Student destinations

Each year our students apply for undergraduate study through UCAS and receive offers from a range of universities, both in London and further afield. Last year our students received offers from over 20 different universities and 6 in the top 10, according to the Times Higher Education university Ranking 2023. 

Our students progress to a range of social science, arts and humanities and business/finance-related programmes. Popular subject areas include Law, Politics and International Relations, Development Studies, Economics, Management, Accounting and Finance, Anthropology, History of Art and Media and Creative Industries. 

Over the last two years, our students have progressed to many different universities, with the majority staying within the University of London. Below are examples for our students’ recent undergraduate destinations: 

University of London 

SOAS University of London 

• BSc Accounting and Finance 
• BA East Asian Studies 
• BSc Economics 
• BA History 
• BA International Relations 
• BA International Relations and Law 
• BA Languages and Cultures and World Philosophies 
• LLB Law 
• BSc Management 
• BA Politics and Economics 
• BA Politics and Global Development 
• BA Social Anthropology 
• BA Social Anthropology and Japanese 

Courtauld Institute 

• BA History of Art 

Goldsmiths 

• BSc Management and Entrepreneurship 
• BA History of Art 

King’s College London 

BA War Studies and History 

BA Culture, Media and Creative Industries 

LSE, University of London 

• BSc Politics and International Relations 

Queen Mary, University of London 

• BA Modern Languages 

Outside University of London 

Bristol 

• BSc Sociology 

Lancaster 

• BSc Accounting and Finance 

University of the Arts 

• BSc Fashion Management 

Warwick 

• BSc Management 

Westminster 

• BA Business Management (Marketing) 

York 

• BSc Business and Management 

46 students completed the FDPS programme in June 2019 out of 50 starters and the final grades were excellent all round, with more than half achieving a Merit grade and 65% of students achieving a Merit or a Distinction.

As a result of this fine performance, the students’ destinations are impressive. 17 students out of the 43 who progressed to UK degrees took advantage of the guaranteed conditional offers for FDPS students to secure places at SOAS on 17 different Master’s programmes ranging from Finance to History of Art.

The most popular degrees at SOAS for FDPS students were the Media and Art related programmes offered by the School of Arts. SOAS’ unique global perspective on the media, digital cultures and creative industries makes these very popular with International Students.  Alongside these we offer a range of Art-related Master’s – general and regional, historical and contemporary -  as well as degrees in World Cinemas, Museum Studies and Music .

In total 60% of students could progress to the University of London, and over 90% stayed at SOAS or went on to UK top 50 universities. (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020)

The following is the full list of FDPS student destinations in 2019:

University of London

Goldsmiths

• MA Arts Administration & Cultural Policy
• MA World Theatres

King's College London      

• MSc Accounting, Accountability & Financial Management
• MA National Security Studies
• MA World History & Cultures

Royal Holloway

• MSc Accounting and Financial Management

SOAS

• MSc Development Studies
• MSc Finance
• MSc Finance and Financial Law
• MA Global Creative and Cultural Industries
• MA Global Digital Cultures
• MSc Global Energy and Climate Policy (deferred to 2020)
• MA Global Media and Postnational Communication
• MA History of Art & Architecture of the Islamic Middle East
• MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia
• MA Human Rights Law
• MSc International Management (China)
• MSc International Politics
• MA International Studies and Diplomacy
• LLM Master of Laws
• MA Social Anthropology of Development
• MA Taiwan Studies
• MSc Violence, Conflict and Development

UCL

• MSc International Public Policy
• MSc Project and Enterprise Management
• MA Publishing

Outside University of London

Bristol

• MSc Accounting, Finance and Management
• MSc Social and Cultural Theory

Imperial College London

• MSc Environmental Technology

Inchbald School of Design

• Dipl Interior Design

Leeds

• MA Marketing and Advertising

Loughborough

• MSc Marketing

Queen’s University Belfast

• MSc International Business

Reading

• MSc Accounting and Financial Management

Sheffield

• MSc East Asian Business

Southampton

• MSc Operational Research and Finance

Surrey

• MSc Business Analytics

Sussex

• MSc Corporate and Financial Risk Management

University of East Anglia

• MA Business Management
• MSc International Accounting and Financial Management
• LLM International Commercial and Business Law

Warwick

• MSc Programme and Project Management

Westminster

• MSc Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Enterprise Development

Many ELAS students take the programme as a period of study abroad from their home universities, others to develop their career and some to prepare for entry to the IFCELS foundation and pre-master’s programmes.  Some students use ELAS as a way of preparing for direct entry to degree programmes at British universities. Recent ELAS students (2015-19) went on to study the degree programmes below (selected):

SOAS

• MA History of Asian Art
• Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art
• MSc Development Studies
• MA International Journalisms
• MSc International Politics
• MSc International Studies and Diplomacy
• MSc International Business for Japan
• MA Iranian Studies
• MA Islamic Studies
• MSc Middle East Politics
• LLM Law
• MPhil / PhD – Ethnomusicology
• MPhil / PhD – Korean Studies
• MPhil / PhD – Islamic Studies
• Certificate in the Study of Religions
• Law – Associate Student
• ICC programme (undergraduate foundation)
• FDPS programme (pre-masters)

Other universities

Aston

• MSc Business and Management

Birkbeck

• Msc Climate Change

Cass Business School, City University of London

• MSc Management

Durham

• MSc Management (Finance)

East Anglia

• MA Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies

Hult Business School Boston

• MA International Business Management

Istanbul Bilgi University

• MA Marketing

Leeds

• MSc Management

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

• MSc Public Health

Queen Mary University of London

• MSc Marketing

Southampton

• MSc Accounting and Finance

The FDPS Pre-master’s Diploma is recognised by universities across the UK, and so students completing FDPS progress to postgraduate study at a range of different universities. Last year, students progressed to programmes at over 25 different universities. Over the last three years 75% of  students completing the programme were able to progress to top 30 universities, including SOAS, LSE, UCL, Imperial, Warwick, Durham, St Andrew’s, Edinburgh, and Bristol, and 60% went on to postgraduate study at a college of the University of London.

Progressing to masters study at SOAS

FDPS students are now guaranteed a conditional offer for all Master's programmes at SOAS. Click here to find a full list of postgraduate programmes, eligibility requirements and offer conditions.

Progressing to masters study at other universities

The majority of FDPS students progress to postgraduate study at universities other than SOAS and follow numerous different subjects ranging from Management and Finance, through Development Studies, International Relations and Law, to Media, Anthropology and Linguistics. Here are some examples of the programmes which FDPS students often study in different subject areas:

Business/Management

Development Studies

Economics

Education

Finance

Law

Media and Communication

History of Art

Anthropology/ Cultural Studies

Politics/ International Relations