The Politics degree at SOAS is structured around four core subdisciplines, namely political theory, political sociology, political economy, and international relations. Students receive a thorough training in the theories and methods of these sub-disciplines, which are then applied to the analysis of real world political situations.

By studying Politics at SOAS, students will gain detailed knowledge and a thorough understanding of some of the most important power shifts and conflicts of ideas unfolding in the world today. They will also learn to critically engage with and explore the relevance of social science concepts for understanding contemporary geopolitics, regional politics of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as the ability to undertake analyses and comparisons of political developments in specific countries.

Teaching in the Department of Politics and International Studies combines an introduction to the discipline of politics as a comparative exercise together with awareness that comparisons must always respect the individuality of each country and population. This awareness is complemented by the work carried out in other departments of SOAS. A Politics degree at SOAS therefore gives our students a better opportunity than most to understand global politics since our courses cover the politics of three quarters of the globe. BA Politics may be taken as a single subject or two-subject degree.  A sampling of the courses we offer include Government and Politics of Asia, of China, of the Middle East, and of Africa, International Politics, Islam and Democracy, Politics of Development, Globalization and Global Governance, and Politics of Culture.

Key Information Set Data

The information for BA, BSc, or LLB programmes refer to data taken from the single subject degrees offered at SOAS; however, due to the unique nature of our programmes many subjects have a separate set of data when they are studied alongside another discipline.  In order to get a full picture of their chosen subject(s) applicants are advised to look at both sets of information where these occur.

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

May be combined with:

• African Studies, TL52 BA/POLAF
• Arabic+, LT26 BA/PLOA
• Chinese+, LT21 BA/POLCH
• Development Studies, LL92 BA/POLDVS
• Economics, LL12 BA/POLEC
• Hebrew+, LQ24 BA/POLHE
• History, LV21 BA/POLH
• International Relations
• Japanese, LT22 BA/POLJ
• Japanese Studies, TL22 BA/JSP
• Korean+, LTFL BA/POLKO
• Law, LM21 BA/POLLW
• Persian+, LTG6 BA/POLP ( + Compulsory Year Abroad which is split between 2 countries)
• Social Anthropology, LL62 BA/SAPOL
• South Asian Studies, TLHF BA/SASPOL
• South East Asian Studies, TLH2 BA/POLSEA
• Study of Religions, LV26 BA/SRPOL
• Turkish+, LTF6 BA/TUPOL

Key Information Set data

Click on a combined programme to load KIS data

This information describes the Politics component of a two-subject degree. Students taking Joint Honours with a language that involves three course units are required to take Introduction to Comparative Politics in their first year. These students are required to take Introduction to Political Theory OR Introduction to Political Analysis subsequently.

Year 1

Core Modules: Year 1

Students will take the following core module:

Compulsory Module: Year 1

Students will take ONE of the following compulsory modules:

Second Subject: Year 1

Students will take modules to the value of 60 credits from their second subject.

Year 2

Guided Options: Year 2

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list A (Year 2 disciplinary modules) below

AND

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list of regional modules below

AND

Second Subject

Students will take modules to the value of 60 credits from their second subject

Year 3

Guided Options: Year 3

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list C (Year 3 modules) below

AND

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list C (Year 3 modules) below OR from their Second Subject

AND

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list C (Year 3 modules) below OR from their Second Subject

AND

Second Subject

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from their Second Subject

List of modules (subject to availability)

Year 2 disciplinary modules

Year 2 regional modules

Year 3

Guided Options: Year 3

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list C (Year 3 modules) below

AND

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list C (Year 3 modules) below OR from their Second Subject

AND

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from list C (Year 3 modules) below OR from their Second Subject

AND

Second Subject

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from their Second Subject

List C:

Programme Specification

• BA Politics and... Programme Specification 2018/19 (pdf; 174kb)

Important notice

Year abroad

Teaching & Learning

Classes are taught through lectures, tutorials and seminars. Assessment is by a combination of written examination and essays.

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 undergraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Undergraduate Tuition Fees page.

Fees for 2020/21 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 

Scholarships

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

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