Reader in Chinese Literature
China and Inner Asia Section
& School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics
BA Chinese and...
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Key information
Key information
- Duration
- 4 years
- Start of programme
- September
- Attendance mode
- Full-time
- Location
- Campus
- Fees
-
Home: £9,250
International: £22,870 - Entry requirements
-
AAA-ABB
For joint degrees, the offer is based on the subject with the higher entry requirements.
Contextual: AAB-BBB
-
Austria: Reifeprufungszeugnis / Maturazeugnis: four subjects at 1, 2, 2, 2
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Belgium: Diploma van Secundair Onderwijs: 75% (7.5/10, 15/20) overall
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Bulgaria: Diploma za Zavarsheno Sredno Obrazovanie: 5.3 and 5.0 in two State Maturity Exams
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Canada: High School Diploma: 80% with 5 acceptable Grade 12 subjects (most territories).
British Columbia: AABBB in Grade 12 courses.A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
China: Senior Secondary Graduation Certificate + Gaokao: 78% overall in Gaokao PLUS 85% overall in Senior Secondary School Graduation Certificate (year 11 and 12)
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Croatia: Matura Certificate: 4.5 overall with 5 in 1 Higher level subject
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Cyprus: Apolytirion with 2 A-Levels: Apolytirion 18/20 + A-level grades BB
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Czech Republic: Matura Certificate: 1, 2, 2, 2
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Denmark: Studentereksamen; Hojere Forberedelseseksamen; Hojere Handelseksamen; Hojere Teknisk Eksamen: 7 plus 10, 7, 7 in three Level A subjects
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Estonia: Gümnaasiumi lõputunnistus with the Riigieksamitunnistus: 4.0 with 85%, 80%, and 80% in 3 state exams
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Finland: Ylioppilastukint / Studentexamen: four subjects at 6, 5, 5, 5
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
France: French Baccalaureat or Option Internationale du Baccalauréat (OIB): 13/20
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Germany: Abitur: 1.8
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Greece: Apolytirion of Geniko Lykeio with Pan Hellenic exams: 18/20
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Hong Kong: Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education: 544 in two electives and one core (all other subjects grade 3)
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Hungary: Matura (Erettségi): 4.5 overall
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Iceland: Stúdentspróf: 7.5
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
India: Standard XII: 75% (CBSE, CISCE, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & West Bengal boards), 80% (all other state boards)
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Ireland: Irish Leaving Certificate: H1, H2, H2, H3, H3
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Israel: Bagrut: Overall grade of 7, 80% with 3 subjects at 5-unit level
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Italy: Diploma Consequito con L’Esame di Stato: 80% overall
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Latvia: Certificate of General Secondary Education: 88% in four State subject exams
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Lithuania: Brandos Atestatas: 8.5/10 and 90%, 85%, 85% in three State Exam
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Malta: Advanced Matriculation Certificate: AB (Advanced) + BBB (Intermediate)
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Netherlands: Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs: 7.5 overall with 8, 8, 7, 7 in four subjects
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Norway: Vitnemål vidergaende opplaering: 4.3 overall
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Poland: New Polish Matura: 75% in three Advanced Level subjects
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Portugal: Diploma de Ensino Secundario: overall 17.5/20
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Romania: Diploma de Bacalaureat: 8.5 overall
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Singapore: Polytechnic Diploma (Nanyang, Ngee Ann, Singapore, Temasek and Republic Polytechnic): GPA 3.3
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Slovakia: Maturitná skúška / Maturita / Vysvedčenie o maturitnej skúške: four subjects at 1, 2, 2, 2
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
South Africa: National Senior Certificate: 77666
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Spain: Curso de Orientación Universitaria / Título de Bachillerato: 7.5
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Sweden: Slutbetyg / Examensbevis från Gymnasieskolan: A in 1200 credits and no grades below D / 18 / mainly B overall (MVG/VG)
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Switzerland: Federal Maturity Certificate: 4.5
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Tanzania: Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education: ACSE with BBB in 3 principle subjects
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Trinidad and Tobago: CAPE: Six CAPE units with grade 2 (+two double-unit courses)
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
Turkey: Lise Diplomasi: 78-83% (depending on high school)
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
USA: High School Diploma plus ACT, SAT, or AP exams:
-
High School Diploma GPA 3.0 plus SAT 1280 or ACT 27 and 2 AP's at 4,4
or -
High School Diploma GPA of 3.2 plus 2 AP's at 4,4
or -
High School Diploma GPA 3.4 plus SAT 1300 or ACT 29
or -
2-year Associate degree GPA 3.1
A Level equivalent: ABB
Contextualised offer: BBB -
-
See undergraduate entry requirements and English language requirements for international and alternative entry requirements.
Course overview
The BA Chinese combined honours degree gives a broad understanding of Chinese culture through the study of its language, history and literature from earliest times up to the present, in combination with a solid grounding in another language or discipline.
Why study Chinese combined honours at SOAS?
- We are ranked 12th in the UK for Modern Languages (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- SOAS is home to the largest concentration of Chinese specialists outside of China
- Chinese is a language spoken by a quarter of the world’s population; your command of a language will set you apart from graduates of other universities
- Spend your third year in China or Taiwan furthering language and cultural proficiency
Use our combined courses tool to see a breakdown of course structure
Teaching and learning
Modern language teaching involves classroom work and independent study. A few non-language modules are taught by formal lecture. The single and combined degree modules are examined through oral and written examinations and coursework or reports.
Contact hours
All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, in modules of 60, 30 or 15 credits. They are taught over 10 or 20 weeks. The programme structure shows which modules are taught over one term or the full year. It also shows which modules are compulsory and which are optional.
As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others.
More information is on the page for each module.
Year abroad
Students spend the third year of their BA Chinese degree at Beijing Normal University (BNU) or in Taiwan. Single-subject degree students are required to take the following modules:
- Newspaper Reading (baokan 报刊)
- Reading and Writing (duxie 读写)
- Conversation (huihua 会话)
- Listening (tingli 听力)
In order to proceed to the final year, students must pass all four of the language modules taken at BNU. If a student fails one language module, they will be offered a re-entry test in September of the same academic year, to determine whether or not they can continue to Year 4.
SOAS Library
SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.
Pre-entry readings
- Ebrey, Patricia: The Cambridge Illustrated History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996/2010.
- Mair, Victor H.: The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
- Shei, Chris: Understanding the Chinese Language. London and New York: Routledge, 2014.
Fees and funding
Fees for 2025/26 entrants per academic year
| Programme | Full-time | |
|---|---|---|
| Home students | Overseas students | |
| BA, BSc, LLB | £9,250 | £22,870 |
| BA/BSc Language year abroad | £1,385 | £11,430 |
See undergraduate fees for further details.
Employment
Graduates from the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures develop competencies in intercultural awareness, analysis and communication. Demand for specialists with advanced proficiency in the languages of China, Japan and Korea has significantly increased in recent years, and graduates with these skills are highly sought after by employers.
Recent graduates have been hired by organisations including:
- Accenture
- Amazon
- Bloomberg LP
- Department for Work and Pensions
- European Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea
- European Commission
- ITN
- Japanese Government
- Korea Trade Centre (KOTRA)
- KPMG
- Mizuho Bank
- Nagahama Board of Education
- Nanjing Museum
- Pinsent Masons LLP
- PwC
- Seoul Metropolitan Government
- Shelterbox
- UNDP
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