Department of Languages

The Department of Languages at SOAS University of London offers an exceptional range of African, Asian and Middle Eastern languages across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, many of which are taught at few, if any, other universities in the UK. 

You can study languages at the centre of your degree, alongside a discipline, or as open options within another programme. Evening, weekend and bespoke training is also available through the SOAS Language Centre.

Students on language degrees also have the opportunity to spend time at one of SOAS's many international partner institutions in a country or region where their language is spoken.

What is Languages at SOAS?

Languages at SOAS is the study of the languages of Africa, Asia and the Middle East: it spans communicative competence, translation, literature, and the historical and political contexts in which languages live and change.

At SOAS, language study opens doors to different cultures, traditions and ways of seeing the world. Students learn to engage directly with texts, oral traditions, and public discourse, rather than encountering them solely through translation, and learn to understand how language shapes knowledge, identity, and power. This linguistic grounding also deepens study across history, politics, economics, anthropology, and beyond.

Graduates go on to careers in diplomacy, journalism, translation, international organisations, and the creative sectors, with growing demand in language technology and natural language processing.