Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time
The BA History Combined Honours Degree combines History with another discipline or language and takes 3 or 4 years depending on the subject involved. From the Crusades to the contemporary Middle East; the Mughal Empire to Gandhi; slavery to Muslim societies in West Africa, History at SOAS offers its students a unique window on the world in order to develop your understanding of the fascinating histories relating to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Students will also engage in subject matters ranging from economics, religion and culture to frontiers, cities, and gender. The two-subject degree additionally allows you to create a specialist niche for yourself within a specific regional, cultural or disciplinary context.
The Combined Honours degree may be combined with:
Arabic+, TV61 BA/HA
Chinese+, TV11 BA/HCH
Development Studies, LV91 BA/HDVS
East Asian Studies
Economics, LV11 BA/HEC
History of Art, VV13 BA/HisHAA
International Relations, (LV22 BA/IRH)
Japanese+, TV21 BA/JK
Korean+, TVL1 BA/KOH
Languages and Cultures
Law, MV11 BA/LWH
Linguistics, QV31 BA/HLG
Music, VW13 BA/MSH
Politics, LV21 BA/POLH
Social Anthropology, LV61 BA/SAH
+ 4-year degree with (compulsory) one year abroad++ 3 or 4-year degree with the option of one year abroad
Why study History Combined Honours at SOAS?
Allows you to develop a specialist niche alongside your History degree by utilising the global expertise of one of our other departments
Our unrivalled focus in the study of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East will help you shape a more critical understanding of history
Develop an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the history of Africa and Asia
Our academic staff are African and Asian history specialists
We are specialists in the delivery of languages. Your command of a language from SOAS will set you apart from graduates of other universities
Employment
An undergraduate degree in History from SOAS will give you specialist knowledge of the history and broad cultural sensibilities of a region.
Skills gained include:
Expertise in historical subject matter, interpretation and methodology from different topical perspectives.
An in-depth understanding and appreciation of the history of Africa, Asia and the Near and Middle East.
Competence to manage large quantities of information and the ability to select and organise information.
Research methodologies.
Choosing to study a joint degree programme will increase the breadth of your knowledge allowing you to develop a specialist niche for yourself.
Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:
Blackstock PR
Bonhams
British Council
Ernst and Young
HSBC
International Society for Water Solutions (ISWS)
Middle East Consultancy Services
Oxford Policy Management
Shed Productions Ltd (Independent UK television production company)
Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:
Account Executive
Business Development Manager
Conference Producer
Copywriter
Finance Researcher
Freelance TV Researcher
Public Relations and Policy Manager
Production Editor
Trainee Accountant
Structure
Students take 120 credits per year composed of Core and Optional modules.
This Joint Honours programme enables students to design their own intellectual journey, whilst maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals of History.
When selecting modules, some students choose to focus mainly on one region (Africa, Near and Middle East, South, Southeast or East Asia) or topic (e.g. Islam, violence and warfare, gender, modernity). Others choose to range more broadly, exploring various topics and regions. Depending on the choice of the second subject, students will have the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge of one particular region or to put more emphasis on the exploration of particular themes and problems, exploring them in a comparative context.
Year 1
Core Module
H101 Approaching History
plus
Guided Option
Choose from List H1 Regional Introduction module below to the value of 30 credits
and
Second Subject
Choose modules from the second subject to the value of 60 credits
or
Choose modules from the second subject to the value of 30 credits
and
Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits
Language Open Option Modules
Non-Language Open Option Modules
Year 2
Core Module
H201 Historical Research: Approaches and Methods
plus
Guided Option
Choose from List H2 Thematic Modules below to the value of 15 credits
and
Choose from List H2 Regional Module below to the value of 30 credits
and
Second Subject
Choose modules from the second subject to the value of 60 credits
or
Choose modules from the second subject to the value of 30 credits
and
Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits
Language Open Option Modules
Non-Language Open Option Modules
Year 3
Core Module
Choose modules from the H3 special subject module list below to the value of 30 credits.
plus
Please select 30 credits from the following:
H400 Special Subject Dissertation
H500 Independent Study Project in History
or
Choose from List H2 History Module below to the value of 30 credits
plus
Second Subject
Choose a module(s) from the second subject to the value of 30 credits
and
Choose a module(s) from the second subject to the value of 30 credits
or
Choose from List H2 History Module below to the value of 30 credits
or
Choose related Language or Non-Language open option modules to the value of 30 credits
Language Open Option Modules
Non-Language Open Option Modules
List of Modules (subject to availability)
H1 Regional Introductions Modules
H110 Introduction to the History of Africa
H120 The Confucian World
H130 Introduction to the Early History of the Middle East
H140 Introduction to the History of South Asia
H150 Introduction to the History of Modern East and Southeast Asia
H2 Thematic Modules
H211 Cities in History
H212 Frontiers in History
H213 Gender in History
H214 Violence in History
H215 Colonial curricula: empire and education at SOAS and beyond
H2 Regional Modules
H234 Colonialism and Culture in Modern South Asia
H235 Nationalism and Identity in South Asia
H236 State and Society in Mughal India
H241 Crusades, Conquest and Coexistence in the Middle East, 1050-1291
H246 Cities of Paradise and Empire
H247 Medieval Iran: Nomads, Settlers and Dynasts
H248 Nationalism and Revolution in the Modern Middle East, 1914-1979
H249 Empire and Reform in the Modern Middle East, 1789-1914
H354 Indigenous Warfare & Society In Early Mod S.east Asia, 1300-1830
H270 Culture and Society in African History, 1900 to the present
H278 Muslim Societies in Africa
H280 Atlantic Slavery and its Legacies in West Africa
H293 - Empire and Globalisation in the early modern Muslim world
H294 - Race, Segregation, and Apartheid in Twentieth-century South Africa
H295 - Southern Africa to 1910: colonial rule and social change
H296 From Courtesans to Suffragettes: Women in Chinese History, 1600s-1910s
H297 Mao's China, 1890s-1970s
R430 Political Islam
H3
H334 The Mongols and the Islamic World (I)
H335 Gandhi and Gandhism
H337 Histories of Partition: India and Pakistan 1947 (I)
H343 Reform, Resistance and Revolution: the Ottoman Empire 1876-1909 (I)
H348 Rulers, Rebels and Scholars in Early Islam (I)
H379 Asante, the Gold Coast and the British, 1807-1935 (I)
H382 Opium and Empires: Eastern Asia's Narcotic Trade and Culture in Global Context
H398 - The Vietnam War and Asia I
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
A-Levels: AAB-ABBIB: 35 (665 at HL)
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.
