MA History
SOAS University of London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 - 3 Year
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 11,980 / per year *
Application deadline
Request Info
Earliest start date
Request Info
* full-time fees: UK £11,980; Overseas £23,400. Part-time 2 years fees: UK £5,990/year; Overseas £11,700/year. Part-time 3 years fees: UK £3,955/year; Overseas £7,725/year
Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time
The programme is designed for students with a keen interest in studying the remote as well as the more recent past of the countries, peoples, and cultures of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It is also ideal for students who seek to understand the historical conditions of the contemporary world from a global perspective. While the course is open to students with backgrounds in a diverse range of disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences, the ideal applicant would have a UG degree in History or a relevant area studies programme, some knowledge of foreign, in particular Asian or African languages, and preferably relevant background in the region of specialism.
This is one of the few Master-level programmes in History focusing on the study of Asia, the Middle East and Africa in the UK. With its high concentration of expertise of these regions, SOAS can offer an unrivalled breadth of courses on their histories. Apart from the possibility of acquiring regional expertise, the programme also provides sound training in the historical sciences more generally.
Students in this programme take four units of taught courses plus a 10,000-word dissertation with a detailed 2,500-word dissertation plan worth 10% of this mark. The proximity to the School of many archive depositories and records offices, including its own archival collection as well as the British Library, greatly enhances the potential for dissertation work. A broad range of courses is available in every single year (see 'Structure' tab for more details), though you may want to contact the programme convenor to ask about the availability of particular courses in a particular year. Those who wish to further develop their linguistic skills may choose from a range of African and Asian language courses.
In addition to their studies on the MA programme, students at SOAS have the opportunity to participate in the Regional History Seminars, as well as in a wide range of research seminars, lectures and conferences, which regularly take place in different departments and centres across the School and at other colleges of the University of London.
If you wish to continue your studies on the research level you may want to consider the MA in Historical Research Methods.
The online module sign-up system guides students through the available modules.
Please note that not all modules are available every year.
Gallery
Admissions
Curriculum
Structure
Students must take 180 credits in total, comprised of 120 taught credits and a 60-credit dissertation (10,000 words with a detailed 2,500-word dissertation plan worth 10% of the mark for this module).
There are five regional pathways within the MA History: Africa, East Asia, Near and the Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia.
If you have any questions about pathway requirements, please contact the programme convenor.
Dissertation
Students must complete a Dissertation (10,000 words) see list of Dissertation Module options below
Taught Component
Core Module
- Debating Pasts, Crafting Histories.
and
- Choose a module from List A below to the value of 15 credits.
and
- Choose one of the Independent Research Essay in History (IREH1) modules below.
and
- Choose a module(s) from List A and the List of IREH1 below to the value of 30 credits.
or
- Choose a module(s) from List A or List B below to the value of 30 credits.
and
- Choose a module(s) from List A and the List of IREH1 below to the value of 30 credits.
or
- Choose a module(s) from List A or List B below to the value of 30 credits.
or
- Choose a module(s) from Postgraduate Open Options to the value of 30 credits.
List of modules (subject to availability)
Dissertation Modules
- Dissertation in History
- Dissertation in History: Africa
- Dissertation in History: East Asia
- Dissertation in History: Near and Middle East
- Dissertation in History: South Asia
- Dissertation in History: South East Asia
Independent Research Essay
Students must do AT LEAST one of these essays; each essay is tied to a specified List A module.
