MSc Politics of the Middle East SOAS University of London

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time

SOAS has been the leading institution for the study of the Middle East for decades, and the Department of Politics is world-renowned for its scholars’ combination of regional and disciplinary expertise. The MSc Politics of the Middle East is further distinguished by its tutors’ critical perspectives and the cutting-edge modules on offer. The content balances historical and theoretical rigour with coverage of up-to-the-minute regional and global developments. Students choose from modules covering the politics of resistance, religion, and solidarity, alongside urban politics, infrastructure, migration, artificial intelligence and human security. The programme trains students in disciplinary approaches – political sociology, political economy, and international relations – while encouraging them to think and write across these disciplinary boundaries.

Learning and teaching on the MSc combine lectures, seminars, presentations, and independent study. Students are expected to read extensively and to engage actively in class discussions. They study research methods, and submit independently written assignments, with the guidance of their course tutors. The MSc ends with a dissertation, whose topic and approach are developed with the support of a specialist supervisor.

On this MSc, students’ learning and research are enhanced by access to the world-leading specialist SOAS Library, the opportunity to take a language module and the vibrant programme of academic and student-run events on the Middle East at SOAS.

Who is this programme for?

The MSc Politics of the Middle East is one of the Politics Department’s longest-running and most popular programmes. It attracts students who wish to build on their academic or professional connections with the Middle East and to develop transferable skills for employment in a variety of fields. These include media and broadcasting, a political consultancy, diplomacy, civil service, and party politics, human rights, development, and international organisations. In an age when the Middle East remains central to global political and economic trends, the training gained on this Masters programme continues to be precious.

Structure

Students must take 180 credits comprised of 120 taught credits (including core and option modules) and a 60 credit dissertation.

Dissertation

Dissertation MUST be on some aspect of Middle East Politics.

• Dissertation in Politics and International Studies

Core Modules

• Methodology in the Social Sciences

Choose

• At least 15 credits from List A
• At least 45 credits from List B
• A maximum of 45 credits from List C

List A

• State and transformation in the Middle East
• Political society in the Middle East

List B

Modules already selected under A cannot be selected again.

• International politics of the Middle East
• Politics of resistance in the Middle East
• Islam and politics
• Infrastructures, Conflict and Struggle
• Artificial Intelligence and Human Security
• State and transformation in the Middle East
• Political society in the Middle East

List C

• Queer Politics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
• Geopolitics and Security in Central Asia and the Caucasus
• Political Thought on the Just Rebellion
• State Violence: Theories of the Leviathan and Beyond
• Turkey: Continuity and Change
• Islamic Law (MA/LLM)
• Nationalism and Revolution in the Modern Middle East, 1914-1979
• Gender in the Middle East
• Empire and Reform in the Modern Middle East, 1789-1914
• State and Society in Central Asia and the Caucasus
• Mediated Culture in the Middle East: Politics and Communications
• Critical Perspectives on Palestine Studies I: History and Politics
• Critical Perspectives on Palestine Studies II: Culture and Society
• Iran: History, Culture, Politics
• Persian 1 A (PG)
• Persian 1 B (PG)
• Turkish 1 A (PG)
• Turkish 1B (PG)

Learn a language as part of this programme

Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.

Employment

SOAS MSc Middle East Politics students leave SOAS not only with a knowledge and understanding of the complex political and cultural issues of international politics, but also with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector.