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Department of the Languages and Cultures of South East Asia

BA Vietnamese and...

Duration: 3 years or 4 years (including year abroad). Students can also take Vietnamese throughout their degree and spend a year in Vietnam by taking the programme BA South East Asian Studies (including year abroad).

Overview

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Dana Healy

Dana Healy

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 but not essential.

Subjects Preferred: None

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

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full Time

Vietnam claims an unbroken history of at least 4000 years, though an earlier part is recorded in myth, legend and archaeological evidence rather than in, and has maintained intact its own linguistic and cultural identity as a nation to the present day despite a millennium of Chinese rule, although there is no written record of the language prior to the 11th century AD. With the ending of Chinese rule in the early part of the 10th century AD, Vietnamese culture developed independently. While literary forms based on Chinese models survived, and continued to be much practised and admired, indigenous forms were added, making the literature of Vietnam one of the richest in the region. 

In the 17th century, Christian missionaries devised a romanised script which eventually displaced the older character-based writing completely. With the arrival of French colonial rule in the 19th century, the Vietnamese encountered Western civilisation for the 1st time; an encounter which added yet another dimension to Vietnamese civilisation and literature. The wars which ravaged Vietnam after 1940 produced an immense wealth of prose, poetry and song, as yet undiscovered by the outside world. 

The breadth of expertise in the field of Asian Studies is reflected in the score of 5 achieved by the department in the 2001 government assessment of research in all British universities. SOAS has the highest percentage of research-active academics in the field of Asian Studies of any British university. The range of research interests, expertise and resources in SOAS, not only in Vietnamese and South East Asian Studies, but also with regard to the languages and literatures of other regions, religious studies, anthropology, history, art and archaeology is unique in UK institutions and this gives you an unparalleled choice in choosing a second subject of study.

Combinations

May be combined with

Development Studies    TLJ9 BA/DVSSEA
Economics    TLJC BA/ECSEA
Geography**    TLJR BA/GESEA
History    VTCJ BA/HSEA
History of Art/Archaeology    VTJ3 BA/HAASEAS
Law    TMJC BA/LWSEA
Linguistics    TQJD BA/LGSEA
Music    WTHH BA/MSSEA
Politics    TLH2 BA/POLSEA
Social Anthropology    TLHP BA/SASEA
Study of Religions    VTPJ BA/SEASR
**    Taught at King's College, London
***    Taught at Birkbeck College, London

Students wishing to combine this subject with Management Studies should contact the Head of Department or Undergraduate Tutor for information.  See Department Staff page for contact details.

Structure

The course may be studied as a three or four year degree programme, with the option of a year abroad in Vietnam. 4 units must be taken each year.
Year 1: 3 & 4 Year Degree
Core Course

This course must be passed in order to proceed to the following year of study.

Compulsory Courses
Other Subject

The remaining units are taken in the other subject or as open options depending on the requirements of the other subject.

Year 2: 3 & 4 Year Degree
Core Course

This course must be passed in order to proceed to the following year of study.

Compulsory Course

One of these courses will be compulsory. These courses run in alternate years.

Optional Course

Choose an approved half-unit course from List A or B.

Other Subject

The remaining units are taken in the other subject or as open options depending on the requirements of the other subject.

Year 3: 3 Year Degree
Core Course
Compulsory Course (1unit)

Choose one of the courses below. If the half-unit Extended Essay is chosen, a further approved half-unit is required.

Other Subject

The remaining units are taken in the other subject or as open options depending on the requirements of the other subject.

Year 3: 4 Year Degree

Students spend their 3rd year abroad in Vietnam before returning to SOAS to sit examinations in the courses below.

Year 4: 4 Year Degree
Core Course
Optional Course

Students may choose to do the following if they wish.

Other Subject

The remaining units are taken in the other subject or as open options depending on the requirements of the other subject.

List A - Non-Language courses convened within SEA Department - all level 5/6
List B - Other SEA-related courses - all level 5/6

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

SOAS students following the BA in Vietnamese and another subject (4 year syllabus) spend the third year in Vietnam.

Teaching & Learning

Language teaching is mostly in small tutorial groups; tapes and language laboratory facilities are available for formal teaching and self-study. Non-language units are taught by lecture and seminar. Students are assessed by a combination of written examination (and oral for language units) and coursework, including essays and translations.

Pre Entry Reading

  • D. Healy Studies on Vietnamese language and literature in South East Asian languages and literatures, edited by E. Ulrich Kratz. London:Tauris, 1996
  • Nguyen Du The tale of Kieu (translated and annotated by Huynh Sanh Thong) Yale UP, 1983
  • N. Jamieson Understanding Vietnam Berkeley 1993
  • Huynh Sanh Thong The heritage of Vietnamese Poetry Yale UP, 1979

Destinations

As a graduate who specialised in Vietnamese, 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 Vietnamese 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 love being on this programme because we have excellent staff who make it possible for the students to pursue exactly their own interests in South East Asia

Patrick Tibke