Program Overview

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MA Korean Studies

Key Information

Start Date

September

Duration

1 year

Attendance Mode

Full-time or part-time

Location

On Campus

Fees

• Home: £12,710
• International: £26,330

Course Code

T5U6

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 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.

International Entry Requirements

• Rwanda: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor (4-year). Equivalent to 2:ii: Lower Second Class Honours or 65-69% or 14/20.
• Saudi Arabia: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: GPA of 3.0/4.0 or 3.5/5.0 or overall 70%.
• Singapore: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: CAP 3.5/5.0 or 3.0/4.0.
• Slovakia: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bakalár / Bachelor. Equivalent to 2:ii: 70% or 2.0 overall or C.
• South Africa: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor (4-year). Equivalent to 2:ii: 60%.
• South Korea: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: GPA 2.7/4.0 or 3.0/4.3 or 3.3/4.5.
• Spain: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Título de Grado / Título de Licenciado / Título de Ingeniero / Titulo de Arquitecto. Equivalent to 2:ii: 6.5/10 or GPA 1.75/4.0.
• Sri Lanka: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor Special Degree or Professional Degree (4-year). Equivalent to 2:ii: 55% or 2:2 or GPA 3.0/4.0.
• Sudan: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor (5-year). Equivalent to 2:ii: 65%+ or B.
• Sweden: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree / Kandidatexamen / Yrkesexamen. Equivalent to 2:ii: B (90 credits) and C (90 credits) or Very Good (70 credits) and Good (110 Credits) or C (180 credits).
• Switzerland: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Diplom / Diplôme / Lizentiat / Staatsdiplom / Diplôme d’Etat. Equivalent to 2:ii: Overall 4.5/6 or 7/10 or 2.5/5.
• Syria: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Licence / al-ijaza-fi / Bachelor. Equivalent to 2:ii: 70%+ or 'Good'.
• Taiwan: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: 68-70% or GPA 2.8/4.0-3.0/4.0.
• Thailand: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: GPA 3.0/4.0.
• Tunisia: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Diplôme National d'Ingénieur / Diplôme National d'Architecture / Licence / Maîtrise. Equivalent to 2:ii: 12 out of 20.
• Turkey: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Lisans Diplomasi. Equivalent to 2:ii: GPA 2.6/4 from the top universities and 3.0/4 from all others.
• Uganda: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: 2:2 (Lower Second) or B or GPA 3.0/5.0.
• Ukraine: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree or Specialist Diploma. Equivalent to 2:ii: 8/12 or 3.8/5.
• United Arab Emirates: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: GPA 3.0/4.0 or 3.2/5.0.
• United States of America: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: GPA 3.0/4.0.
• Vietnam: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree (4-year). Equivalent to 2:ii: Overall score of 6.5/10.
• Yemen: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Master's degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: Overall 'Good' (71-77%) or Aden University 80-83% (or 3.0/4.0).
• Zambia: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Master's degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: 65% or B or Credit or GPA 1.7/2.5 or 3.3/5.0.
• Zimbabwe: Qualifications (Bachelor equivalency): Bachelor degree. Equivalent to 2:ii: 2:2 or 65%.

Course Overview

The MA Korean Studies is designed either to prepare the student for advanced graduate work in a wide range of subjects related to Korea, or as an end/qualification in itself. The programme explores the history, politics, art, music and literature of Korea, as well as providing opportunities to study the languages of the region. Students in the programme come from many countries and have a wide variety of academic backgrounds. Some have already studied, or lived, in Korea and wish to broaden their knowledge or understanding. Others wish to focus their previous training on the region, while others will come from Korea or another East Asian country wishing to study Korea from the perspective of a different culture and academic tradition. Knowledge of the Korean language is not a requirement of the programme. Language modules, however, are popular options.

Structure

Students take a total of 180 credits, of which 60 credits are a dissertation, 15 credits are allocated to the core module and the remaining 105 credits are chosen from other taught modules. Students must choose a minimum of 45 credits of modules from List A (modules related to Korea) and a maximum of 60 credits from List B which includes language modules, and PGT central options.

Teaching and Learning

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

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, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

• Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of Korea’s past and present, within the parameters of the modules chosen.
• Students will acquire an advanced understanding of the theoretical and methodological tools of the relevant disciplines.
• Students who choose to take language will improve their knowledge of and ability to use Korean in their everyday life and, depending on the level achieved, professional career.

Intellectual (thinking) skills

• Students will learn how to assess data and evidence critically from a variety of sources and how to resolve problems of conflicting sources and conflicting interpretations.
• Students will learn the strengths and disciplines of particular disciplinary and theoretical approaches, cultivating their ability to draw on a variety of such approaches.
• Students will learn how to design and manage an independent research project, formulating the problem to be addressed, identifying the data to be analyzed, and synthesizing the findings to present well-supported conclusions.

Subject-based practical skills

• Students will learn how to read critically, to participate effectively in seminar discussions, and to present their work in both oral and written form.
• More specific skills will depend on the particular modules taken.

Employment

Graduates from the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures develop competencies in intercultural awareness, analysis and communication. Demand for specialists with advanced proficiency in the languages of China, Japan and Korea has significantly increased in recent years, and graduates with these skills are highly sought after by employers.

Recent graduates have been hired by organisations including:

• Accenture
• Amazon
• Bloomberg LP
• Department for Work and Pensions
• European Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea
• European Commission
• Google
• ITN
• Japanese Government
• Korea Trade Centre (KOTRA)
• KPMG
• Mizuho Bank
• Nagahama Board of Education
• Nanjing Museum
• Pinsent Masons LLP
• PwC
• Seoul Metropolitan Government
• Shelterbox
• UNDP

Scholarships

• Tibawi Trust Award
• Felix Non-Indian Scholarship
• Felix Scholarships
• SOAS Master's Scholarships (Home)
• Sochon Foundation Scholarship

Related Content

• SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art
• Specialist art short courses
• BA Japanese

Events

• BARAZA - Swahili Studies Conference

Research

• Leverhulme Research Leadership Award: Mapping Sumatra’s manuscript cultures
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• Variation in Swahili: contact, change and identity
• RISE UP: Revitalising Languages and Safeguarding Cultural Diversity
• Transnational Practices: Film Culture and Politics in China (1949–1989)
• Chemical Capital: The life and times of a North Korean industrial town from colonial fiefdom to socialist icon
• Re/presenting Islam on Campus
• Creative Multilingualism in World Literatures
• Multilingual Locals and Significant Geographies
• The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to World Literature
• Prominent Possessors

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