The BA in Politics seeks to give students an excellent grounding in the discipline of Politics with a particular focus on Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Students will be introduced to the core subjects of political theory, comparative politics, political economy, and international relations, which are then applied to the analysis of real world political situations. Through a mix of disciplinary and regional training, students will develop a critical understanding of contemporary geopolitics, transnational social movements, as well as political developments and governance structures in particular countries.
While anchored in the academic field of political science, the programme employs interdisciplinary perspectives on pressing issues of the modern world and offers a wide variety of thematic modules on the politics of culture, nationalism, race, gender, migration, institutions, environmental justice, conflict and war. This range of options helps students to gain a critical understanding of political dynamics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, while acquiring practical analytical and communications skills.
Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings
Start of programme: September
Mode of Attendance: Full-time
Entry requirements
- A Levels:
- AAA
- IB:
- 37 (6/6/6)
View alternative entry requirements
BTEC: DDD
Access to HE: Minimum of 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction
Scottish Highers: AAAAA
Scottish Advanced Highers: AAA
Irish LC: 360 points from 5 Higher level subjects at grade C1 or above
Advanced Placement: 4 5 5 (Two semesters - UCAS Group A) plus US HSGD with GPA 3.0
Euro Bacc: 85%
French Bacc: 15/20
German Abitur: 1.5
Italy DES: 85/100
Austria Mat: 1.5
Polish Mat: 80%
- duration:
- 3 or 4 years
Please see the Unistats data for the various combinations of this programme under the Combinations tab.
May be combined with:
Key Information Set data
Click on a combined programme to load KIS data
Year 1
Compulsory Module
Students will take the following compulsory module:
And 30 credits from the First Year options list below;
Second Subject
Students will take modules to the value of 60 credits from their second subject.
Year 2
Credits must be taken in the following combination;
- 30 credits from Disciplinary options
- 30 credits from Regional options
- 60 credits from second subject
Disciplinary Options
Regional Options
Second Subject
Students will take modules to the value of 60 credits from the second subject.
Year 3
Credits must be taken in the following combination;
- A minimum of 30 credits from List A
- Remaining 60 credits can be taken from Lists A, B, OR open options (maximum of 30 credits from the Open Options list) Language Open Options | Non-language Open Options.
- A minimum of 30 credits from the second subject
List A
List B
Second Subject
Students will take a minimum of 30 credits from the second subject.
Programme Specification
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.
Year abroad
If Politics is combined with a language in a 4-year degree course, students spend a study year abroad Teaching & Learning
Most of our modules are taught through a combination of lectures and tutorials. Lectures (50 minutes) provide broad overviews of the topic. They are accompanied by tutorials (50 minutes) that give students the opportunity to discuss readings and key issues in small groups. In the final year, modules may also take the form of two-hour seminars allowing for deeper engagement with more specialised topics. The programme provides methodological and skills training throughout and allows final year students to undertake an independent research project, such as a dissertation, supervised by an academic member of staff.
By the end of the programme students will have acquired a range of transferable skills. This includes the ability to collect and synthesise information, read and evaluate complex materials, assess the evidence for a range of different positions, construct arguments, exercise independence of judgement and communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Students also benefit from the vibrant learning environment SOAS provides more broadly. The 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. Moreover, every year there is a lively events programme that attracts renowned speakers from around the world, allowing students to engage with cutting edge debates on contemporary politics.