The MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies provides exceptional opportunities for studying this diverse and fascinating area at the postgraduate level through a variety of disciplinary approaches. The main emphasis of the programme is on the modern period through the modules in history, geography, politics, economics and anthropology. Some exposure is provided, however, to the pre-modern culture and society of the area through modules in religious studies, Islamic art and archaeology, and history. Modules based on Arabic are offered for those with an adequate knowledge of the language, while modules in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Turkish are available for those who wish to acquire or develop skills in these languages.

If you are interested in taking the MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies with an intensive language please visit: 

• MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies and Intensive Language
• MA ... and Intensive Language (Arabic)

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Students take 180 credits, 60 of which are a dissertation and a 120 from taught modules. 

As part of the application process, all students have to select and be admitted into a so-called ‘Major’ module, in relation to which they complete a 10,000-word dissertation. Please note that Major modules will have their own academic pre-requisites and acceptance will require approval. All students accepted into the programme will be asked to indicate their Major preferences from the List of modules available as Majors for the programme in good time so that they can be admitted into a Major before enrolment in September.

Normally, the convenor of the Major module will be the supervisor of the dissertation, unless the department offering the Major module has separate arrangements about the assigning of dissertation supervisors. Please note that most Major modules are 30 credits, but there are some which are 15 credits. Please also note that some modules can only be taken as a major and some, including language modules, only as a minor.

Of the taught modules, besides the Major course into which they have been accepted (30 or 15 credits), students select 60 or 75 credits from the list of minors (including 30 credits of language courses) and the final 30 credits may be chosen either from a)the list of minor modules (including another language module), or b)any approved open options modules available from other departments and schools at SOAS.

As the emphasis in the Regional Studies programmes is on interdisciplinary study, students are required to select their modules from a minimum of three different disciplines, and a maximum of 60 credits may be taken in any one discipline.

Some disciplines such as politics, economics or social anthropology require an appropriate qualification (such as all or part of a first degree) if any of their courses are to be taken as the major subject.

Students who intend to register for the MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies program, but choose 3 options also available in the MA Israeli Studies program will be required to apply for MA Israeli Studies.

Programme Specification

• MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies Programme Specification (pdf; 219kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

Contact Hours

One-year Masters programmes consist of 180 credits. 120 credits are taught in modules of 30 credits (taught over 20 weeks) or 15 credits (taught over 10 weeks); the dissertation makes up the remaining 60 units. 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 and revising for examinations. 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. 

There are ten weeks of teaching and a Reading Week in each of Term 1 and 2, and two weeks of revision teaching in Term 3, the rest of which is dedicated to exams. 15-credit modules are taught over ten weeks in either Term 1 or Term 2.

More information is on the page for each module.

Part-Time Students

Part-time students divide their workload of the required modules evenly between the number of years of part-time study, with the dissertation module taken in the last year of study. It is also best practice to take the Major module in the last year of study. However, different arrangements are possible with the approval of the convenor of the Major module.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

• How to assess data and evidence critically from manuscripts and digital sources, solve problems of conflicting sources and conflicting interpretations, locate materials, use research-sources (particularly research-library catalogues) and other relevant traditional sources.
• Subject-specific skills are an amalgam of the skills described for each of the three options chosen by candidates from the cross-department/faculty choices available in the relevant course-descriptors.

Intellectual (thinking) skills

• Students will learn to become precise and cautious in their assessment of evidence and should also come to understand through practice what documents can and cannot tell us.
• Students will learn to question interpretations, however authoritative, and reassess evidence for themselves.
  Communicate effectively in writing.

Subject-based practical skills

• Language-students will learn the chosen language at the appropriate level.
  Present seminar-papers.
• Listen and discuss ideas introduced during seminars.
• Practise research-techniques in a variety of specialised research-libraries and institutes.

Transferrable skills

• Writing good essays and dissertations.
• Structure and communicate ideas effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Study a variety of written and digital materials in libraries and research-institutes of a kind they will not have used as undergraduates.
• Present (non-assessed) material orally.

Linguistic skills (two-year Intensive Language pathways)

• To acquire/develop skills in a language spoken in the Near and Middle East to Effective Operational Proficiency level
• To demonstrate awareness of the conceptual and communicative underpinnings of that language and through this interlinguistic and intercultural understanding.
• Communicate in written and spoken medium in a relevant language.
• Engage with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, understand the role of different frames of reference.

A postgraduate degree in the Near and Middle Eastern studies from SOAS gives students competency in language skills and intercultural awareness and understanding. Familiarity with the region will have been developed through a combination of the study of language, literature, history, cinema, politics, economics or law.   Postgraduate students leave SOAS with the linguistic and cultural expertise needed to continue in the field of research along with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers in business, public or charity sectors including 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. 

Graduates in MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies have entered various professions after leaving SOAS. Some have been able to pursue careers directly related to their study area while others have made use of the general intellectual training provided by the advanced study of cultures for involvement in analysing and solving many of the problems contemporary societies now face. Among a variety of professions, career paths may include academia, charity work, community, government, NGOs, media and publishing and UN agencies.

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

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

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