History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia

The MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia programme is an unrivalled opportunity to study the arts of China, Korea and Japan.

You will consider a wide range of East Asian arts and material culture, from Chinese archaeology to Japanese prints, Korean installation works to Buddhist monuments, exploring their specificity and the links between them, in historical and contemporary periods.

In many parts of East Asia archaeological evidence is key to understanding early societies. This History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia MA programme therefore also relates excavated materials to the history of art.

Why study History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia at SOAS

• SOAS is ranked top 30 in the UK for Arts and Humanities (QS World University Rankings 2025)
• SOAS is ranked 6th in the UK for Asian Studies (Complete University Guide 2025)
• We partner with the British Council to offer a School of Arts student an internship at the Venice Biennale
• We partner with the Chu Te-Chun Foundation to offer a paid internship at the Venice Biennale
• We offer exclusive School of Arts-led internships at the Rietberg Museum, Zurich (2 places available)
• You can apply for a SOAS Co-Creator internship in the Special Collections of the SOAS Library
• Internships, field-trips, museum and storage visits, talks by curators, artists and other practitioners