SOAS University of London

Facts and figures

10

UK Top 10 in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for Modern Languages

Alumni and student stories

• "Not only does SOAS have a great reputation for its Japanese department and Japanese library collection, but I also believe that for language students, there’s no better city to live and study in than London"

  Not only does SOAS have a great reputation for its Japanese department and Japanese library collection, but I also believe that for language students, there’s no better city to live and study in than London

• "SOAS is a unique institution not only through its degrees, but also through the diversity of people that you meet here. "

  SOAS is a unique institution not only through its degrees, but also through the diversity of people that you meet here. My department is more like a family, the teachers are warm and caring, and they know how to maintain our curiosity for learning new things.

• "The cultural diversity is something rare in the UK and what makes the university experience so much more than studying."

  It’s a melting pot of languages and cultures where your eyes open to new things you might have never heard about on a daily basis.

• "Here you’re not only intrigued by the lectures but also by the people around you."

  The best thing about my time here is that there has been a huge improvement in my language skills and I have become more aware of people from various backgrounds. 

• "Lots of students often bypass a chance to study in the UK because they assume it won’t be a culturally “exotic” experience... Think again!"

  Being a city girl, I thought life in London wouldn’t be too much of a culture shock but it actually was! London is very different from cities like New York or Tokyo. It really is one of a kind.

• "London is amazing. It is a big city, there is always something going on, always something interesting to do."

  London is amazing. It is a big city, there is always something going on, always something interesting to do. Also, you can move around easily and fast. It is a frenetic life, but it is just part of the fun. If you want you can also relax in a park. I particularly love parks as there are not many in my city. You can enjoy art, nature and everything else in the same city. I really think it is amazing!

• "London is really a city for young people and sometimes you get lost in the sea of possibilities that it offers... I enjoyed living in London, it was magical. "

  My advice would be: go for it! Especially if you are thinking about studying at SOAS because it is a great experience, not only for your CV but for yourself as well because [the] SOAS environment is really as great as the leaflets or the website tell you.

• "Everyone has an amazing story to tell and SOAS creates an open and engaging environment in which to hear from everyone."

  I really enjoyed the intimate atmosphere of SOAS and the chance to learn just as much from my fellow students as from my lecturers. I also really enjoyed how open and helpful the lecturers were, and was grateful to learn that they honestly cared about my progress in their course. I always felt supported during my time at SOAS.

Read more alumni and student stories

Our publications

• 'Teaching' and 'Learning' (Im)politeness

  Pizziconi, Barbara and Locher, Miriam, eds. (2015)

  Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

• Shunga: Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art

  Gerstle, Andrew and Clark, T. and Ishigami, A. and Yano, Akiko, eds. (2013)

  London: British Museum Press.

• Contemporary Sino-Japanese Relations on Screen, A History, 1989-2005

  Kirsch, Griseldis (2015)

  London: Bloomsbury. (SOAS Studies in Modern and Contemporary Japan)

• Speed Up Your Korean: Strategies to Avoid Common Errors

  Brown, Lucien and Yeon, Jaehoon (2016)

  Abingdon; New York: Routledge. (Speed Up Your Language Skills)

• Korean History in Maps: From Prehistory to the Twenty-First Century

  Shin, Michael (ed.) and Injae, Lee and Miller, Owen and Jinhoon, Park (2014)

  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• The Youth of Things: Life and Death in the Age of Kajii Motojiro

  Dodd, Stephen (2014)

  Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.