SOAS-Alphawood Programme

SOAS is delighted to announce that applications are now invited for a number of Alphawood scholarships to support the SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art studies in the College of Humanities – or the MA History of Art and Archaeology study in the School of Arts in the 2025/26 academic year. 

Background 

The Alphawood scholarships form part of an academic programme which is generously supported by the Alphawood Foundation (Chicago). The remit of the programme is to support and advance, through study and research, the understanding and preservation of Southeast Asian Buddhist and Hindu art and architecture from ancient to pre-modern times. 

The remit includes study of the built environment, sculpture, painting, illustrated texts, textiles and other tangible or visual representations, along with the written word related to these, and archaeological, museum and cultural heritage studies. 

Since 2014, Alphawood has provided for over 100 scholarships which supported Southeast Asian scholars' postgraduate study at the Diploma, MA and MPhil/PhD levels at SOAS.  

Alphawood scholarships also provide support for our students to advance their English-language proficiency through dedicated courses at the SOAS Department of International Foundation Courses and English Language Studies (IFCELS). 

The Alphawood scholarships commencing with the 2025/26 academic year will provide for: 

• Tuition fees - scholars’ SOAS tuition fees will be paid in full for the MA/Diploma programme and the cost of any English Language support 
• Maintenance – an allowance of £18,700 per annum (pro rata) will be paid to the scholar to cover costs of living and studying in central London
• Travel – the cost of economy flights to and from the UK at the start and end of the MA/Diploma programme will be paid by the scholarship
• Visa and other costs - the costs of any visa, requisite health checks and Immigration Health Surcharge costs required for visa purposes, will be reimbursed to Scholars on arrival in the UK. 

Alphawood scholars are selected with the expectation that they, as alumni, will be in a position to apply the learning and skills they gain while on award to the benefit of the galleries, museums, heritage organisations, universities, government departments and other institutions in the Southeast Asian region in which they may go on to work.  

To be considered for an Alphawood scholarship, you must have received an offer for your programme of study from SOAS by the time that the scholarships are awarded in March 2025.   

All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply to SOAS for a place in the MA/Diploma programme as a first priority by 15 December 2024.  

Once you have completed and submitted your application for admission to the MA/Diploma programme, you should then develop your application for an Alphawood scholarship by 12 January 2025, as set out below. 

The following eligibility criteria apply to all prospective applicants to the Alphawood scholarships scheme this year: 

• You should normally be resident in one of the following countries: Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar/Burma, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam.  
• Applications will be considered from candidates who are not normally resident in these countries, provided you can demonstrate your intention and capacity to return or relocate to the region to pursue employment, teaching, further study or to otherwise make a direct and positive impact in the countries listed above regarding the objectives of the remit given above. Please include evidence of this in your personal statement. 
• If applying for an MA programme, you should outline your proposed dissertation topic at the point of application for admission and application for award and articulate how this topic addresses the ancient to pre-modern Buddhist or Hindu art or architecture of Southeast Asia, in line with the objectives of the remit. Please include evidence of this in your personal statement.
• Please note that those Alphawood Scholars on the SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art, who select the Independent Study Project as a supporting course, must ensure that the chosen topic engages with the Alphawood remit: ‘to further the understanding and preservation of ancient to pre-modern Buddhist and Hindu art and architecture in Southeast Asia’.

For the 2025/26 academic year, these Alphawood scholarships will be available to support one of the following programmes: 

• SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art
• MA History of Art and Archaeology 

For direct entry to MA/Diploma programmes, candidates must meet SOAS’ minimum requirements and provide evidence of their English Language proficiency at the point of application. This could be either:  

• an approved English Language test result (IELTS for UKVI or equivalent) together with the date the test was taken (within the last two years) 
• an overall IELTS score of 6.5 (minimum of 6.0 in all sub-scores) or equivalent
• evidence of prior undergraduate study, at an English-language university, where possible.   

Details of SOAS requirements are available here: English language requirements | SOAS. 

Successful applicants who do not meet the minimum English-language threshold for entry onto the MA/Diploma programmes in September 2025 will not be eligible to take up an Alphawood scholarship at that time.    

Instead, you may be offered English Language training depending on your individual needs. Preference for training may be given to applicants that can evidence their proficiency in English Language within the last two years – as indicated by an IELTS or equivalent test result. 

If you are not able to provide such evidence, please give a reason in the relevant section of your application form. 

Applicants will need to prove their knowledge of the English language when they apply for a UK Student Visa (see Student visa : Knowledge of English - GOV.UK).  

