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Tibetan Studies at SOAS

BA Tibetan and ...

Duration: Tibetan can be taken as a three year or four year two-subject degree, the latter includes an year abroad at Tibet University in Lhasa.

Overview

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Andrew Lo

Andrew H-B Lo

Convenor

2013 Entry Requirements

  • A Levels: ABB
  • A Level Language preferred
  • IB: 34 (5/5/5)
  • BTEC: DDM
  • Access to HE: Minimum of 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction
  • Scottish Highers: AABBB
  • Scottish Advanced Highers: ABB
  • Irish LC: 320 points from 5 Higher level subjects at grade C1 or above
  • Advanced Placement: 4 4 4 (Two semesters - UCAS Group A) plus US HSGD with GPA 3.0
  • Euro Bacc: 80%
  • French Bacc: 14/20
  • German Abitur: 2.0
  • Italy DES: 80/100
  • Austria Mat: 2.0
  • Polish Mat: 75%

Minimum Entry Requirements: No prior knowledge of the language is required.

Subjects Preferred: A foreign language at A level, or equivalent, is preferred

Interview Policy: Candidates with ‘non-standard’ qualifications usually invited

Beginning from September 2006, SOAS is now offering a BA in Tibetan. This is a three or four year course, with the latter option including a year abroad at Tibet University in Lhasa.

SOAS is one of the few higher education institutions to offer an undergraduate degree in Tibetan, and the program is unique in that one can combine Tibetan with the Study of Religions, Social Anthropology, History of Art/ Archaeology or Development Studies. The BA Tibetan is only available as a two-subject degree. The programme can be taken over either 3 years or 4 (including a year at Tibet University in Lhasa). All students on the course are required to obtain an elementary knowledge of both modern and classical Tibetan. In later years they can choose to focus exclusively on either the modern or the classical language and culture.

Combinations

May be combined with
  • Chinese (T101 BA/ChinTib)
  • Development Studies (LTXH BA/DVSTI)
  • Economics (LT13 BA/ET)
  • Geography (LFT1 BA/GT)
  • History (VT23 BA/HT)
  • History of Art/Archaeology (VT3J BA/HAAT)
  • Linguistics (QT13 BA/LT)
  • Social Anthropology (LTPJ BA/SAT)
  • Study of Religions (V6T3 BA/TISR)

Structure

Learn a language as part of this programme

Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.

There is a 3 and 4 year option for this degree. The 4 year option includes a year abroad.

First Year (in 3 and 4 year option)
Core Course

Core courses must be passed in order to progress to the following year of study

2 Other Units

Depending on the requirements of your degree.

Second Year (in 3 and 4 year option)
Core Course

Core courses must be passed in order to progress to the following year of study

Core Language Course

Students take one unit of Tibetan from List A.

2 Other Units

Depending on the requirements of your degree.

Third Year (in 3 year option)
1 Optional Unit

Choose one unit from List A or B.

1 Optional Unit

You may choose one unit from List B depending on the requirements of your degree.

2 Other Units

Depending on the requirements of your degree.

Third Year (in 4 year option)

Year three is spent abroad subject to student demand.

Fourth Year
1 Optional Unit

Choose one unit from List A or B.

1 Optional Unit

You may choose one unit from List B depending on the requirements of your degree.

2 Other Units

Depending on the requirements of your degree.

List A
List B

Before selecting a course, student's must first check that the course is at the correct level. They must also ensure that they meet any pre-requisites.

Programme Specification

Teaching & Learning

Year abroad

A year at Tibet University in Lhasa is included in the four-year course.

Destinations

As a graduate who specialised in China and Inner Asia, you will have gained competency in language skills and intercultural awareness and understanding. Familiarity with the region will have been developed through a study of language in combination with literature, development studies, economics, geography, history, history of art and archaeology, law, linguistics, music, politics, social anthropology or religion.

Graduates leave SOAS not only with linguistic and cultural expertise, but also with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector. These include written and oral communication skills, attention to detail,analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources.

Choosing to study a joint degree programme will increase the breadth of your knowledge, and will develop additional skills with which to further your studies of Tibet, or to make comparative study with other areas. Tibetan may be combined with a huge range of other disciplines.  For more information on the extra skills
you will gain from your second subject, please see the relevant departmental page.

A large number of our graduates find work in which they are able to use their language skills, either in Britain or in East Asia. Recent graduates are currently located in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, as well as in various countries of Europe. They work in management research, medicine, English teaching, import/export, stockbroking, large trading companies, libraries, television and newspaper journalism, international law, management consultancy, fashion, film production, art galleries and museums, and merchant banking. Some of them have gone on to do higher degrees and have found or are aiming to end up in academic jobs.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website.

How to apply

How to apply
Scholarships

For further information visit the Scholarships section

Undergraduate Research Awards

Application Deadline: 2013-04-26 00:00

A Student's Perspective

When I heard about SOAS I immediately knew it was the school for me. An institution like SOAS is the ideal platform for students who want to learn a language and gain insight into a culture. It is also a leading school in Tibetan studies.

Beatriz Cifuentes