Overview and entry requirements

The MA Korean Studies and Intensive Language is a two-year full-time (or four-year part-time) programme. It is designed to provide Intensive Language training at different proficiency levels - depending on entry level - within a Masters programme in Korean Studies.

The MA Korean Studies and Intensive Language allows students to:

• cultivate or further develop a basic expertise in particular aspects of Korean Studies.
• choose modules that meet their own needs, with respect to their interest in Korea and future career plans.
• develop their abilities to synthesize information, to think critically, to manage a complex research project and to present their results in verbal and written form.
• achieve a high level of language proficiency.
• master transferable language and analytical skills in order to prepare for a variety of potential future professional or research careers.

See Japan and Korea Department

Why study Korean and Intensive Language at SOAS

• SOAS is ranked 1st in London in the Complete University Guide 2021 for Middle Eastern and African Studies, and 6th in the UK
• ranked 8th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2021 for South Asian Studies
• SOAS is specialist in the studies of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia
• access SOAS’s comprehensive cross-regional expertise and gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of these regions in an increasingly globalised world.

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

May be combined with:

MA Korean Studies can be combined with the following Intensive Language pathways:

• Japanese
• Korean

Structure

Students must take 315 credits in total, comprised of 255 taught credits (45 of which are taught abroad as part of a Summer School) and a 60-credit dissertation as outlined below.

In their first year, students on the two-year Intensive Language programmes take 60 credits of intensive language instruction and 60 credits in the discipline. During the summer, they participate in a Summer School abroad. In the second year, they take another 30 language credits as well as 60 credits in the discipline; they also complete their dissertation in the discipline. 

Please note that on all Area Studies degrees, including Korean Studies:

• a maximum of 60 credits can be taken in any one subject area
• a minimum of three subject areas must be covered.

Please see 'Programme structure' below to download the PDF pathways specifications of the four-year part-time version of the programme.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures has more information on the Intensive Language part of the programme.

Programme

Year 1 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Plus

Modules from the list below to the value of 45 credits.

Language Component

Students take 60 credits in the selected language.

Summer Abroad

Students participate in a Summer School abroad for the selected language.

Year 2 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Modules from the list below to the value of 60 credits.

Language Component

Students take 30 credits in the selected language.

Dissertation

List of modules (subject to availability)

Majors

Students must take 30 credits from the same discipline for this to be considered a major.

History

Literature

Politics

Art

Music

Minors ONLY

Language

Media

Programme Specification

• MA Korean Studies and Intensive Language Programme Specification 2018/19 (pdf; 167kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

The MA Korean Studies and Intensive Lnaguage programme allows students to develop in 4 key areas:

Knowlegde

• Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of Korea’s past and present, within the parameters of the modules and disciplines chosen, and on her connections to the wider East Asian region through the core module.
• Students will acquire an advanced understanding of the theoretical and methodological tools of the relevant disciplines.
• Students who choose to take language will improve their knowledge of and ability to use Korean in their everyday life and, depending on the level achieved, professional career.

Intellectual (thinking) skills

• Students will learn how to assess data and evidence critically from a variety of sources and how to resolve problems of conflicting sources and conflicting interpretations.
• Students will learn the strengths and disciplines of particular disciplinary and theoretical approaches, cultivating their ability to draw on a variety of such approaches.
• Students will learn how to design and manage an independent research project, formulating the problem to be addressed, identifying the data to be analyzed, and synthesizing the findings to present well-supported conclusions.

Subject-based practical skills

• Students will learn how to read critically, to participate effectively in seminar discussions, and to present their work in both oral and written form.
• More specific skills will depend on the particular modules taken.

Transferable skills

• Students will learn how to access and evaluate electronic and other data effectively and efficiently.
• Students will learn how to solve complex problems, for example concerning economic development, historical causation, literary interpretation, or political decision-making.
• Students will learn how to communicate effectively in a variety of settings and formats.

Through their language study, students will:

• acquire/develop skills in both written and spoken language.
• develop a practical knowledge of rules governing both oral and written linguistic usages and multiple norms regulating intercultural communication, analytical skills (problem solving, formal operations), critical skills and creativity.
• develop the ability to engage with people or texts from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, understanding the role of different linguistic or cultural frames of reference.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2021/22 entrants, per academic year (Band 3 tuition fee)

Please note that fees go up each year. Two-year full-time programmes have 2 years of full-time fees; the fee in the second year will be higher than the fee for the first year (the full time fee above is for the first year only).

For full details of undergraduate tuition fees, see our Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

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

• 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