Introduction

This programme is an unrivalled opportunity to study the arts of China, Korea and Japan. Students consider a wide range of East Asian arts, from Chinese archaeology to Japanese prints, Korean installation works to Buddhist monuments, exploring their specificity and the links between them, in historical and contemporary periods. In many parts of East Asia archaeological evidence is key to understanding early societies. The programme therefore relates excavated materials to the history of art.

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. They can also select from modules in other departments, taking advantage of SOAS’s unrivalled expertise in the languages, history, religions and cultures of East Asia.

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.

This MA can also be pursued over a two-year period combined with intensive language study in Japanese or Korean.

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September intake only

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Introducing modules in Chinese Ceramics

Dr Stacey Pierson is Senior Lecturer in Chinese Ceramics in the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology.  She is convenor of the modules Ceramics in Chinese Culture: 10th-18th Centuries and Chinese Porcelain: Trade, Transfer and Reception, which can be studied on the MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia. 

How did you become interested in Chinese ceramics?

As an undergraduate studying Art History and Biochemistry, I was introduced to the making of ceramics during an elective course and realized that I could combine my knowledge of art and science in this one subject area.  I then visited the Percival David Collection in London and discovered that the finest ceramics were Chinese and so were all the glazes I prepared in my undergraduate class which was a revelation.

What does the module Ceramics in Chinese Culture involve?

This course examines Chinese ceramics made from the 10th to the 18th century and is based on the world-famous Percival David Collection in the British Museum.

What kind of students will the module appeal to? 

Anyone with an interest in ceramics and Chinese decorative art in general.  Students who take this course come from a wide range of backgrounds but most have an interest in developing their connoisseurship knowledge.

What facilities are available?

The course is taught both in class and in the Percival David Gallery at the British Museum. A ceramics-handling collection, which includes sherds, is also used for teaching.

What is special about the course at SOAS?

This course is unique and a version of it has been taught at SOAS since the Percival David Foundation museum opened at SOAS in the 1950s.  No other course in the world is based on this famous collection and very few universities teach the subject of Chinese ceramics as part of an MA degree in History of Art.

What do students do after graduating?

Many students have gone on to become auction house specialists, some have become curators in museums or for private collections and others have become academics or researchers. 

Can you recommend a good book to read on Chinese ceramics?

My book published by the V&A is a good introduction: Stacey Pierson, Chinese Ceramics: a Design History, London, 2009.

What is the most important piece of advice you’d give to a student considering a career in Chinese ceramics?

Learn how to make ceramics and learn the language.  Chinese ceramics can be appreciated without either of these skills but true understanding can only be achieved with them.

Occasionally the availability of optional modules changes as a result of staffing and other circumstances. Students who had signed up for such modules will be notified as soon as possible and given the opportunity to choose from available alternatives.

Students must complete 180 credits in total. 120 credits must be from MA taught modules and 60 credits are from the compulsory Dissertation.

Dissertation

Taught Component

Guided Options

Students choose:

• 15 credits from List A: China
• 15 credits from List B: Japan and Korea
• 15 credits from List C: Trans-regional
• 15 credits from List A or List B or List C
• 15 credits from List D: Other Options in History of Art & Archaeology
• 45 credits from List D OR List of Options from other Departments listed below

List of modules (subject to availability)

List A: China

List B: Japan and Korea

List C: Transregional

List D: Other Options in History of Art & Archaeology

Options in Other Departments

Anthropology

History

Music

Study of Religions

China and Asia

Japan and Korea

Programme Specification

• MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia Programme Specification 2020/21 (pdf; 179kb)

Important notice

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, assessment is primarily by course work and a range of assessment methods are employed. These usually consist of short essays, reports, presentations, annotated bibliographies, journal entries or a combination thereof. Some modules will also be assessed by unseen examination in the form of a slide test. For details on how modules are assessed, consult the individual module page on the SOAS website. Additionally, for each HAA degree pathway, 60 credits (of 180) are assigned to a dissertation which consists of three assessed components: one 300-word summary of the research project (worth 5%), one 700-word annotated bibliography (worth 9%) and a dissertation of 9,000-10,000 words (worth 86%).

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 3 tuition fee.

Fees for 2021/22 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Fees go up each year, therefore, your tuition fee in your second & subsequent years of study will be higher. Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.

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