Notable programs
BA Chinese (with year abroad)
Four-year programme with year three spent in mainland China or Taiwan at partner universities including Peking University, Fudan, and National Taiwan University. Combines intensive Mandarin language training with classical Chinese, modern Chinese history, politics, and literature. SOAS Chinese is widely considered the strongest in the UK for genuine area-studies depth, with native-speaker tutors and small seminar cohorts. Strong onward routes into FCDO, the British Council, China-focused NGOs, and PhD programmes globally.
BA Japanese
Four-year programme with mandatory year abroad at Japanese partner universities including Waseda, Keio, Sophia, and Doshisha. Curriculum integrates intensive Japanese language with Japanese history, politics, religion, literature, and contemporary society. Faculty include leading scholars of Japanese politics, post-war Japanese economic history, and Japanese religion. Direct routes into JET programme, Japanese government scholarships for graduate study, Japan-focused journalism, and trade and diplomatic careers.
BA Development Studies
The flagship development studies undergraduate programme in the UK, ranked consistently in the global top five for the discipline. Curriculum combines economics, politics, anthropology, and area studies with a focus on the Global South. Students choose regional specialisations (Africa, Asia, Middle East, Latin America). Direct pipelines into Oxfam, Save the Children, ActionAid, the FCDO, the UN system, and the World Bank graduate programmes. Optional year abroad at development-focused partner institutions.
BA Politics and International Relations
Three-year programme with strong focus on the Global South — politics of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and post-colonial states — alongside conventional IR theory. Distinctive in offering specialisations in Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, and African politics with faculty area expertise unmatched by general IR programmes. Strong onward routes into FCDO, intelligence analysis, think tanks (Chatham House, IISS, RUSI), and PhD programmes.
MA Middle Eastern Studies
One-year master's programme combining advanced area-studies content (Middle Eastern history, politics, religion, economics, and society) with intensive Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, or Turkish language training. Faculty include leading scholars of contemporary Middle Eastern politics and Islamic studies. Frequent destination for FCDO, intelligence services, journalism (Al Jazeera, BBC Arabic, The Economist Middle East coverage), and PhD pipelines into Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, and Columbia Middle Eastern studies departments.
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