educational environment.

Anthropology

Anthropology is at the heart of SOAS, being central to the shared objective of widening horizons, fostering cross-cultural perspectives, challenging taken-for-granted assumptions, and critical engagement with urgent issues. At SOAS, you will find a community of teachers, researchers and students who are motivated by an irrepressible curiosity about the world and a firm commitment to the highest standards of academic rigour.

Development Studies

Combining political economy, globalisation, migration and displacement, conflict, agrarian change, labour movement and political ecology, our courses are engaged with understanding, challenging and contributing to vital debates about social, political and economic change. Development Studies at SOAS has been ranked 5th in the world in the Global QS Rankings for 2021.

Gender Studies

The programmes in Gender Studies offer an interdisciplinary approach that conducts teaching on areas of gender studies, feminist theory and sexuality studies in relation to Asia, Africa and the Middle East and their diasporas. Our programmes are designed primarily for those wishing to undertake study of gender at a postgraduate level regardless of the focus of their undergraduate degree.

International Studies and Diplomacy

Our programmes are designed to provide a gateway into the international arena that is shaping today’s global relations. We’ll help you to develop the valuable critical thinking, research, and writing skills that will enable you to make a difference in the world in whatever career you choose. You will gain cross-disciplinary training in diplomacy, economics, law and politics as well as have access to media training. You might find yourself travelling to Brussels, Geneva, or Paris for a week as part of your degree, while gaining training in negotiation, speech writing, and policy analysis – to prepare you for a career in global diplomacy.

Media Studies

It is impossible to appreciate how people think about and act towards the world without a critical understanding of the ways they communicate with the world around them. How should we address comparatively the global role of mass and digital media in contemporary politics and conflict? Our specialist expertise allows us an unparalleled knowledge of different non-Western cultures that conventional global media programmes simply cannot offer.

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Arts

The School of Arts is a world-leading centre for study and research involving visual and sound arts, material and intangible cultures, media industries and digital cultures of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and their global diasporas. The education and experience you will acquire by studying one of the arts degrees we offer will allow you to graduate with the knowledge you have the skills to move seamlessly into professional employment.

Economics

SOAS is the superior choice for anyone seeking the most rounded education possible in modern economics. At SOAS, you will find a vibrant research culture that combines mathematics, statistical techniques and mainstream economic theory with some of the core heterodox approaches, including Marxism, feminism and Schumpeterian and behaviouralist perspectives. 

History

As the only UK History department devoted to Africa, Asia and the Middle East, you can expect more from SOAS than other universities. From the Crusades to the contemporary Middle East, 14th century indigenous warfare to 20th century Islam in Southeast Asia, slavery to Muslim societies in West Africa, Modern China to modern Japan, we want you to experience all that this rich discipline has to offer.

Languages and Cultures

Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? At SOAS, we are passionate about delving into our rich shared history of development to discover how our minds work and what it means to be human. Our programmes are taught by world-leading specialists engaged in research grounded in a knowledge of the principal languages and cultures of two thirds of humankind.

Music

Only at SOAS will you receive a musical education that is devoted to the full tapestry of world music. We are an internationally recognised centre for research and teaching of the musics of the world and the discipline of ethnomusicology – located in the heart of a city famous for its thriving and diverse musical cultures.  Our students include or become performers of music from all over the world, and our graduates pursue a wide variety of fulfilling careers in music and other fields.

Religions and Philosophies

We offer the opportunity to study a wider range of religious and philosophical traditions in more depth than at any other UK higher education institution. With our highly diversified expertise, our comprehensive resources, and our interdisciplinary approach we offer a unique learning and research environment for a truly inter-cultural approach to systems of belief and thought in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Development, Environment and Policy

Our research seeks to address some of the greatest challenges of our times: how to satisfy the aspirations of a rapidly growing population, eradicating the poverty still experienced by many of these people, whilst managing the environmental systems and resources on which life and wellbeing depend. Gain the inter-disciplinary skills to tackle them effectively.

Finance and Management

Rigorous, relevant and real, we provide real-world, industry-relevant programmes with a strong core foundation of international finance and management, taught from a global economic perspective, which produces students who go on to shape society through professional and managerial roles with an unrivalled understanding of key issues shaping international business strategy.

History of Art and Archaeology

We are unique in our coverage of the arts, archaeology, architecture and material culture of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as our unparalleled range of teaching and concentration of research specialists. Our central London location affords you easy access to the collections at the British Library, British Museum and the world-renowned SOAS Library, which houses over 1.2 million volumes.

Law

From human rights to international trade and commerce, environmental law to development, we promise to enrich your understanding and prepare you for a career in a more integrated world. Our research, which is of the highest calibre, focuses on legal systems and legal challenges in the Global South, covering Africa, Asia and the Middle East, English Law, Comparative Law, Regional and International Law. You will join a community built on distinguished expertise and a passion for how the law can make a difference on the local, national and international stage. Our alumni include lawyers, judges, politicians, businessmen/women and activists throughout the world.

Politics and International Studies

Engage in research that has a tangible effect on the real world by interacting with scholars who take a challenging and heterodox approach to important issues that affect the lives of people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Our expertise is highly sought after by governments, international agencies, non-governmental organisations and the global mass media.

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