where should I do masters in middle eastern/south asian/east-asian studies?

Hi, I want to do a Masters on one of the 3 regions I mentioned in my question title. The thing is I am interested in all three regions' culture, religion, philosophy, history, language and so on, so I want to learn and do research on specific topics in all three of these regions. I know arabic and urdu (but am not completely fluent) and am learning persian right now. I am also planning on learning japanese before I'm done with my undergrad. I think I'll either pick one region to study on or somehow find a way to merge atleast two of these regions in terms of finding a course or a research topic. But the problem is I don't know where to start to search for a good university. I would like to study in a reputable university but more important than that is the quality of education and research opportunities there. Of course the natural inclination is to search for really well-known universities but my professor said that big names don't necessarily have good departments and faculty for your course. So if those who have the know-how could tell me where to start off my search. I don't mind any particular place in the world, although I would prefer if English was spoken predominantly in the country. Also could information on fees and admission requirements also be given, like how difficult is it to be accepted as an int. student. i am currently studying in Canada, University of Toronto but I'm not sure how I'll be funding myself for my masters.

Thanks for your help.

Reply 1

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

21

You won't be able to study all these regions on one master’s course. You need to pick one. Check out SOAS, Cambridge and Oxford in the UK, and Leiden University in the Netherlands - they are all very good for the study of these regions.

Reply 2

aye_zt

OP

Thanks for your reply. I have heard about SOAS, oxford and cambridge. But one of my profs who studied at oxford told me not to go there saying the profs and research there are not that advanced in this specific field. Having searched up the masters courses offered in oxford and cambridge, they weren't a lot of options available (like 2 to 3 courses only) and the ones available were not quite of my interest. But SOAS seemed to have many good options available. I read their online prospectus and found a masters course for comparative literature which i thought was a good way to combine atleast 2 of the regions of my interest, research-wise. But i haven't studied in UK before so I'm not sure what kind of reputation or worth SOAS has in UK and globally. Are the profs and research good there? If it is, why is SOAS's ranking in UK so low then?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by aye_zt

Thanks for your reply. I have heard about SOAS, oxford and cambridge. But one of my profs who studied at oxford told me not to go there saying the profs and research there are not that advanced in this specific field. Having searched up the masters courses offered in oxford and cambridge, they weren't a lot of options available (like 2 to 3 courses only) and the ones available were not quite of my interest. But SOAS seemed to have many good options available. I read their online prospectus and found a masters course for comparative literature which i thought was a good way to combine atleast 2 of the regions of my interest, research-wise. But i haven't studied in UK before so I'm not sure what kind of reputation or worth SOAS has in UK and globally. Are the profs and research good there? If it is, why is SOAS's ranking in UK so low then?

When did your prof study there? Things change. Perhaps the @SOAS Student Helper could answer your questions re SOAS/it's reputation/course. Did you look at Leiden?

Reply 4

aye_zt

OP

Yes, I was having my doubts as well when he said that about Oxford but he was teaching in the area of my interest, so i cannot take his comments lightly. I shall ask him more about what he said. I didn't look into leiden because going to netherlands would be more difficult than going to UK for me. So I thought I'd aim for the easier country first and see if i can go there. Thanks for the SOAS link, I'll see what i kind find there.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

Snufkin

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by aye_zt

Yes, I was having my doubts as well when he said that about Oxford but he was teaching in the area of my interest, so i cannot take his comments lightly. I shall ask him more about what he said. I didn't look into leiden because going to netherlands would be more difficult than going to UK for me. So I thought I'd aim for the easier country first and see if i can go there. Thanks for the SOAS link, I'll see what i kind find there.

I don’t think going to the Netherlands would be harder than the UK. Why do you think it would be?

Reply 6

tobiasxjones

1

Original post by aye_zt

Yes, I was having my doubts as well when he said that about Oxford but he was teaching in the area of my interest, so i cannot take his comments lightly. I shall ask him more about what he said. I didn't look into leiden because going to netherlands would be more difficult than going to UK for me. So I thought I'd aim for the easier country first and see if i can go there. Thanks for the SOAS link, I'll see what i kind find there.

Leiden has an excellent Middle Eastern Studies department, which is what I study. I am not sure why the Netherlands would be tougher for you than the UK as they are both in the EU, and you will benefit from cheaper fees here too. If you have any questions about the course here at Leiden, feel free to let me know- I also studied Farsi here!

Reply 7

University of Groningen

7

Hello! The University of Groningen also offers an excellent programme in your field:

http://www.rug.nl/masters/east-asian-studies/

Send us an email at [email protected] if you have further questions! :-)

where should I do masters in middle eastern/south asian/east-asian studies?

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