BA Languages and Cultures and History of Art

Students on the combined degree will be introduced to the cultures and societies of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia, through the study of languages, film, literature and cultural studies.

This joint degree can be combined with a number of disciplines at SOAS, including Linguistics, History, Anthropology, Development Studies, Music and Politics or International Relations. In the first year, students are equipped with a broader understanding of these regions in order to gain a vital comparative perspective.

Language is crucial to the understanding of culture and therefore all students will be required to choose from a range of languages in their first year of study. We encourage you to further develop your language skills as the degree progresses. You will have the option to spend a year abroad to gain cultural and linguistic fluency in languages including Swahili, Turkish, Hebrew, Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Indonesian and Vietnamese.

You will have the opportunity to explore particular regional interests through language study, selected optional modules and in your course work throughout the degree, culminating in the final year Study Project where you will draw on skills gained over the course of the degree to produce your own original research.

Key critical thinking, project management and study skills are built into the programme to ensure that students graduate with a range of transferable skills ensuring they are prepared for a range of careers.

Why study Languages and Cultures (Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia) Combined Honours at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 1st in London in the Complete University Guide 2021 for Middle Eastern and African Studies, and 6th in the UK.
• Ranked 8th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2021 for South Asian Studies.
• We are ranked 12th in the UK for Modern Languages (QS World University Rankings 2023)
• Modern Languages and Linguistics at SOAS has been ranked 10th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

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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