
MA Migration and Diaspora Studies and Intensive Language
DURATION
2 up to 4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 25,320 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas student fees | home student fees: GBP 12,220 per year
Introduction
The MA in Migration & Diaspora Studies tackles these crucial and timely questions, providing students with the skills to understand, diagnose and articulate what is at stake in contemporary experiences of migration and diaspora; as well as contribute to the work of academics, communities, and activists engaged in reimagining a world beyond borders, and exclusionary modes of belonging.
The MA in Migration & Diaspora Studies is a highly interdisciplinary programme taught from a Global South perspective. It is engaged and practice-oriented and offers the possibility of creative assessments along with conventional assessment forms. Students enrolled in the programme have the unique opportunity to gain work-relevant experience while studying, through the module ‘From Theory to Practice & Back: Work Placements in Migration Research&rsquo.
Overall, this MA programme is committed to the belief that knowledge and practice produced by diasporas, migrants’ grassroots organisations, activists, practitioners and artists should be intertwined with academic knowledge, and validated as part of a real decolonising effort.
Why study Migration and Diaspora Studies at SOAS?
- SOAS is ranked 5th in the UK and 12th in the world for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings 2023), and 4th in the UK (2023 Times/Sunday Times League Table)
- We are ranked 6th in the UK for employability (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- We are specialists in the delivery of languages; your command of a language at SOAS will set you apart from graduates of other universities
- The MA Migration & Diaspora Studies programme has a first-rate graduate employability record and offers the chance to build your CV whilst you study, bridging the gap between theory and practice
- Our teaching is strongly informed by our regional interests in Africa, Asia and diasporas, as well as professional experiences of working in/with international humanitarian organisations, NGOs and activist collectives
- The programme will introduce you to cutting-edge literature in the field, at the intersection of anthropology, migration studies, diaspora studies, critical race theory, and decolonial theory
- You can take your own interests into a research project or work placement guided by an expert supervisor from our department
- The MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies is considerably enriched by the SOAS Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies, which runs seminars, films and public lectures and also hosts a number of international scholars
- You will join a thriving community of alumni, current students, and academics committed to putting academic study and research in conversation with activists and communities.
Duration
2 years full-time or 4 years part-time
Gallery
Admissions
Program Outcome
Aims and Outcomes
- Introduce Students to Important Areas of Contemporary Social Theory Which Deal With Issues of Migration, Globalisation, the Postcolonial World, and Cultural Transformations
- Ground Students in the Historical Basis of These Issues
- Encourage Transdisciplinary Thinking on Issues of Migration
- Enable Students to Translate Theoretical Perspectives for Practical Application in the Material World
- Provide Students With a Near Proficient Ability in a Language
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Students from SOAS’ Department of Anthropology and Sociology develop an in-depth understanding of the world. Employers value our graduates’ cultural awareness and global perspective, as well as their skills in analysis, data interpretation and problem-solving.
Recent graduates have been hired by:
- Allen & Overy
- BBC
- British Council
- Deloitte
- Hackney Migrant Centre
- IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development)
- IOM- UN Migration
- Media 52
- New York Times
- Social Mobility Foundation
- The Week
- UNICEF
- United Nations Development Programme
- World Bank Group