Please note that examinations must be booked at a test centre that has been approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).   

Applicants are reminded that the examination should be valid for visa application purposes and should be issued with a UKVI reference number. Results from other types of English Language examinations may not be valid for visa application purposes. 

Successful applicants will be reimbursed for the cost of one English Language examination for UKVI test once arrived in the UK and after opening a UK bank account.   

Alphawood scholarship applicants will need to submit official IELTS or equivalent results (dated from within the last two years) as a part of the application for admission. Or provide a valid reason why this has not been possible. 

Applications for award are assessed by a Selection Panel comprised of members of SOAS staff with pertinent academic and professional experience and convened as a function of the SOAS-Alphawood Scholarships Selection Panel.  

The Panel will assess candidates on the information provided in both the Application for admission to the MA/Diploma programme (academic references, transcripts, personal statements and other relevant information) and that contained in the Alphawood scholarships application.  

The Panel will assess applicants on the basis of the following criteria: 

• previous degree and experience in Southeast Asian Buddhist and Hindu art and architecture from ancient to pre-modern times, including study of the built environment, sculpture, painting, illustrated texts, textiles and other tangible or visual representations, along with the written word related to these, and archaeological, museum and cultural heritage studies; 

• interest in (and engagement with) the objectives of the programme of study  
• potential for personal growth and development with the scholarship award
• intentions following completion of their studies at SOAS
• interest in (and engagement with) the objectives of the Alphawood remit 
• perceived potential for direct and positive impact in the field and in the region 
• the potential for advancing the field of study within the remit
• in consideration of expressed financial need for a scholarship to support MA/Diploma study at SOAS

Note on the use of Artificial Intelligence(AI) / Large Language Models (LLM) 

Applicants for both the Diploma and the scholarship should produce an original text of which they are the sole author. Use of AI or large language models (such as ChatGPT) in preparing your application will be detrimental to your application. Please be aware that all applications will be run through an AI detection tool.   

In the past, we have received several applications that used AI, which were generic and uninspiring, and told us little if anything about the individual applicants. If you make obvious use of AI and LLM to write your scholarship application we will reject your applications and ask you to reapply in a future year. We want to hear your voice and engage with your ideas, reflections and proposals. 

There are 2 steps to the application process. 

STEP 1 – Apply for the MA/Diploma programme  

First of all, candidates considering an application for an Alphawood scholarship are asked to complete their application for admission to the relevant MA/Diploma programme through the following: 

• SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art – online application
• MA History of Art and Archaeology – online application

Please read the relevant guidance on the SOAS site before you start your application.  

All Alphawood scholarship applicants will be required to have an offer of admission in place by the time the SOAS-Alphawood Scholarships Selection Panel begin reviewing applications (February 2025).  

As it may take several weeks to assess applications for admission and to offer a place in the relevant programme, we strongly recommended that applicants should complete and submit applications for admission to SOAS as early as possible – and by 15 December 2024 at the very latest.  

STEP 2 – Application for an Alphawood Scholarship 

Second, after submitting an application for admission to the MA or PGDiploma, as applicable, applicants should then apply for an Alphawood scholarship through the Alphawood Scholarships Application Form. 

Please note that applicants should complete and submit this Application Form in one sitting. It is not possible to save drafts of this form, nor to return to a partially complete form at a later date for revision. 

As such, all applicants are recommended to make note of the questions and work on responses in a separate document until fully satisfied with the responses. Applicants may then return to the Online Application Form to input and submit these final responses. 

Applicants should use the Personal Statement section in their scholarship Application to demonstrate their interest in the objectives specified in the Alphawood remit, as defined above. They should also demonstrate their intention to pursue employment, teaching, further study, research or to otherwise make a positive impact in areas of the remit after studying at SOAS. 

The deadline for applications for an Alphawood scholarship for MA/Diploma study this year is 12 January 2025. 

• 15 December 2024 – Candidates should submit their complete application for admission to SOAS using the application forms indicated above. 
• 12 January 2025 – Candidates must submit their complete application for a scholarship through the Alphawood Scholarships Application Form by this date. 
• February 2025 – The SOAS-Alphawood Scholarships Selection Panel and SOAS-Alphawood Group agree the successful applicant/s for award to support MA/Diploma study commencing in the 2025/26 academic year.  
• March 2025 - SOAS will contact all applicants to inform them of the outcome of their application.  
• Late September 2025 - Academic Term 1 (2025/26) at SOAS begins.