International Relations
International relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) offers a perspective on global politics that is genuinely different from that available at most other universities. Where many international relations programmes centre on European and North American frameworks and cases, SOAS approaches the discipline through the political issues, histories, and analytical traditions of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, asking how the concepts and theories that have dominated the field were formed, where they apply and where they do not, and what alternative frameworks have emerged from the regions that much of international relations has treated as peripheral.
This three-year, full-time programme, which includes a foundation year making it accessible to those who need additional academic preparation, teaches mainstream approaches to the study of world politics alongside their critiques. You will develop a historicised understanding of how and why Western-centric lenses of international relations developed, examine their relevance and limitations when applied to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and engage with the alternative theories and perspectives that scholars from those regions have developed. The programme draws on SOAS's unmatched depth of expertise in these regions, giving you access to specialists in African politics, South Asian international relations, Middle Eastern diplomacy, and many other area-specific fields.
A typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects the level at which students join the programme, including those entering through the foundation year. Graduates from this programme are particularly well placed for careers in the foreign office and diplomatic service, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, international journalism, development agencies, and policy research with a focus on Africa, Asia, or the Middle East. The distinctive perspective developed at SOAS, combining global theory with area-specific depth, is genuinely valued in international careers where the regions SOAS specialises in are central.
Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in international relations, area studies, or development studies.