Introduction
Mode of Attendance: Full-time
The BA in Politics seeks to give students an excellent grounding in the discipline of Politics with a particular focus on Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Students will be introduced to the core subjects of political theory, comparative politics, political economy, and international relations, which are then applied to the analysis of real-world political situations. Through a mix of disciplinary and regional training, students will develop a critical understanding of contemporary geopolitics, transnational social movements, as well as political developments and governance structures in particular countries.
While anchored in the academic field of political science, the programme employs interdisciplinary perspectives on pressing issues of the modern world and offers a wide variety of thematic modules on the politics of culture, nationalism, race, gender, migration, institutions, environmental justice, conflict and war. This range of options helps students to gain a critical understanding of political dynamics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East while acquiring practical analytical and communications skills.
Structure
BA Politics is a three-year degree programme. Students have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of disciplinary units. In addition, students have the option of taking ‘open’ modules offered by any other SOAS department.
Year 1
Core Modules
Students will take the following 3 core modules (90 credits total):
Introduction to Political Analysis
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Introduction to Political Theory
Optional Modules
Students will take ONE of the following modules OR modules to the value of 30 credits from the Language Open Options list.
Introduction to Political Economy
Introduction to Global History
Introduction to International Relations
Year 2
Students will take the module 'Introduction to Research Methods' (15 credits) alongside a minimum of 30 credits each from the Year 2 Disciplinary Modules AND Year 2 Regional Modules lists below.
Remaining credits taken from Second Year Option list OR a maximum of 30 credits the Open Option lists (Language Open Options | Non-language Open Options)
Disciplinary Modules
Performance and Politics
Political Parties and Elections
Concepts in Political Theory
Politics of development
Politics of Nationalism
Regional Modules
Government and politics of China
Government and politics of South Asia
Government and politics of the Middle East
Government and Politics of Island Southeast Asia
Government and Politics of Mainland Southeast Asia
The state and politics in Africa
African Political Thought
Further Options
International Relations of East Asia
International Relations of Africa
International Relations of the Middle East
Postcolonial theory
International Relations of South Asia
Year 3
Students will take a minimum of 45 credits from List A AND a minimum of 15 credits from List B.
Any remaining credits to be taken from List C. Students may also take a maximum of 30 credits from the Open Option lists (Language Open Options | Non-language Open Options)
List A
Politics of Gender
Politics of the "Miracle" Economies
Conflict, Rights and Justice
South Asian Political Thought
Elections, Gender and Social Movements in Taiwan
Republicanism, empire and revolution
List B
Globalisation and global governance
Taiwan's International and Cross-Strait Relations
Identity in International Relations
Palestine/Israel and the International
Going Global: An Introduction to International Migration
Decolonising World Politics
Environment and Climate Crisis
Key Debates on Neoliberalism
Final Year Project in Politics
List C
African Political Thought
Government and Politics of Mainland Southeast Asia
Government and politics of South Asia
Postcolonial theory
Globalising East Asia
Government and politics of the Middle East
Government and politics of China
Government and Politics of Island Southeast Asia
The state and politics in Africa
International Relations of Africa
International Relations of the Middle East
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department.
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: AAAIB: 37 (6/6/6)
Alternative entry requirements
BTEC: DDD
Access to HE: Minimum of 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction
Scottish Highers: AAAAA
Scottish Advanced Highers: AAA
Irish LC: 360 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: 85%
French Bacc: 15/20
German Abitur: 1.5
Italy DES: 85/100
Austria Mat: 1.5
Polish Mat: Overall 80% 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.
