SOAS University of London

SOAS University of London is a specialist college of the University of London, founded in 1916 as the School of Oriental Studies and later expanded to Africa. Its campus stands in Bloomsbury, around Russell Square. It is organized around the languages, cultures, law and social sciences of Asia, Africa and the Middle East rather than as a comprehensive university.

Departments span politics, development studies, economics, history, anthropology, law, finance and management, music, history of art, and a large set of language and regional studies. Graduate students work in development, international law, human rights, area studies and linguistics. The SOAS Library is a major collection on Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and the Brunei Gallery sits on campus.

Enrollment is about 5,000 to 6,000 students, with postgraduates often close to half the total and international students a large share from more than 130 countries. Alumni include Aung San Suu Kyi, who studied at the school, journalist Zeinab Badawi, and diplomats and writers from Africa and Asia.

SOAS is known for one-year MA and MSc degrees, the LLM, and MPhil and PhD research degrees. Taught master's combine coursework and a dissertation; doctoral study is by research with a supervisor, often after an MPhil stage. The year begins in September or October. Scholarships include school awards and external fellowships and are competitive. Students live across London and use Bloomsbury libraries, including Senate House and the British Library.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, SOAS University of London lists 19 graduate programs across 10 subjects: 17 master's programs and 2 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in art, communication, media & journalism and languages & linguistics.