SOAS University of London champions a different kind of arts education. The School of Arts is one of a few global centres offering an education art history, music, creative industries and digital media dedicated to the historical and contemporary worlds of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. What you’ll learn here at “The World’s University” is not only unique but also world-leading in how innovative and interdisciplinary it is.
“The School of Arts is a forum for innovative interdisciplinary research and teaching, and also a vibrant and diverse community of researchers and students.”
15th in the UK for Arts and Humanities (QS World University Rankings 2023)
6th in the UK for employability (QS World University Rankings 2023)
100% overall student satisfaction (NSS 2021)
Creative degrees for tomorrow’s arts leaders
Department of Music
If you want to study music from various perspectives – including ethnomusicology, anthropology, politics, and history, and engage with a wide range of Asian, African and transnational musical cultures – the Department of Music is the place to be.
All students are trained in research methods, critical theories, fieldwork and ethnographic writing, sound recording, podcasting, and presentation skills. Performance is a big part of programmes, which often include opportunities to master a range of musical traditions, such as traditional ensembles to contemporary collaborations, through the department’s acclaimed public concerts that attract worldwide audiences and performers.
The BA Music and… is a combined degree that offers a unique opportunity to study the musical traditions of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, alongside a language or another subject, such as Anthropology or Japanese.
For those who intend to pursue further study or other music-related fields, the MA Music offers a theoretical and practical grounding in ethnomusicology. You’ll advance your knowledge of how music plays a part in social development and carry out in-depth studies of global music styles.
Department of History of Art and Archaeology
The school’s central location in London provides an unmatched experience for those pursuing programmes in the Department of History of Art and Archaeology. Surrounded by museums, galleries and cultural centres, you’ll have the best base to witness the arts, archaeology, architecture and material cultures of Asia, Africa and the Middle East from ancient times to the present day. This being SOAS, you’ll learn to challenge traditional the prevailing paradigms of Western-centric art history, fostering alternative perspectives and opening up new vistas.
The department’s goal is to empower students to meet the challenges of, and make a difference in, our changing world. Much of this is done by taking you beyond the classroom and campus. There are internships which vary from year to year. Previous examples include research projects at the Rietberg Museum Zurich and the SOAS gallery allowing first-hand exposure to how these institutions protect cultural heritage as well as high-profile fellowships like the Venice Architectural Biennale.
If your interests lie within the visual arts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, the BA History of Art offers what you seek. You’ll receive foundational training in these regions, with an emphasis on visual analysis and cultural insights and access to SOAS’s renowned expertise across related disciplines.
The MA History of Art and Archaeology is a flexible study of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern art, with options to focus on specific regions or diverse themes. It features field trips, museum visits, and expert talks, covering topics from antiquity to contemporary art while challenging traditional boundaries between art history and archaeology of the non-Western world.
The MA Curating Cultures offers unrivalled opportunities to explore and develop practical curatorial skills in Asian and African arts. Your studies will be aligned with themes such as the histories and ideologies of curating, theories of collecting, object interpretation, and contemporary debates on postmodernism, post-colonialism, repatriation, decolonisation, and exhibition text writing.
Explore a wide range of East Asian arts and material culture with the MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia. Learn about a wide range of arts and material culture, from Chinese archaeology to Japanese prints, Korean installation works to Buddhist monuments.
The MA History of Art and Architecture of Islamic Middle East explores regions from Islamic Spain to Central Asia, covering diverse historical periods that continue to the present. You’ll immerse yourself in explorations of Islamic visual culture, regional arts, architecture, and trans-regional topics like cultural and artistic connections between the Islamic lands and Europe.
Centre for Creative Industries, Media and Screen Studies
The Centre for Creative Industries, Media and Screen Studies (CCIMSS) explores the dynamic relationships between cultural production, aesthetics, ethics, and cultural economies – with a focus on film and screen cultures. This is where you’ll get the world’s most profound understanding of the global reach of art, media, and culture and its impact and consequences, particularly in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and their diasporas.
Programmes here take an exciting approach that combines world-leading research with practical analysis of creative texts and media contexts. You’ll learn from and work with theorists, practitioners, and researchers, exploring cinema, social media, digital entrepreneurship cultural policy, and more.
Designed for students wishing to develop a critical and theoretically informed approach to the arts and the cultural industries, the BA Creative Arts and Cultural Industries programme fuses art historical, musical, film, and literary perspectives to explore the expressive arts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and their diasporas. You’ll hone practical skills in radio, curating, film festivals, and musical performance, whilst studying a wide range of thematic and theoretical issues.
The BA Digital Media, Culture and… is a new joint programme on contemporary digital media and culture. Through modules on artificial intelligence, social justice, misinformation and digital identity, you’ll adopt a global perspective on digital tools’ influence within communities, work, and politics. You’ll graduate with the knowledge to make a difference in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
If you seek to gain deeper knowledge about the intersection of culture and economy on a global scale, opt for the MA Creative and Cultural Industries. Merging theory and experience, the programme covers topics such as cultural values, art commodification, and sustainability while bolstering skills in podcasting, sound recording, and curating.
Full support for international students
They won’t be alone either – SOAS assists with UK visa processes through on-demand resources such as live webinars, on-demand resources, and virtual tours. Prospective students can connect directly with current students via platforms like Unibuddy and engage in discussions on forums like The Student Room.
Student support here carries far beyond just enrolment. You’ll work closely with respected programme leaders and educators, conducting hands-on research and projects that influence governments, industries and communities worldwide. The school has an exciting portfolio of degree programmes, all of which will prepare you for fulfilling careers in the arts, the creative economy, and other fields where a deep understanding of diverse cultures is highly valued.
Hear from SOAS Arts graduates
“At SOAS you are constantly confronted with the diversity of the globe. Professors specialise in regions and practices that you may never have encountered. This really shaped my entire personality – my favourite literature, my favourite music, visual art, and my understanding of world history and politics. It’s also shaped the type of people I befriend and the communities I belong to. SOAS gave me a unique global perspective, which I’ve carried with me throughout my adult life, and really enriched my experience of the world.”
– Natasha Natarajan, MA Creative and Cultural Industries
“SOAS provided an invaluable environment to practise and think critically about music across cultures. Its applied approach, with learning and performance opportunities across musical traditions, was empowering and deeply meaningful to engage with peers from around the world. My studies highlighted politics and power imbalances inherent in music-making, engaging critical and decolonial theories to consider tangible ways of encouraging creative agency.”
– Claudia Huang, MA Music
“SOAS’s diverse academic environment and culturally rich curriculum have broadened my perspective immensely. The diverse backgrounds of my classmates and the multidisciplinary approach of my programme have broadened my perspective on global heritage, identity, and representation. Every class discussion introduces new insights into how cultures communicate through objects, stories, and rituals. This experience has deepened my appreciation of cultural diversity and the complexities of representing these narratives in museums.”
– Subhadra Ramaswamy, MA Curating Cultures ‘22
