Program Overview

Key Information

Duration

• 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time

Attendance Mode

• Full-time or part-time

Location

• On campus

Fees

• Home (full-time): £4,860 per year
• International (full-time): £23,390 per year

Entry Requirements

• We normally require a 2.1 bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) plus a Masters degree in an appropriate subject area plus one reference.
• In exceptional cases, we may accept applicants who do not meet these criteria if they show evidence of a strong Masters degree and/or appropriate level of relevant work experience.
• International applicants should also see Doctoral School English language requirements.

Course Overview

SOAS has an international reputation for excellence in the field of South Asian studies earned by the world-leading research undertaken.

The South Asia Section of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics welcomes applications for the degrees of PhD on any topic related to the research interests and disciplines of the Department’s research-active staff.

Prospective candidates should consult the details of the various staff members’ research areas and adapt their proposal accordingly. These presently include, but are not limited to:

• Indian film and screen studies
• Diaspora studies
• Postcolonial literature
• Literary studies associated with Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, and Sanskrit
• Classical Hinduism
• Feminism
• Translation
• Current representations of Muslims
• The politics of Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan.

Structure

Year 1

• Year 1 students are required to submit a 5000-word literature review to the supervisory committee by Friday 15 December.
• Full-time Year 1 (year 2 for part-time students) are required to submit a core chapter and research proposal (of about 10,000 words) to the supervisory committee by Friday 11 May, typically including the following elements:
  • Research rationale and context of proposed research
  • Main research questions
  • Literature review
  • Theoretical and methodological framework and considerations
  • Proposed research methods
  • Ethical issues (where applicable)
  • Outlining structure of PhD dissertation
  • Schedule of research and writing
  • Bibliography.

Year 2

• The second year (or part-time equivalent) is normally spent engaged in research. This may be by any combination of fieldwork and research in libraries and material collection as agreed between the student and the supervisor(s).

Year 3

• The third year (or part-time equivalent) is devoted to writing up research for the PhD thesis. During this time, students will normally give a presentation in a research seminar organised by the Departmental Research Tutor, comprising a select number of staff members with special expertise in the topic and other research students.

Teaching and Learning

• Under the regulations of SOAS, University of London, all doctoral researchers register initially for an MPhil: they may transfer to PhD after completing one year, if they wish and subject to approval by the School, which requires evidence that the candidate’s work is achieving the standard required.
• The minimum duration for full-time doctoral researchers is two years for the MPhil and three years for the PhD. Part-time researchers normally take twice as long to complete their studies.
• When their research is completed, candidates submit a thesis to the examiners, and then attend a viva voce examination.

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

Scholarships

• Title | Deadline date
  • Tibawi Trust Award |
  • JRC Fuwaku Scholarship | 2 May 2022
  • SOAS Research Studentships - School of Arts | 6 May 2022
  • CHASE AHRC Studentship | 27 January 2025
  • Felix Scholarships | 31 January 2025
  • Saraswati Dalmia Scholarship | 21 March 2025
  • SOAS Research Studentships | 21 March 2025