BA East Asian Studies

• Gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the East Asian region's cultures, histories, societies, economics and politics, while studying in Western Europe's most linguistically diverse city.
• Take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of East Asia with a course that can be tailored to your needs.
• Have the option to study Chinese, Korean or Japanese.
• Study at a university ranked seventh in the UK for East and South Asian Studies (Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)

Book your place on our October and November taster webinars to learn more about your subject areas!

BA East Asian Studies will provide you with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the East Asian region, with a focus on China and Japan, and the region's cultures, histories, societies, economics and politics.

You will gain a critical appreciation of the complex contemporary realities in East Asian countries, as well as the changing position of these countries in an ever-changing international context.

This course aims to provide you with the knowledge and critical tools needed to understand East Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as an appreciation of the major historical events and social movements that have made East Asian countries what they are today.

East Asia is studied both as an economically connected region with overlapping histories, languages and cultural identities and as a diverse group of countries and peoples with divergent political systems and contemporary cultures.

By the end of your degree, you will possess the socio-cultural understanding and analytical skills needed to embark upon more long-term professional or academic engagements with the East Asian region and will have acquired a more international perspective on the world as it stands today and as it has developed over the course of history.

You will have the option of learning some Chinese, Japanese or Korean language as part of your studies, although East Asian Studies is not a language-intensive degree programme.

You can tailor your degree according to your interests and professional ambitions, and from the second year onwards can choose from a wide range of courses on topics including:

• contemporary art;
• literature;
• religion;
• media;
• popular culture;
• business;
• anthropology;
• history;
• economics;
• politics.

34 points overall. 6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects

All applicants to the University (from the UK and Overseas) are required to show evidence of English Language proficiency.

The minimum English Language requirement for this course is either:

• GCSE/iGCSE English Language gradeC/4 or;
• IELTS 7.0 overall with no less than 6.5 in any one component or;
• An acceptable equivalent qualification.

Please note that if you hold English as a second language iGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications or achieve a higher grade in your iGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the academic School for clarification.

The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that every student from outside the UK and the EU must show evidence of a minimum level of English Language in order to be granted a UK visa (Tier 4 visa) to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level. This level is often referred to as the 'B2 level'.

Additionally, our individual Schools may ask for specific English Language proficiency levels that are necessary for their academic programmes. In most cases these requirements are likely to be higher than the B2 level.

Further information about our English Language policy, including a list of some of the English Language qualifications we accept, can be found on our English Language requirements page.

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