History

SOAS’s MA History programme is one of the very few Master-level programmes in History in the UK, which focuses study of the discipline through Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

With its high concentration of expertise of these regions, the programme offers an unrivalled breadth of courses on these regions’ respective as well as interconnected histories. In addition to offering regional and global/transnational expertise, the program also provides a sound training in the theory and methodology in history writing and historical research.

The MA History programme at SOAS is unique among postgraduate programmes in the UK and Europe in its exclusive focus on the histories of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Academic staff are specialists in the histories, cultures and societies of these regions, with their teaching reflecting the most recent research in their fields. The programme offers a wide range of modules from early history to the twentieth century, as well as on the interconnected histories of these regions.

In addition, the MA History programme provides rigorous training in the theory and methodology of history. Through an engagement with key debates and the acquisition of advanced research skills students develop a nuanced approach to the ways in which African, Asian, and Middle Eastern histories have been written and how historiographical shifts in the post-War and postcolonial period have shaped these narratives.

A formal training in the discipline goes together with an emphasis on 'de-centring' Europe from the story of humanity. Students are introduced to the social, cultural, political and intellectual pasts of people from regions whose contribution to world history is often marginalised. The modules offered seek, as far as possible, to teach the histories of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia from the perspective of people from those societies.

Why study MA History at SOAS?

• SOAS is ranked 13th in the UK for History (QS World University Rankings 2025)
• Our History research environment is entirely world-leading/internationally excellent (REF 2021)
• 83.3% of our History impact case studies were world-leading/internationally excellent (REF 2021)
• 71.2% of our History research outputs were world-leading/internationally excellent (REF 2021)
• In the 2023 Postgraduate Research Experience Survey, History scored above sector in the following categories: research culture, community, research skills, and professional development