SOAS University of London

MA South East and Pacific Asian Studies

Students take 180 credits, 60 credits from a dissertation and 120 credits from taught modules.

A maximum of 60 credits can be taken from one discipline and a minimum of three disciplines must be covered.

All students in this programme are required to take a Southeast Asian language as one of their modules. For students opting to take two language acquisition modules, only one of these can be at an introductory level.

Some disciplines such as politics, economics or social anthropology require an appropriate qualification (such as part of a first degree) if any of their modules are to be taken as the major subject.

Core

• Dissertation in South East and Pacific Asian Studies

Compulsory Language Module

• Chinese 1 A (PG)
• Chinese 1 B (PG)
• Japanese 1A (PG)
• Japanese 1 B (PG)
• Korean 1 A (PG)
• Korean 1 B (PG)
• Indonesian Language 1 A (PG)
• Indonesian Language 1 B (PG)
• Vietnamese Language 1 A (PG)
• Vietnamese Language 1 B (PG)
• Burmese Language 1 A (PG)
• Burmese Language 1 B (PG)
• Thai Language 1 A (PG)
• Thai Language 1 B (PG)

Compulsory

• Remapping Area Studies in Asia, Africa and the Middle East

Guided options List A

A minimum of 30 and a maximum of 45 credits may be selected from List A.

• Language, Society and Communication (Masters)
• War, Revolution and Independence in South East Asia Literatures in Translation (Masters)
• Genders and Sexualities in South East Asian Film

Guided options List B

A minimum of 30 and a maximum of 60 credits may be selected from List B.

• 750B Ethnographic Locations: East Asia
• Art and Visual Culture of Modern and Contemporary China
• The Making of Contemporary Korean Art
• China and the Silk Road: Art and Archaeology
• Culture and Society of Taiwan (PG)
• Economic development in the Asia Pacific region
• Nationhood and Competing Identities in Modern China
• Gender and Empire in Early Modern China
• Law and Society in Southeast Asia
• Politics of Inequality in Northeast Asia: Japan, Korea and Taiwan

Teaching and Learning

One-year Masters programmes consist of 180 credits. 120 credits are taught in modules of 30 credits (taught over 20 weeks) or 15 credits (taught over 10 weeks); the dissertation makes up the remaining 60 units. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which are optional.

Why study South East and Pacific Asian Studies at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 1st in London and 9th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2023 for Asian Studies.
• Top 10th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2023 for African and Middle Eastern Studies
• Modern Languages and Linguistics at SOAS has been ranked 10th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
• 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
• SOAS is a specialist in the studies of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia
• Access comprehensive cross-regional expertise and gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of these regions in an increasingly globalised world
• You will be eligible to apply for internships, available to students starting 2023/24

Knowledge

• How to locate and evaluate data from a variety of sources.
• Knowledge of aspects of the region, such as its history, politics, economics, arts, religions, etc.
• Subject-specific skills, such as an awareness of current critical thinking in a specific field and the acquisition of language skills.

Intellectual (Thinking) Skills

• Development of precision and caution in assessing evidence.
• Development of critical awareness and independence of thought.
• Sensitivity to the existence of non-Eurocentric views and an awareness of the limitations of purely Eurocentric interpretations.
• Awareness of the value of a Southeast Asian language in understanding the culture of a specific country within the region.

Subject-Based Practical Skills

• Development of written communication skills.
• Development of oral communication skills.
• Development of research skills.
• Development of language skills.

Transferrable Skills

• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to access and assess information from both traditional and electronic sources.
• Ability to work to deadlines.
• Ability to interact with native speakers of the language at an appropriate level.

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

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. 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.