Please note this programme is not accepting applications for 2019/20

Prospective students may be interested in our BA Persian and ... combined degree programmes.

The four-year single subject Persian degree programme at SOAS not only offers the students the opportunity to study the Persian language in-depth and intensively but also to focus on the literature and culture of a vast geographic area extending beyond the borders of modern Iran and into Central Asia and the Caucuses. SOAS is one of only a handful of British universities that offers the comprehensive study of modern and classical Persian language and literature at full degree level. Furthermore, the introduction of the year abroad in Iran will enable the students to become fluent in the formal and learned as well as the modern Persian vernacular, and to become linguistically equipped for a deeper study of the subject when they return to SOAS. The presence of expertise in Iranian studies related disciplines at almost every other academic department at SOAS, as well as a vibrant an active Centre for Iranian Studies further enhances this programme.

Programme Code: T660 BA/P

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

In Year 1, students begin the intensive study of modern Persian language (known to native Iranian speakers as Farsi) as well as a module that surveys the literature of the Near & Middle East. Depending on their interest the students choose one further module related to the study of Iran or the Middle East offered by other departments. (Lists B & C programme website).

Year 2 will be spent in Iran under the compulsory Year Abroad Programme, currently in partnership with the Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, where they will continue to study Persian intensively, as well as taking advantage of the many comparative literature and art history modules open to them.

In Year 3, back at SOAS, students will take a compulsory advanced Persian language module and a literature module and either a module related to Iranian or Persian studies, or an open option.

In Year 4 students continue to consolidate their Persian proficiency by taking higher level Persian language modules, a literature module, and an Independent Study Project in Persian. They may select another Persian language use option or a further module from the range of options that would complement their academic profile or an open option in another department.

Programme Specification

• BA Persian Programme Specification 2018/19 (pdf; 184kb)

Important notice

Year abroad

SOAS Persian Language Year Abroad

Students will spend the second year of their BA Persian in Iran under the compulsory Year Abroad Programme, currently in partnership with the Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, where they will continue to study Persian intensively, as well as taking advantage of the many comparative literature and art history courses open to them.

(Full name of the institute: Ferdowsi Centre for Teaching Persian to Non-Persian Speakers, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad (http://ctpl.um.ac.ir/index.php/en/)

Teaching & Learning

Contact Hours

All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, taught in modules of 30 credits (taught over 20 weeks) or 15 credits (taught over 10 weeks). 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 (see Approaches to teaching and learning at SOAS). 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.

In the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, undergraduate modules take various forms. Modules may be taught through 1 or 2 hours of lectures a week, and some may have an additional 1-2 hours of weekly seminars. Languages classes may be 4-5 hours per week in the first and second year, typically less at higher levels.

More information is on the page for each module.

Knowledge

• Advanced Knowledge of written and spoken Persian and another Language if applicable.
• A coherent, in-depth and detailed knowledge of Persian culture in its historical and contemporary context.
• An in-depth knowledge and understanding of history, politics, societies and traditions of the region.
• Intercultural awareness and understanding.
• Key methods and concepts of linguistic, literary and cultural analysis.

Intellectual (thinking) skills

• Ability to identify, describe and analyse problems and devise and sustain appropriate strategies for their resolution.
• Communicate information, ideas and arguments cogently and coherently both orally and in writing with due regard for the target audience.
• Oral and written application of linguistic and literary concepts and methods of inquiry.
• Gather, process and evaluate information, critically and from a non-Eurocentric perspective
• Ability to structure and manage independent learning and to make use of scholarly and other primary sources related to Iran, Persian and the wider Persianate world.
• Appreciate the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge.

Subject-based practical skills

• Gather, sift, process and evaluate information from a variety of print, audio-visual and electronic sources.
• Communicate orally and in writing in Persian, fluently, effectively and appropriately with grammatical accuracy and idiomatic knowledge with native and other competent speakers.
• Read and understand modern Persian to an advanced level of proficiency.
• Contextualize and comment satisfactorily on Persian texts from a variety of sources from medieval to modern print and digital media.
• Demonstrate a good level of knowledge and understanding of the structures, registers and varieties of Persian.
• Demonstrate a broad knowledge and, using appropriate methodologies, a critical understanding of the culture, politics, history, religion and society of Iran and other Persian speaking countries.
• Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge and useful understanding of the linguistic principles required to analyse Persian.
• Plan, undertake and produce a bibliographically based piece of research on a topic within the broader spectrum of Persian language, literature or culture if the option of an ISP is selected.
• Adapt to diverse situations, customs and traditions by living and studying in Iran.

Transferable skills

The programme will encourage and equip students to:

• Gather, process and evaluate information efficiently from a variety of paper,
  audio-visual and digital sources.
• Structure and communicate ideas effectively and with clarity, both orally and in writing.
• Use IT effectively both as a means of communication and as an aid to learning.
• Manage time and work to deadlines.
• Work independently.
• Be self-reliant, confident and make judgments on complex issues.
• Assess the relevance and importance of others’ ideas and develop an understanding of relativity of cultures and traditional attitudes.
• Participate constructively in groups.

As a graduate who specialised in Persian, you will have gained competency in language skills and intercultural awareness and understanding. Familiarity with the region will have been developed through a study of language in combination with literature, development studies, economics, geography, history, history of art and archaeology, law, linguistics, music, politics, social anthropology or religion.

Graduates leave SOAS not only with linguistic and cultural expertise, but also with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector. These include written and oral communication skills, attention to detail, analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources. Some recent students have found employment in governmental institutions in Britain and elsewhere, others in non-governmental organisations, for instance, the Red Cross. Some have continued in the academic world; others have entered teaching or other professions.

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