Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, India

About the course

The Department of Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS in collaboration with Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University (Shiv Nadar IoE) is delighted to offer a Joint MA in Global Urban Sociology.

This unique, jointly-taught and jointly-awarded, 1-year MA between SOAS and Shiv Nadar IoE allows students to study in two very different institutions and two contrasting cities. It is also one of the only programmes to focus on global sociology and specifically on the global sociology of cities and urban life-worlds. 

Carefully designed to address how cities and the urban can be approached beyond usual hemispheric divides, and in negotiation with planetary as well as local debates, the vision of the programme is to offer a rare classroom where the focus is on how the contemporary urban world may be explored. 

Students will receive rigorous sociological training as well as cultural immersion in the UK and India, in a partnership programme that combines student mobility with cutting edge research-led teaching. 

Though the collaborating institutions are based in the United Kingdom and India respectively, the MA itself has a genuinely global focus, offering an understanding of the urban condition from around the world through case studies from around the world. The programme welcomes a global cohort of students, those with an interest in academic training as well as in upskilling their professional profile. We expect a vibrant peer group experience in the classroom, in addition to the locational impact. 

This MA specifically seeks to foreground how social science knowledge can be deployed to both understand and tackle real-world issues in the context of the most significant transformation of the ways in which we occupy the planet, i.e. urbanisation. It is in this sense, that we encourage applications from those – such as mid-career professionals -- who wish to expand their analytical skill sets and others preparing for another degree beyond the MA.

About the programme 

  • Students will explore sociological concepts from a global perspective taught by SOAS and Shiv Nadar IoE academics with diverse regional expertise.
  • Students will be registered at both SOAS and Shiv Nadar IoE, and have access to resources and facilities from both institutions throughout the programme.  
  • Students will have the opportunity to travel to the UK and India as part of the programme, with the first term spent in London at SOAS, the second term spent in Delhi at Shiv Nadar IoE followed by the dissertation which can be taken at SOAS or Shiv Nadar IoE or remotely.
  • The programme has a single fee set for all students regardless of country of origin.  
  • Upon completion of the programme, students will be jointly-awarded a MA by both SOAS and Shiv Nadar IoE. 

​About Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University (Shiv Nadar IoE)

Shiv Nadar IoE is a multidisciplinary, student-centric research university established in 2011 by Shiv Nadar, one of India’s foremost philanthropists and a pioneer of technological revolution. It is also the youngest university in the country to have been awarded the “Institution of Eminence” status by the government of India. 

The University’s aim is to become internationally recognised for the quality of its research and improving quality of life, generating new insights and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge creativity.

Living in London

Owing to the short-term stay in London for the course, you will not be able to stay in the main SOAS Halls of Residence. This means that your accommodation will not be booked via the SOAS Accommodation Office, but directly with our partner agencies.

Find out more and apply 

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