MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia and Intensive Language

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Introduction

This two-year programme combines the strengths of the MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia with intensive language training in Japanese or Korean. Students study the arts of China, Korea and Japan, exploring a wide range of East Asian arts, from Chinese archaeology to Japanese prints, Korean installation works to Buddhist monuments, in historical and contemporary periods. Instruction in the language of their choice is provided by teachers in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. By the end of the programme, which includes a summer language school abroad, students have received sufficient instruction to reach near-proficiency in the language.

The Department of the History of Art and Archaeology contains some of the world’s leading experts in the art history and archaeology of East Asia, whose ground-breaking research informs and is informed by their teaching. Students benefit from the unparalleled knowledge and enthusiasm of staff. As members of the School of Arts, they profit from the insights of scholars and students working in other related fields, such as East Asian Music, Film and Media, as well as the expertise of specialist language teachers.

A Masters from the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology provides students with expertise in the History of Art and/or Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Our postgraduates progress to work in arts, culture and heritage roles, including in galleries, museums, archives, conservation, publishing and arts administration. The large portfolio of transferable skills they acquire enables them to forge careers in a range of other fields across the world. Our Masters programmes are also an excellent foundation for MPhil/PhD research.

Students must complete 255 credits of taught modules in addition to the compulsory dissertation (60 credits).

Year 1:

• Students take intensive language modules in Japanese or in Korean to the value of 60 credits.
• Students take 60 credits of East Asian History of Art and Archaeology modules available from the MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia
• During the summer, they participate in a summer school abroad (45 credits).

Year 2:

• In their second year, students take 30 credits of intensive language module/s in Japanese or in Korean.
• Students take 15 credits of East Asian History of Art and Archaeology modules.
• In addition up to 45 credits may be selected from the other MA modules in the department or from MA options offered by other SOAS departments . 
• The dissertation (60 credits) is written on East Asian History of Art and Archaeology and submitted in September of year 2.

This is the structure for 2018/19 applicants

Programme Specification

• MA Art and Archaeology of East Asia and Intensive Language Programme Specification 2017-18 - Part -time (pdf; 64kb)
• MA Art and Archaeology of East Asia and Intensive Language Programme Specification 2017-18 - Full time (pdf; 63kb)
• MA Art and Archaeology of East Asia and Intensive Language Programme Details 2017-18 (pdf; 134kb)

Disclaimer

Teaching & Learning

Contact Hours

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional. 

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

More information is on the page for each module.

Teaching

Teaching consists of a combination of lectures and seminars. Classes are normally between two and three hours per week for each course. Teaching methods include lectures with discussion, seminars (at which students present papers) and museum visits. Students at all levels are expected to take an active part in class presentations. A particularly important element is the training of the student's visual memory.

In addition to their studies on the MA programme, students at SOAS can participate in a wide range of research seminars, lectures and conferences that regularly take place in the School and in the University of London.

Assessment

For each of the taught modules, the student will be expected to submit two or three pieces of written work usually around 3,000 to 4,500 words – for a total of 9,000 words per module. The emphasis is on developing essay skills during the session in preparation for the dissertation. In some modules the assessment is 100% on written work. On other modules, assessed course work forms 75% of the student’s final grade and an additional 25% is determined by slide quizzes, projects or other forms of assessment. The 10,000 word dissertation is submitted in September of year 2.

Learning Resources

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.

Tuition Fees

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.

This is a Band 1 tuition fee.

Fees for 2018/19 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

A Masters from the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology provides students with expertise in the History of Art and/or Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Our postgraduates progress to work in arts, culture and heritage roles, including in galleries, museums, archives, conservation, publishing and arts administration. The large portfolio of transferable skills they acquire enables them to forge careers in a range of other fields across the world. Our Masters programmes are also an excellent foundation for MPhil/PhD research.

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• Asia House
• Bonhams
• British Museum
• Christie's Hong Kong
• Design Museum
• Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum
• Hong Kong Museum Of Art
• India Foundation For The Arts
• Museum of East Asian Art
• National Gallery National Museum of Singapore
• People Projects Culture & Change
• Schoeni Art Gallery
• Sotheby's
• Taiwan Embassy
• The Alliance for Global Education
• The British Embassy
• The Chester Beatty Library
• The National Museum Of Korea
• The Royal Collection

Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

• Manager of Communications
• Culture Programme Coordinator
• Research Assistant
• Social Anthropology Lecturer
• Specialist - Indian Art
• Architect
• Art Historian
• Development Specialist
• Archivist
• Gallery Director Innovation Programmes Learning Manager
• Creative Director
• Organisational Consultant
• Travel writer
• Art Collector
• Chinese Painting Specialist
• Professor of Silk Road History
• Rights and Reproductions Officer
• Public Education Coordinator
• Senior Curator of Photographs

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

• How to Apply
• Online Application
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts