Asian Art

Entry requirements

Minimum Entry Requirements: Normally BA degree or equivalent. Other qualifications (e.g., published work, relevant professional experience) may be acceptable. Non-standard applications are considered on their merits, and applicants may be asked to submit written work for appraisal and/or attend an interview. No knowledge of the arts of Asia necessary, but serious interest in the area desirable.

Months of entry

January, September, April

Course content

This postgraduate programme offers a unique opportunity to study the arts of Asia and the Islamic world with lectures by leading scholars in the field.

The course will provide an object-based learning experience through direct access to the reserved collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum.

The lecture programme is supported by field trips to museums, galleries and private collections. The course is designed to train museum curators or serious collectors. It will also prepare students for work in a variety of professions in the art and the museum world and provides a pathway to the master’s degree for those with no background in the subject.

Museums and curators in Asia, and museums specialising in non-Western collections elsewhere, will find it an attractive, object-focused training opportunity for enhancing curatorial skills in the study, display and cataloguing of art objects in a fully-resourced academic environment.

Students can choose one or more in combination of the three-month modules on offer annually, which are listed below. Those who successfully complete a single module will be awarded a certificate. Students successfully completing any three of the modules below will be awarded a SOAS (University of London) accredited Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art.

The modules offered are:

• Indian Art (September - December)
• Chinese Art (January – March)
• Islamic Art (April - July)
• Japanese & Korean Art (April- July; alternate years)
• Southeast Asian Art (April – July; alternate years)
• Buddhist Art (April - July; alternate years

Aims

• To develop a sound visual method for analysing and documenting works of art;
• To develop visual skills through the direct examination of objects;
• To develop research skills using primary and secondary sources;
• To develop writing and communication skills: to formulate and structure an academic viewpoint and to use visual analysis to support and document this argument;
• To develop in students an understanding of certain museum skills such as the cataloguing of objects; the selection of objects for an exhibition, and putting material objects in their cultural context.

Structure

Issues and themes dealt with in weekly lectures are developed further through frequent visits to museum collections, revision sessions and seminars. Lectures are given by museum curators, university lecturers and international experts and are (generally from 10:00 to 15:30) on three and a half days a week. The weekly review sessions with course tutors involve revision, slide tests and seminars. Students have regular access to the study of objects in the reserve collections at the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and guided visits to other museums. Field trips and formal and informal tutorials are also part of the programme.

Course Director - Dr Heather Elgood
Diploma Manager - Denise Acford

Email: asianart@soas.ac.uk

Phone: +44 (0)20 7898 4445/4451

Information for international students

Please see the international page.

Fees and funding

Qualification and course duration

Diploma

Cert