Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time
The Chinese combined honours degree aims to give a broad understanding of Chinese culture through a study of its language, history and literature from earliest times up to the present in combination with a solid grounding in another language or discipline.
The range of expertise in SOAS, not only in East Asian studies but also with regard to languages and literature of other regions is unique in UK institutions. Along with proven excellence in other disciplines, such as religious studies, anthropology, art and archaeology, and history, this offers students an unparalleled range of options in choosing their second subject of study.
May be combined with:
Development Studies, (LT91 BA/DVSCH)
Economics, (LT11 BA/ECCH)
History, (TV11 BA/HCH)
History of Art, (TV13 BA/CHAA)
International Relations, (LB23 BA/IRC)
Law, (MT11 BA/LWCH)
Linguistics, (QT11 BA/CHLG)
Music, (TW13 BA/MSCH)
Politics,(LT21 BA/POLCH)
Social Anthropology, (LT61 BA/SACH)
World Philosophies, (T103)
Who is this programme for?
The programme has flexible entry requirements for students with various levels of Chinese proficiency, from absolute beginners to GCSE and A-level Chinese. The department also offers elective modules in Chinese on various levels for students wishing to obtain or improve Chinese language skills in the context of other degree programmes.
Employment
As a graduate who specialised in China and Inner Asia, you will have gained competency in language skills and intercultural awareness and understanding. Familiarity with the region will have been developed through a study of language in combination with literature, development studies, economics, geography, history, history of art and archaeology, law, linguistics, music, politics, social anthropology or religion.
Graduates leave SOAS not only with linguistic and cultural expertise, but also with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector. These include written and oral communication skills, attention to detail, analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources.
Choosing to study a joint degree programme will increase the breadth of your knowledge, and will develop additional skills with which to further your studies of China and the Inner Asian region, or to make a comparative study with other areas. Chinese may be combined with a huge range of other disciplines. For more information on the extra skills you will gain from your second subject, please see the relevant departmental page.
Recent graduates have found employment in the UK, Europe and East Asia. They work in management research, medicine, English language teaching, import/export, stock brokerage, multinational corporations, NGOs, libraries, media, law, film production, galleries and museums and merchant banking. Others go on to postgraduate study.
Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:
Alcatel-Lucent
Bellville Rodair International
China's Ethnic Groups Magazine
Chongqing Foreign Languages School
Department for Communities and Local Government
EChinaCities
Emerge Poverty Free
Exclusive Analysis
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Global Health Europe
Global Witness
Idealpeople
Impact Investment Shujog
JET Programme
National Health Service
Standard Chartered Bank
Teach First
The Daily Telegraph
Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art
Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:
Project Coordinator
Management Accountant
English Teacher
Assistant Economist
Executive Editor
Science Communications Postdoctoral Fellow
Political Officer
Chinese Translator/ Researcher
Research Associate
Architecture
Finance Manager
Business Manager
Proof Reader
Journalist
Assistant Curator
Equity Capital Markets, Analyst
Structure
Two-subject degree students must take and pass a minimum of 150 credits in Chinese, including all core modules, over the course of their four-year programme, in addition to the modules taken during the year abroad.
Year 1
Core Modules
Students will take modules to the value of 120 credits from the two subjects:
Ch 100: Elementary Chinese
and
Second Subject
60 credits are taken from the syllabus of the second subject.
Advanced entry students
Students under advanced entry do not take Ch 100: Elementary Chinese but instead, take 30 credits of Modern Chinese (Chinese 3 or higher) and an approved guided or open option module.
Year 2
Core Module
This module must be passed in order to progress to the following year of study
Ch 200 Intermediate Chinese
Compulsory Modules
Students will take the modules below
Contemporary Chinese Society
East Asian Imperialisms
and
Second Subject
60 credits are taken from the syllabus of the second subject.
Year 3
Core Module(s)
This module must be passed in order to proceed to the following year.
