SOAS University of London

Facts and figures

50

World Top 50 in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for Arts and Humanities

Alumni and student stories

• "The specialisation of our modules is fantastic and allows you to learn about literatures that you wouldn’t be exposed to anywhere else."

• "The Travelling Africa course took me on a journey across the African continent from Cape Town to Cairo, via Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan and everywhere in between."

  The Travelling Africa course took me on a journey across the African continent from Cape Town to Cairo, via Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan and everywhere in between.

• "SOAS has a long tradition of training future academics, linguists and leaders for the fields of Oriental, African and Middle Eastern cultures."

  SOAS has a long tradition of training future academics, linguists and leaders for the fields of Oriental, African and Middle Eastern cultures. The specialization, particularly in the areas of art, archaeology and language connected to these cultures is in my opinion almost unchallenged in the academic world

• "When I heard about SOAS I immediately knew it was the school for me."

  When I heard about SOAS I immediately knew it was the school for me. An institution like SOAS is the ideal platform for students who want to learn a language and gain insight into a culture. It is also a leading school in Tibetan studies.

• "The insight provided, knowledge delivered and understanding transmitted during lectures, seminars and conferences at SOAS is impressive and requires real personal involvement in the topics."

  The insight provided, knowledge delivered and understanding transmitted during lectures, seminars and conferences at SOAS is impressive and requires real personal involvement in the topics.

• "Studying Islamic Art History at SOAS has been one of the most engrossing, pleasurable and rewarding pursuits I have undertaken."

  Studying Islamic Art History at SOAS has been one of the most engrossing, pleasurable and rewarding pursuits I have undertaken.The SOAS academics I encountered are exemplary. Their scholarship, first hand experiences and enthralling anecdotes brought their subjects to life. Within this rich and rigorous environment, also supported by access to other SOAS departments and the numerous co-curricular resources available in London, it is inevitable that students strive for excellence.

• "SOAS is a vibrant place filled with diversity."

  With the guidance of an eminent team of professors, and the support of the various resources SOAS has to offer, my time here has indeed been very productive, academically and professionally.

• "The UK and especially London is a great place to study. SOAS in particular offers a warm and hearty atmosphere with the opportunity to study at a renowned university and get to know people from everywhere in the world."

  The public transport in London is just great as it is easy to get around and also to get to other cities in the UK. The beautiful cities Cambridge and Oxford are basically around the corner and definitely worth visiting and many other nice British cities and places are also easy to get to from London.

• "My initial impression of SOAS was that it was extraordinarily different. I used to describe it as the ‘United Nations’ to friends and family, because of its diversity."

  I really wanted to study History of Art and I knew that was my calling. After research, I found out that SOAS was a prestigious school with notable alumni and also that I could study History of Art and Law as a joint degree, which is perhaps the only school in the world that offers this at the BA level.

• "More than any other place, the SOAS Music Department allows me to combine my interests in music, philosophy and culture in the Middle East. "

  I've experienced SOAS as a place of profound research and interdisciplinary cooperation, and as home of an inspiring community of people who are connected through their love for music and openness to new ideas.

• "SOAS has helped tremendously in opening up my eyes and ears to how culturally colourful our musical world is. "

  As a future music educator, ethnomusicology has become a highly empowering tool in reinforcing that all our voices are unique and are worthy of being listened to. 

• "As soon as I first walked into the Junior Common Room I said ‘this is what university should be like!’ "

  When I mentioned my interest in ethnomusicology to the academics at my previous university, their instant reaction was SOAS.

• "I would sum up my studies here so far as a white-knuckle intellectual adventure. "

  I would sum up my studies here so far as a white-knuckle intellectual adventure. It has opened doors not only in my mind, but in real life, especially in terms of people I have met.

• "I chose SOAS because it is the only place in London where I could gain a broad knowledge of Music in the Middle East."

  SOAS is a great place to study Ethnomusicology. It has the flavour of the world spread through the music made by the students, lecturers and guests.

• "SOAS gave me the freedom to study and practice a musical genre of my choosing."

  SOAS gave me the freedom to study and practice a musical genre of my choosing in a relaxed, engaging and supportive environment, alongside exploring musical sounds and cultures from a non-Western-centric theoretical perspective.

• "Studying at SOAS has been a genuinely enriching experience."

  Studying at SOAS has been a genuinely enriching experience that has vastly expanded my views of music and what it is to be a musician.

• "I have been able to deepen my knowledge of the music and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa."

  With its unique expertise, the SOAS Music Department is one of the few places where I have been able to deepen my knowledge of the music and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa.

Read more alumni and student stories

Our publications

• Tirana 100. Tirana -Tirona AllStars.

  Lucy Duran, producer of album (2021)

  Album commissioned by the Municipality of Tirana to mark the 100th anniversary of Tirana as capital of Albania.

• Soundscapes of Uyghur Islam

  Rachel Harris

  Indiana University Press, 2020.

• The Routledge Companion on Music and Human Rights

  Fifer, Julian, Impey, Angela, Kirchschlaeger, Peter G., Nowak, Manfred and Ulrich, George, editors.

  New York: Routledge, 2021.

• Returning Southeast Asia’s Past: Objects, Museums, and Restitution

  Louise Tythacott and Panggah Ardiyansyah (Editors)

  NUS Press, 2021.

• Tokyo before Tokyo: Power and Magic in the Shogun's City of Edo

  Timon Screech

  London: Reaktion Books, 2020.

• The Shogun's Silver Telescope: God, Art, and Money in the English Quest for Japan, 1600-1625

  Timon Screech

  Oxford University Press, 2020.

• The Ka’ba Orientations. Readings in Islam’s Ancient House

  Simon O’Meara

  Edinburgh University Press, 2020.

• It’s a London Thing: How Rare Groove, Acid House and Jungle Remapped the City

  Caspar Melville

  Manchester University Press, 2020.