Program Overview

MA Middle Eastern Studies

Key Information

• Start Date: September
• Duration: 1 year
• Attendance Mode: Full-time or part-time
• Location: On Campus
• Fees:
  • Home: £12,220
  • International: £25,320
• Course Code: Y4S6
• Entry Requirements: We will consider all applications with 2:2 (or international equivalent) or higher. In addition to degree classification, we take into account other elements of the application, such as the 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.

Course Overview

The MA Middle Eastern Studies provides exceptional opportunities for studying this diverse and fascinating area at the postgraduate level through a variety of disciplinary approaches. The main emphasis of the programme is on the modern period through modules in history, geography, politics, economics, and anthropology. Some exposure is provided to the pre-modern culture and society of the area through modules in religious studies, Islamic art and archaeology, and history. Modules based on Arabic are offered for those with adequate knowledge of the language, while modules in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish are available for those who wish to acquire or develop skills in these languages.

Why Study Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 7th in the UK for African and Middle Eastern Studies (Complete University Guide 2025)
• Modern Languages and Linguistics at SOAS has been ranked 10th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
• We are 4th for research environment - with 100% of our research ranked as 'internationally excellent' and 85% as 'world-leading' - and 8th for research outputs in the REF 2021

Structure

• Dissertation: 60 credits
• Remapping Area Studies: 15 credits (compulsory)
• Major Module: 30 or 15 credits (dependent on the module)
• Taught Modules: 45 or 60 credits (dependent on the Major module)

Teaching and Learning

• 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.
• Part-time Studies: Part-time students divide their workload of the required modules evenly between the number of years of part-time study, with the dissertation module taken in the last year of study.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge: How to assess data and evidence critically from manuscripts and digital sources, solve problems of conflicting sources and conflicting interpretations, locate materials, use research-sources (particularly research-library catalogues) and other relevant traditional sources.
• Intellectual (thinking) skills: Students will learn to become precise and cautious in their assessment of evidence and should also come to understand through practice what documents can and cannot tell us.
• Subject-based practical skills: Language-students will learn the chosen language at the appropriate level. Present seminar-papers. Listen and discuss ideas introduced during seminars. Practise research-techniques in a variety of specialised research-libraries and institutes.
• Transferrable skills: Writing good essays and dissertations. Structure and communicate ideas effectively, both orally and in writing. 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.

Scholarships

• Tibawi Trust Award:
• Felix Non-Indian Scholarship: 31 January 2025
• Felix Scholarships: 31 January 2025
• Shapoorji Pallonji Scholarships: 21 March 2025

Employment

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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