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Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East

BA ... and Georgian (minor)

Programme Code: As major subject Duration: 3 or 4 years, depending on combination

Overview

Featured events

George Hewitt

B George Hewitt

Convenor

2013 Entry Requirements

  • A Levels: AAB
  • A Level language preferred
  • IB: 36 (6/6/6)
  • BTEC: DDM
  • Access to HE: Minimum of 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction
  • Scottish Highers: AAABB
  • Scottish Advanced Highers: AAB
  • Irish LC: 340 points from 5 Higher level subjects at grade C1 or above
  • Advanced Placement: 4 4 5 (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: Languages at SOAS are taught ab initio, and no prior knowledge is required. A foreign language at A-level or equivalent is preferred.

Subjects Preferred: A good pass in a foreign language at A-level, or equivalent, is preferred

Interview Policy: Candidates with "non-standard" qualifications are usually invited for interview

Start of programme: September annually

Who is this programme for?: Georgian may only be studied as a minor element with other major subjects.

The Caucasus is one of the most complex ethno-linguistic regions in any part of the world, the indigenous languages there alone totalling almost forty. The Caucasian languages are traditionally divided into three families: South Caucasian (Kartvelian), North-West Caucasian and North-East Caucasian (incorporating Nakh and Daghestanian). 

The four South Caucasian languages (Georgian, Mingrelian, Laz and Svan) are certainly unrelated to their northern neighbours and, as far as we can tell, to any other known language. Only Georgian from the Caucasian families has a history of writing ante-dating the nineteenth century. In fact, the quite unique Georgian script (and there have been three variants over the centuries) seems to have been devised at the end of the fourth century AD, giving us some fifteen centuries of literary tradition.

Email: gh2@soas.ac.uk

Combinations

May be combined with
  • Arabic +,
  • Development Studies,
  • Economics,
  • Geography **,
  • Hebrew +,
  • History,
  • History of Art/Archaeology,
  • Law,
  • Linguistics,
  • Music,
  • Persian,
  • Politics,
  • Social Anthropology,
  • Study of Religions,
  • Turkish +

+ 4-year degree with (compulsory) one year spent abroad
** Taught at King’s College London

Structure

There are 4 Georgian-related course units available, the last 2 being taken in the final year after the student has completed the full modern Georgian language course in Years 1 and 2.

Year 1
Compulsory Course
Other Course

Students need to take 3 units from the major subject

Year 2
Compulsory Course
Other Course

3 units in the major subject OR 2 units in the major subject and 1 open option (i.e. a course in a subject or language other than those named in the student’s chosen degree title).

Year 3
Compulsory Courses

Students not wishing to take Old Georgian or Abkhaz may substitute an appropriate Russian course (at SSEES/UCL) or a Russian course combined with an Independent Study Project, which allows for the pursuit of a private interest in the Caucasus under guided reading.

Other Courses

2 units in the major subject. Or 1 unit in the major subject and either; 1 open option or an Independent Study Project (ISP: 10,000-word essay on an approved topic).

Programme Specification

Teaching & Learning

Year abroad

In some combinations only.

Destinations

As a graduate who specialised in Georgian, 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 the region, or to make comparative study with other areas. The study of Georgian 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.

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

I attended as many SOAS events as possible because it is the best way to meet non-study abroad students and interact with the community

Ranya Saadawi, Columbia University