SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Combinations

May be combined with

• African Studies, TQ51 BA/AFLG
• Arabic +, QT16 BA/ALG
• Bengali +, TQ41 BA/BeLing
• Burmese ++, QT1H BA/BULG
• Chinese +, QT11 BA/CHLG
• Development Studies, LQ93 BA/DVSLG
• Economics, LLQ13 BA/ECLG
• Geography **, LQ73 BA/GELG
• Georgian, QT19 BA/GHLG
• Hausa +, QTC5 BA/HALG
• Hebrew +, QQ14 BA/HELG
• Hindi +, QT1J BA/HNLG
• History, QV31 BA/HLG
• History of Art/Archaeology, VQ31 BA/HAALing
• Indonesian ++, QTCH BA/ILG
• Japanese +, QT12 BA/JLG
• Korean +, QTCJ BA/KOLG
• Law, MTDH BA/LWI
• Music, QW33 BA/LGMS
• Nepali +, QTD3 BA/LGNE
• Persian, QTD6 BA/LGP
• Politics, LQ23 BA/LGPOL
• Sanskrit, QQ19 BA/SLG
• Social Anthropology, LQ61 BA/LGSA
• South Asian Studies, TQH1 BA/LGSAS
• South East Asian Studies, TQJD BA/LGSEA
• Study of Religions, QV16 BA/LGSR
• Swahili +, QTD5 BA/LGSW
• Thai ++, TQ31 BA/LGTH
• Turkish +, QTC6 BA/LGTU
• Vietnamese ++ TQ3D BA/LGV
  + 4-year degree with (compulsory) one year spent abroad
  ++ 3 or 4-year degree with option of one year abroad
  ** Taught at King’s College London

Structure

In linguistics, the introductory courses introduce key concepts in semantics, syntax, phonology and phonetics, and lay the foundation for work in succeeding years when intermediate, advanced and more specialised optional courses are available. Among the introductory courses in linguistics, Introduction to Phonology and Introduction to Grammatical Structure are core courses (i.e. courses which students must satisfactorily complete and pass in the summer examinations before being permitted to proceed to the next year of their degree). Compulsory units are obligatory.

All BA students must take 4 course units per year. Over the course of the degree, single-subject degree students take a minimum of 9 units in linguistics and combined subject degree students take a minimum of 5 units in linguistics.

4 year Programme Structure with 1 unit of Linguistics in year 1

Students who are required to take 3 language units in their 1st year, take General Linguistics 152900069 as their 4th unit. This imbalance is redressed in the 3rd year (when the year abroad is in the 2nd year) or in the 2nd year (when the year abroad is in the 3rd year) where they will take 3 units in linguistics and only one in the language. Please see the structure set out in the Programme Specifications PDF at the bottom of this page for more detailed information.

3 or 4 year Programme Structure that allows for 2 units of Linguistics per year

Year 1

Core Courses

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

• Introduction to Grammatical Structure - 152900071 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• General Linguistics - 152900069 (1 Unit) - Full Year

Other Subject

Students take two units from their other subject.

Year 2

Core Courses

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

• Introduction to Phonology - 152900070 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• Meaning and Interpretation - 152900100 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

Compulsory Course

Choose a 0.5 unit course from List A.

Other Subject

Students take two units from their other subject.

Year 3 (or Year 4 for combined degrees with a year abroad)

Compulsory Courses

• Intermediate Phonology - 152900062 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Intermediate Syntax - 152900032 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1

Optional Course

Choose courses to the value of one unit from List A or B or an Open Option course.

List A (courses for year 2 or 3)

• Language, Society and Communication - 152900083 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Morphology - 152900036 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Psychology of Language - 152900082 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Phonetics - 152900094 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Topics in Lexical Semantics - 152900065 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Altaic Morpho-Phonology - 152900096 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Historical Linguistics - 152900037 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Linguistic Typology - 152900044 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Introduction to Arabic Linguistics - 152900095 (0.5 units Unit)
• The structure of Bantu languages - 155901257 (1 Unit) - Full Year
• The Structure of Japanese 1 - 155900747 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• The Structure of Japanese 2 - 155900748 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Extended Essay in Linguistics (A) - 152900097 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
• Extended Essay in Linguistics (B) - 152900098 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2

The following course is also available in year 1, available in year 3 only by permission of the Associate Dean Learning & Teaching

• Language in Africa - 155900867 (1 Unit) - Full Year

List B (courses for year 3 only)

• Issues in Semantics - 152900021 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Current Issues in Phonology - 152900041 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Advanced Syntax - 152900033 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Dynamic Syntax - 152900093 (0.5 Unit) - Term 2
• Topics in the Structure of Chinese - 152900066 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1 - Not Running 2012/2013
• Independent Study Project in Linguistics - 152900009 (1 Unit) - Full Year

Programme Specification

• BA Linguistics and ... Programme Specifications 2012/13 (pdf; 46kb)

Teaching & Learning

Year abroad

Teaching & Learning

Each unit generally involves a 2-hour lecture and a tutorial, a 1-hour small-group discussion class each week. The tutorial is intended for further discussion of points made in the lecture and for the development of linguistic problem-solving skills.

Assessment varies according to the nature of the unit. Introductory courses are assessed in the end of year exams in May/June. Other units may involve written examinations, practical tests, course work, essays or a combination of these. 

SOAS Library

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Destinations

SOAS BA Linguistics students gain the ability to engage in analytical thought, to carry out research-like work on unfamiliar data and to control and understand the use of language. 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.

Studying a combined honours degree gives students to blend a solid grounding in another discipline or subject area which enables them to place the knowledge they gain as part of their degree within a specific regional, cultural or disciplinary context. 

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

How to apply

How to apply

• How to Apply
• UCAS website
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts

Scholarships

For further information visit the Scholarships section