- Independent Research Essay in History 1
- Independent Research Essay in History 2
- Independent Research Essay in History 3
List A
- Comparative/Global
- The Making of the Contemporary World
- Environmental History of Asia
- Colonial curricula: empire and education at SOAS and beyond
- Africa
- Slavery in West Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries
- Historical Perspectives on Gender in Africa
- Social and Cultural Transformations in Southern Africa Since 1945
- Colonial Conquest and Social Change in Southern Africa
- Warfare and the Military in Precolonial Africa
- Warfare and the Military in Modern Africa
- Colonialism and Christian Missions in Africa: Readings from the Archives
- Near and Middle East
- The Early Development of Islam: Emerging Identities and Contending View
- Iran and the Persianiate world, 1400 to 1800
- Iran and the Persianiate world, 1800 to 1979
- The End of Empire in the Middle East and the Balkans II
- Encountering the Other: the Middle East during the Crusading Period
- Modernity and the Transformation of the Middle East I
- Modernity and the Transformation of the Middle East II
- The Origin of Islam: Sources and Perspectives
- Outsiders in Medieval Middle Eastern Societies: Minorities, Social Outcasts and Foreigners
- Mesopotamian Languages and Literature A: the third millennium
- Mesopotamian Languages and Literature C: the first Millenium BC
- Sumerian Language
- Israel and the Palestinians
- Modern Trends in Islam
- Reading Classical Arabic Historians: Themes and Trends in Islamic Historiography
- South Asia
- Islam in South Asia
- Gender, law and the family in the history of modern South Asia
- Colonialism and Nationalism in South Asia
- The Body and the Making of Colonial Difference in British India
- East Asia
- Knowledge and Power in Early Modern China
- Nationhood and Competing Identities in Modern China
- The Making of Modern Korea, 1864-1953
- The Two Koreas since 1953 (PG)
- South-East Asia
- Asian Armies and National Development
- Asian Wars: World War II and the End of Empire (1942-1960)
- Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia 1 - Making States and Building Nations
- Histories of Ethnicity and Conflict in South East Asia 2 - Non-National Perspectives
List B
- Methodology
- Media Production Skills (Group B)
- Africa
- Religions and Development
- International Politics of Africa
- Government and politics in Africa
- State & society in Asia & Africa
- Near and Middle East
- Medieval Arabic Thought
- Religion, Nationhood and Ethnicity in Judaism
- Family, Work and Leisure in Ancient Judaism
- Comparative politics of the Middle East
- Culture and Society of Near and Middle East
- Modern Trends in Islam
- Approaches in Islamic Intellectual History
- South Asia
- The Religions of Ancient India
- The Origins and Development of Yoga in Ancient India
- Zoroastrianism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
- The Indian Temple
- Government and politics of modern South Asia
- Imagining Pakistan (PG)
- The Politics of Culture in Contemporary South Asia
- East Asia
- State and society in the Chinese political process
- East Asian Buddhist Thought
- The Great Tradition of Taoism
- South-East Asia
- Jawi and the Malay Manuscript Tradition (Masters)
- Government and politics of modern South-East Asia
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.
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.
Career Opportunities
Employment
A postgraduate degree from the History department at SOAS provides its students with an understanding of the world, giving them specialised historical knowledge and understanding of cultural sensibilities of a region. Postgraduate students are equipped with the expertise to continue in research as well as the skills needed to enable them to find professional careers in the private and public sectors.
Postgraduate students leave SOAS with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek, including familiarity with methods of research; the competence to manage large quantities of information; the ability to select and organise information and analytical skills. A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.
Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:
- Afghan Aid
- Amnesty International
- Church of England
- Dar Al Hekma College
- Department For Transport
- Högskolan Dalarna
- Home Office - UKBA
- Hongik University, South Korea
- MoD
- Dutch National Council for Culture
- Savannah Publications
- The Jewish Chronicle
- The Royal Institute of International Affairs
- World Youth Service Society Japan
Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:
- Community and Events Fundraiser
- Senior Learning and Impact Advisor
- International Director
- Head of Africa Department
- Senior Advocate
- Teacher
- Senior Information Management Officer
- Civil Servant
- Lecturer in History
- Associate Professor
- Consultant
- Account Manager
- Headmaster
- Political Editor
- Editor
- Manager and Research Fellow
- Counsellor
English Language Requirements
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