Ch 300: Intermediate Chinese
Guided Option Modules
Choose modules from List A (at the relevant FHEQ level for your academic year of study) below to the value of 15 credits
and
Choose modules from List A/List B (at the relevant FHEQ level for your academic year of study) to the value of 15 credits
and
Second Subject
60 credits are taken from the syllabus of the second subject
Year 4
Compulsory Modules
Students will take the modules below
History and Memory in East Asian Cultures
Ch 400: Advanced Chinese
and
Guided Option
Choose modules from List A/List B or Central options (at the relevant FHEQ level for your academic year of study) to the value of 30 credits
and
Second Subject
60 credits are taken from the syllabus of the second subject.
Year 4 - List A Guided Option Modules
FHEQ Level 5
Fieldwork methods in language and culture
Gender in East Asian Literature (UG)
East Asian Cinema (UG)
FHEQ Level 6
Chinese for Business
Ch 305: Elementary Cantonese
Chinese Cultures on Screen and Stage
New Taiwan Cinema and Beyond
Ch 306: Traditional Chinese Language and Literature
Contemporary Chinese Literary Texts
Modern Chinese Literary Texts
Ch 500: Directed Readings in Advanced Modern Chinese Language
Independent Study Project in East Asian Studies
Culture and Society of Taiwan
Year 4 - Language Open Option Modules
FHEQ Level 5
Japanese 1 A
Japanese 1 B
Japanese 2
Korean 1 A
Korean 1 B
Korean 2
Tibetan (Modern) 1 A
Tibetan (Modern) 1 B
FHEQ Level 6
K200 Intermediate Korean
Korean 3
K401 Advanced Korean Readings I: Nation Building and Social Transformations
K402 Advanced Korean Readings II: Gender, Culture and Society
J200: Intermediate Japanese
Japanese 3
J400: Advanced Japanese
Japanese 4
Learn a language as part of this programme
Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.
Admissions and Applications
To apply for an undergraduate degree at SOAS (including students wishing to transfer from another university) you must apply through the UK's central universities application organization, UCAS. An application form and details of courses can be found on their website. UCAS charges an applicant's fee for handling the application.
You can apply to up to five choices of higher education institutions or course on the UCAS form. How you utilise the choice is up to you. In other words, you could apply to do the same subject, for example, economics, at five different universities, or five different courses at the same university, or any combination of subject and institution. Nor do you have to use up all five choices. Whatever you choose you should list your choices in the order they appear in the UCAS handbook.
Entry Requirements
No preliminary knowledge of the language is required but a foreign language at A-level or equivalent is preferred.
Subjects Preferred: A foreign language at A-Level, or equivalent, is preferred.
A-Levels: AAB-ABB A-Level language preferredIB: 35 (6/6/5)
Interview Policy: Candidates with ‘non-standard’ qualifications usually invited.
Alternative entry requirements
BTEC: DDM
Access to HE: Minimum of 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction
Scottish Highers: AAABB
Scottish Advanced Highers: AAB
Irish LC: 340 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: 80%
French Bacc: 14/20
German Abitur: 2.0
Italy DES: 80/100
Austria Mat: 2.0
Polish Mat: Overall 75% including 3 extended level subjects
English Language Entry Requirements
You must be able to show that your English is of a high enough standard to successfully engage with and complete your course at SOAS. Please note that we take our English language requirements seriously and failure to meet them exactly may well result in your application to SOAS being rejected. It is not possible to negotiate if your scores are below our required levels, with the expectation that because they are 'close enough' they will be accepted. It is important that you plan appropriately, well in advance, so that your English language test comes in good time and so that you have time to retake the test if necessary. We do not accept reasons of inconvenience or financial hardship for not submitting or retaking an English test.
International students
For EU and International students who need a visa, if unconditional entry scores are achieved we accept qualifications from several countries, as well as a range of international qualifications and tests.
If a Tier 4 entry visa is required then a SELT, such as UKVI IELTS may be needed. For this reason, we recommend all Tier 4 visa students to choose the UKVI IELTS Academic test as the test of first resort.
