MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies

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.

The programme consists of 180 credits in total: 120 credits of modules and a dissertation of 10,000 words at 60 credits.

Students are expected to take all the core and compulsory modules listed below.

All students must audit the compulsory module, Ethnographic Research Methods during term 1. This will not count towards the 180 credits. Students will be expected to attend only lectures and do not attend seminars or submit any assessments. Students may choose to take this module (worth 15 credits) as part of their 120 credits from the option lists.

All students are required to take 30 credits from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology list.

The remaining credits can be selected from the relevant lists in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology or relevant options from other departments or a language module. See below for a detailed programme structure.

Language Entitlement Programme:

Many students choose to pursue a language through the SOAS Language Entitlement Programme (LEP). Languages normally available include Arabic, Chinese, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish and Urdu. Others may also be offered.

All students are required to take the compulsory modules, totalled at 60 credits. All students are required to audit the Ethnographic Research Methods module. This will not count towards your 180 credits.

• Dissertation in Anthropology and Sociology
• Ethnographic Research Methods

All students must take the core module worth 30 credits.

• African and Asian Diasporas in the Contemporary World

30 credits of your programme must be selected from the Anthropology and Sociology options list; the remaining 60 credits can be selected from the Anthropology and Sociology or other departments or a language module.

• African and Asian Cultures in Britain
• Anthropological approaches to agriculture, food and nutrition
• Anthropology of Globalisation (PG)
• Anthropology of Human Rights (PG)
• Anthropology of Law
• Culture and Society of China
• Culture and Society of East Africa
• Culture and Society of Japan
• Culture and Society of Near and Middle East
• Culture and Society of South Asia
• Culture and Society of South East Asia
• Culture and Society of West Africa
• Ethnographic Research Methods
• Issues in Mind, Culture and Psychiatry
• Religions on the move: New Currents and Emerging Trends in Global Religion
• Issues in the Anthropology of Gender
• Media Production Skills
• Theoretical Approaches to Social Anthropology
• Tourism and Travel: A Global Perspective

• Postcolonial Theory and Practice

• Gendering Migration & Diasporas

• Transnational Communities and Diasporic Media:Networking, Connectivity, Identity

• Modern Film from Taiwan and the Chinese Diaspora

• Borders and Development
• Civil society, social movements and the development process
• Issues in Forced Migration
• Migration and Development
• Migration and Policy

• Diaspora Contexts and Visual Culture
• The Art of the African Diaspora

• Music, Place and Politics in Cuba

• Persian for Readers of Arabic Script (PG)

• International migration and diaspora politics

• Indian Cinema: Its History and Social Context
• Indian Cinema: Key Issues

If you are a current student you can find structure information on Moodle or through your Department.

• Programme Specification (pdf; 135kb)

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules