SOAS University of London Speciality : History
programme: History and International Relations

SOAS is a very interesting place with a specific and vibrant culture that I really haven’t found at other unis. The students are really passionate and active when it comes to student and world politics and voice their opinions about problems. If you are interested in protest and activism it’s a great place to be. Social spaces are really lively and have a very diverse mix of people there. It has a strong sense of community.____Classes tend to be well taught and often are led by specialists in their fields. However, often the core modules (which you have to take) are very boring and useless. There aren’t many teaching hours at all (8-12 per week) so you have to be really self-motivated and read a lot to do well academically. If you are struggling tutors are usually very happy to help.____The management and administration at SOAS are very poor. Admin takes a long time to do anything which can be quite stressful. Management makes terrible decisions which are not in the best interests of the students all the time (such as cuts to the library) which students actively oppose. Valerie Amos (the director) is not around very much and feels quite removed. There is poor communication between management and students and generally, it’s quite a hostile relationship. Also, SOAS is in financial trouble so there are a lot of cuts being made to services.____Despite its flaws, SOAS is still a good place to study because what it offers is so different from other unis. Its non-western focus is important and lecturers and students often challenge the normative academic discourse. This is probably the most valuable thing that SOAS has to offer.