SOAS Politics, international relations and language

I'm thinking about applying for International relations or politics with a language. SOAS really appeals to me because of the international vibe there.

Firstly, what is the reputation of politics and IR there and which one would you recomend.
Secondly, although wanting to do a language at A level, my college didn't offer the one i was learning so I couldn't. So what are the chances of me getting onto the course without the "recomended" a level. (I am very interested in languages)
Also, does anyone have any experience of the language school and which language to advise on learning?

Thank you :smile:

Reply 1

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by Qmwnebrv

Hiya @Qmwnebrv !

We have a pretty darn good reputation in Politics and IR. So darn good that we're ranked 35th in the world and 5th in the UK. SOAS is a mini version of the UN! Lol. Students from over 160 different countries walks our halls every day, eat lunch in the students union, or have impromptu jam sessions in the precinct outside. We're the only place in the world, where you can... Meet the world!

As for deciding between IR or Politics with a language, it really depends on a lot of factors only you can decide but for me, I would base it off of the following:

1. Do you want to become fluent in a language or just have enough knowledge to conduct business.
2. If you focus on a language, do you intend to specialise your politics on that specific region?
3. Do you want to move to a specific region?

If you rather be fluent in a language then go for Politics and a language. If you just want to have enough knowledge to conduct business, go for IR. If you intend to specialise on a specific region it might help you to know a language but it might not. If you move to a specific region then I would choose to do a language.

There's a lot of different factors. But those are just some I would think about.
For the language requirements, did you take a language in GCSEs? Ideally, we would want to see that you have taken one at A levels, but if you can prove you did really well in GCSEs then we might still take you on.

If all else fails, you can always combine Politics and IR and learn a language on the side. We have a language centre where you can several different languages at a fee during the evening during the term. If you're diligent you can become fluent like that. Plus, as an added bonus, your first term of a language is free! It's through our Language Entitlement Programme. :borat:

Maybe I'm biased since I studied spanish in uni but I'd go for that. My second choice would be Japanese. We have a fantastic department here!

P.S. Did you know we have a 2016 SOAS Application Thread ? Please do come by and say hello to all of us and introduce yourself! :ahee:

~Mike

School of Oriental and African Studies

London

Reply 2

Qmwnebrv

Thank youu, I took Italian at GCSE and got an A, and have continued learning it outside of school.
SOAS really appeals to me in the multicultural aspect 😊

Reply 3

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by Qmwnebrv

Thank youu, I took Italian at GCSE and got an A, and have continued learning it outside of school.
SOAS really appeals to me in the multicultural aspect 😊

@Qmwnebrv We are known for our multiculturalism. We do have a lot of Italians at SOAS, so if you wanted to brush up on your italian, there's always opportunities to have a language exchange.

If you decide to go to the language route, then definitely mention that on your application. Attach any references if you can as well from any institution that you attended language classes at outside of GCSEs.

Which language would you study if you came here?

~Mike

Reply 4

Qmwnebrv

Original post by SOAS Student Helper

I quite like japanese at the moment or possibly chinese. I just have a thing for languages.

Reply 5

SOAS

Official Rep

Original post by Qmwnebrv

I quite like japanese at the moment or possibly chinese. I just have a thing for languages.

Touche. I have the same fascination with them as well. Welp, like I said, those are two of our more popular languages and there's a good number of students who are native speakers that you can get additional help from if you choose to study that.

I'm confident that you would do well here! Make sure you keep me updated on your situation on our 2016 SOAS Application thread :dancing2: