POSTGRADUATE PROSPECTUS

POSTGRADUATE STUDY AT SOAS7EXCELLENCE IN POSTGRADUATETEACHING AND RESEARCHThe School’s mission is to be a leading centrefor the study of Asia, Africa and the MiddleEast. It sees its role as advancing the knowledgeand understanding of the cultures and societiesof Asia, Africa and the Middle East and of theSchool’s academic disciplines, through highqualityteaching and research. The School haswell-established research programmes andpostgraduate taught programmes in the socialsciences and humanities, including law, politicalstudies, economics, history, anthropology andsociology, art and archaeology, media, music,religious studies, as well as in the languages andcultures of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.A particular feature of postgraduate teachingprogrammes at SOAS is the range ofinterdisciplinary MAs in regional studies forAsia, Africa and the Middle East. SOAS attractsvisiting researchers from all over the world. It hashad, and continues to have, remarkable successin attracting external funding for staff research,on occasions exceeding the achievements of themost celebrated of other universities in the UK.All this makes for a vibrant context for research,including many research seminars every day,and frequent conferences, workshops and guestlectures. For example, SOAS has been selectedto take the lead in the administration of a £20m,10-year research programme to study anddocument endangered languages worldwide,and to expand its own activities in this and alliedfields. This large grant was awarded by the LisbetRausing Charitable Fund in response to the threatof extinction facing more than half the world’s6,000 languages. SOAS is initiating an ‘in-house’teaching and research programme focusing onendangered languages, and takes responsibilityfor administering a range of grants to researchersthroughout the world.The 2001 Research Assessment Exerciserated SOAS one of the top UK universities.Departments whose research was rated inthe two top categories (5 and 5*) were Africa,Anthropology and Sociology, East Asia, History,Law, Music, Near and Middle East, South Asia,South East Asia, and Study of Religions. Historywas identified as a ‘leading’ 5* (or 6).FACULTIES AND DEPARTMENTSThe School has three faculties: Arts andHumanities, Languages and Cultures, andLaw and Social Sciences. Between them, theyinclude 18 departments and offer more than 80postgraduate programmes (taught and distancelearning) in the social sciences, humanitiesand languages.Below: Stopping for a friendly chat at the entrance tothe Vernon Square campusPOSTGRADUATE STUDY AT SOAS