School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics & South Asia Section

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Start date
Duration
1 year
Attendance mode
Full-time or part-time
Location
On Campus
Fees

Home: £12,220
International: £25,320

Course code
Y4S7
Entry requirements

We will consider all applications with a 2:2 (or international equivalent) or higher in a social science or humanities subject. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application such as supporting statement. References are optional, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:2 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications.

See international entry requirements and English language requirements.

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The MA South Asian Area Studies programme provides exceptional opportunities for advanced study of one of the world’s most diverse and important regions.

Students can choose to concentrate on pre-modern or modern South Asia and can acquire a basic knowledge of one of the area’s languages, or build upon pre-existing knowledge.

This degree provides a wide-ranging interdisciplinary analysis of the South Asian countries – India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with more limited coverage of Bangladesh and Bhutan. Disciplines available include Politics, Economics, Anthropology, Law, Literature, Cinema, Culture, Religion and History.

The South Asian Area Studies MA programme attracts students from a variety of backgrounds. While some wish to broaden their previous studies or experience of South Asia, others approach the programme without having a South Asian element to their first degree, but with a desire to focus their previous training on the region.

Why study South Asia at SOAS?

  • SOAS is ranked 1st in London and 9th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2023 for Asian Studies.
  • We are ranked 6th in the UK for employability (QS World University Rankings 2023).
  • We are ranked top 10 in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2023 for African and Middle Eastern Studies.
  • Modern Languages and Linguistics at SOAS has been ranked 10th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. 

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Learn a language as part of this programme

Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.

Students take 180 credits : 60 credits from a dissertation and 120 credits from taught modules. All students take both 15-credit compulsory modules 'Politics of Culture in Contemporary South Asia' and 'Remapping Area Studies', and up to 15 credits may be taken from the list of postgraduate open options. The remaining credits should be chosen from the list below: a maximum of 60 taught credits can be taken from one discipline and a minimum of three disciplines must be covered. For students opting to take two languages, only 30 credits can be at an introductory level.

Some disciplines, such as Politics, Economics or Anthropology, require an appropriate qualification (such as part of a first degree) if any of their modules are to be taken as the major subject.

One module – whether 15 or 30 credits – must be designated as a 'major'; this will designate the discipline and subject in which the dissertation will be written. The remaining taught component credit-bearing modules are designated as 'minors'. All should be chosen from the list below. Modules listed as 'minor only' may not be taken as a major.

All modules are subject to availability.

Important notice

The information on the website reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. The modules are indicative options of the content students can expect and are/have been previously taught as part of these programmes.

However, this information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

Compulsory

Guided options - Major

Selection of 15 or 30 credits from Major module options

Guided options - Minor

Selection of 30 or 45 credits from Minor module options

Open options

Students can take a maximum of 30 credits from the School-wide open options list, including languages.

 

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One-year Masters programmes consist of 180 credits. 120 credits are taught in modules of 30 credits (taught over 20 weeks) or 15 credits (taught over 10 weeks); the dissertation makes up the remaining 60 units. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

Contact hours

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework and revising for examinations. 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. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

  • How to assess data and evidence critically from printed and digital sources, solve problems of conflicting sources and interpretations, locate materials, use research sources (particularly research library catalogues) and other relevant traditional sources.
  • Subject specific skills, for instance familiarity with a South Asian language and the ability to read texts in that language, or advanced study of a South Asian literature in its original language.
  • Aspects of South Asian history, economics, political, management and legal systems, art and archaeology, literature, visual and popular culture, anthropology and music.

Intellectual (thinking) skills

  • Students should become precise and cautious in their assessment of evidence.
  • Students should question interpretations, however authoritative, and reassess evidence for themselves.
  • Apply language learning skills to new linguistic challenges, or to new oral or written texts.

Subject-based practical skills

  • Communicate effectively in writing.
  • Retrieve, sift and select information from a variety of sources.
  • Present seminar papers.
  • Participate constructively in the discussion of ideas introduced during seminars.
  • Work to strict deadlines.
  • Use and apply foreign language skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Transferrable skills

The programme will encourage students to:

  • Write good essays and dissertations.
  • Structure and communicate ideas effectively both orally and in writing.
  • Understand unconventional ideas.
  • Study a variety of written and digital materials, in libraries and research institutes of a kind they will not have used as undergraduates.
  • Present (non–assessed) material orally.
  • Communicate in a foreign language.

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.

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Title Deadline date
Tibawi Trust Award
Felix Non-Indian Scholarship
Felix Scholarships
Shapoorji Pallonji Scholarships

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Graduates of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics leave SOAS not only with linguistic and cultural expertise, but also with skills in written and oral communication, analysis and problem solving.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

  • Africa Matters
  • Amnesty International
  • Arab British Chamber of Commerce
  • BBC World Service
  • British High Commission
  • Council for British Research in the Levant
  • Department for International Development
  • Edelman
  • Embassy of Jordan
  • Ernst & Young
  • Foreign & Commonwealth Office
  • Google
  • Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
  • Middle East Eye
  • Saïd Foundation
  • TalkAbout Speech Therapy
  • The Black Curriculum
  • The Telegraph
  • United Nations Development Programme
  • UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
  • Wall Street Journal

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