Buddhist Studies
| Award | Attendance | Study | Duration | Start | Domestic fees | International fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | On-Campus | Full-time, Part-time | 1 - 3 years | find out | £11980 per year | £23400 per year |
About Buddhist Studies, MA - at SOAS University of London
The MA Buddhist Studies is an interdisciplinary programme that engages with Buddhism as a field of inquiry from a historical, philosophical, anthropological and material culture perspectives though a selection of modules together covering most of Buddhist Asia. The programme follows a non-confessional, contextual approach, which highlights the diversity of Buddhism in its historical and geographical developments and appreciates it as a living religion. Attention is given to how scholarship, both in the West and in Asia, has shaped our understanding of Buddhism. The programme benefits from teaching on Buddhist languages and regional cultures across the School.
It caters to students who wish to broaden their knowledge of Buddhism as a whole or of specific Buddhist traditions as well as to students intending to embark on further research or fieldwork among Buddhist communities.
It is supported by an active Research Centre which offers extraordinary opportunities of further engagement with the study of Buddhism.
The programme's inter-disciplinary focus aims to provide students with advanced training in the area of religion and politics through the study of a wide range of theoretical and regional perspectives. It will serve primarily as a platform for professional development and further (MPhil/PhD) graduate research. The programme will offer students
- Advanced knowledge and understanding of significant approaches, methods, debates, and theories in the field of religion and politics, with particular reference to the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East;
- Advanced skills in researching and writing about topics in and theorisations of religion and politics;
- Advanced skills in the presentation or communication of knowledge and understanding of topics in religion and politics as they pertain to regional, international, and transnational contexts.
See Department of Religions & Philosophies,
School of History, Religions & Philosophies.
SOAS academic staff members are qualified to offer guidance and supervision in a wide range of research areas relating to Buddhist literature, doctrine, philosophy, history, ritual, iconography, and art in South Asia, Tibet, Central Asia, China and Japan.
SOAS Centre of Buddhist Studies is a hub of distinguished Buddhist scholarship that generates synergy among academics and research students, from SOAS and beyond, involved in the study of Buddhism in Asian societies. It is composed of 17 permanent members of staff and emeriti, as well as a pool of associate and graduate student members from SOAS and other UK institutions.
Entry requirements
Contact SOAS University of London to find course entry requirements.
Why study at SOAS University of London
- SOAS is in London, which is officially the best student city in the world - and has been for five years in a row (QS World Rankings 2024)
- There are 5,630 students on campus, from 135+ countries
- 2nd in the UK for international faculty (QS World Rankings 2024)
- Top 30 in the UK (The Times Good University Guide 2024)
- Top 40 in the UK for research quality Complete University Guide 2024)
- 6th in the UK for employment outcomes (QS World Rankings 2023)
- Top 100 in the world for addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals for Peace, Justice, Poverty and Gender Equality (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, 2023)
- One of 35 National Research Libraries in the UK. We have over 1.5 million volumes, periodicals and audio-visual materials in 400 languages, focusing on Asia, Africa and the Middle East
- 87% of research ranked 'world-leading or internationally excellent' (Research Excellence Framework 2021)