At SOAS we study religions because they are powerful and enduring forces in all societies at all times. They give insight into human values, identities, and histories like no other aspect of culture.

The study of religions at SOAS offers:

• a unique combination of core subject knowledge with regional expertise
• a wide range of traditions that is second to no other programme in the UK or worldwide
• the opportunity to specialise in a tradition of your choice
• a comprehensive set of disciplinary skills and insights for studying human histories and cultures through religious thought and practice.

Studying religions is for all who seek to further global understanding while attaining a world of graduate employment opportunities.

To connect the Study of Religions to a specific language, area, or discipline, the Department offers joint degrees with the following subjects:

3-Year Combined Degrees

African Studies, Development Studies, Economics, Geography, Georgian, History, History of Art/Archaeology, International Relations, Japanese Studies, Law, Linguistics, Middle Eastern Studies, Music, Persian, Politics, Social Anthropology, South East Asian Studies, World Philosophies.

3 or 4-Year Combined Degrees
(include an optional year abroad)

Burmese, Indonesian, South Asian Studies, Thai, Tibetan, Vietnamese.

4-Year Combined degrees
(include a mandatory year abroad)

Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Swahili, Turkish.

Programme Code: V627BA/CR

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

Who is this programme for?:

This degree is for students who seek to broaden their understanding of the world by studying the social, political, cultural and historical forces contained in religious traditions.

• We are looking for applicants who believe that religions are important to think about, whether or not they are religious themselves.
• We welcome all applicants whether they have previously focused in religions in their education or not.
• We offer widely transferable skills and insights that unlock a broad range of career trajectories, from media and consulting to teaching and development work, among others.
• Our graduates have gone on to employment in global businesses, media companies, universities, government institutions, development organisations, religious institutions, schools, museums, libraries, and more.

May be combined with:

• African Studies, VT65 BA/SRAF
• Arabic+, TV66 BA/SRA
• Chinese+, TV16 BA/SRCH
• Development Studies, LV96 BA/DevStSR
• Economics, LV16 BA/SREC
• Hebrew+, QV46 BA/SRHE
• History, VV16 BA/SRH
• History of Art/Archaeology, VV36 BA/HAASR
• International Relations, LVF6 BA/IRSR
• Japanese+, TV26 BA/SRJ
• Japanese Studies, TV2P BA/JSSR
• Korean+, TVLP BA/SRKO
• Law, MV16 BA/SRLW
• Middle Eastern Studies, TV6P BA/MESSR
• Music, VW63 BA/SRM
• Persian+, TVP6 BA/SRP ( + Compulsory Year Abroad which is split between 2 countries)
• Politics, LV26 BA/SRPOL
• Social Anthropology, LV66 BA/SRSA
• South Asian Studies++ (3 years), VTQ3 BA/SASSR
• South Asian Studies++ (4 years), TL33 BA/SASSR
• South East Asian Studies, VTPJ BA/SEASR
• Turkish+, VT66 BA/TUSR
• World Philosophies, V590

+ 4-year degree with (compulsory) one year abroad
++ 3 or 4-year degree with option of one year abroad

Key Information Set data

Click on a combined programme to load KIS data

Note: The structure displayed below is for students enrolled in 2018 or after. For students enrolled in the BA Study of Religions and ... in 2017 or before, please see the programme structure pre 2018.

General Information

• You must register for 120 credits each year, 60 in the Religions and 60 in your other subject.
• To be eligible for an Honours degree a student must have passed a minimum of eleven modules, of those passing only ten being awarded a Pass degree.
• Only the grades of years two and three count towards the final degree result. In their first year, students only need to pass their modules to continue. The pass mark is 40%.

Programme Structure

Year 1

Compulsory Module: Year 1

Guided Options: Year 1

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from the "Introduction to Religious Traditions" list below.

Second Subject: Year 1

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

Year 2

Compulsory Module: Year 2

Guided Options: Year 2

Students will take modules to the value of 30 credits from "Religions in Cultural & Historical Contexts" according to stipulations below

Second Subject: Year 2

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 "Thematic Study" and a further 30 credits from "Specialised Study" according to stipulations below

Second Subject: Year 3

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

List of modules (subject to availability)

Year 1: Introduction to Religious Traditions

Year 2 and 3

NB: not all modules will run every year

Religions in Cultural and Historical Contexts - 30 credits in total

Comparative Study - 30 credits max

Specialised Study - 60 credits max

Programme Specification

• BA Religions and... programme specification 2019/20 (pdf; 236kb)

Important notice

Year abroad

Note: If your combination contains a year abroad, please see the relevant information on the respective language programme page.

Teaching & Learning

Most courses involve a 50- 100-minute lecture as a key component with linked tutorial classes. 

The programme works with a variety of assessments:

• response papers and reading comprehension tasks
• written exercises in methodology
• essays of up to 3,000 words
• written exams

All modules are assessed by more than one assessment in the interest of balanced grades and student progressions. Many tutorials and classes include formative exercises to prepare the assessments.

A degree in Religions from SOAS equips students to follow many different careers. Graduates are provided with important knowledge and understanding of peoples’ different culture, history and beliefs concerning fundamental issues which they can develop in the field of research or utilise in a professional career. Students also develop a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers in business, public and charity sectors. These include: the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources - often both in the original or other relevant languages; analytical skills to assess critically the materials relevant to a specific issue; written and oral communication skills to present, discuss and debate opinions and conclusions; and problem solving skills.

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.