In the beating heart of the Bloomsbury quarter, Soas is a small university with fewer than 6,000 students that packs a big punch on the academic stage, pioneering moves to decolonise the curriculum and challenging Eurocentrism. With a specialist international focus on Asia, Africa and the Middle East, study options offer combinations across law, politics, economics, finance, business, management, the arts, humanities and languages. More than 40 per cent of undergraduate programmes include the opportunity to spend a year studying in another country and all have the option to learn a non-European language alongside their degree programme. Some of the countries with which Soas has the strongest study links include Palestine, Korea, Kenya, Thailand, China and Jordan.
Students past and present agree that the library is among the most compelling features of Soas. Located in the Russell Square campus, it is one of only five national research libraries in the UK and houses more than 1.5 million volumes, periodicals and audio-visual materials in 400 languages
High-profile alumni add to the university’s reputation, including its president, Zeinab Badawi, a broadcast journalist; Achim Steiner, the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme; the MP David Lammy and the England rugby union captain, Maro Itoje.
What is Soas University of London’s reputation?
Founded in 1916, the university was formerly known as the School of Oriental and African Studies. It has turned its original academic focus on its head; evolving from its roots in Britain’s imperialist projects, when its purpose was to train colonial administrators to run the empire’s colonies, to debating those founding aims. The Soas development studies course ranks fifth in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.
Soas climbed ten places in our research quality index, to 36th, thanks to a strong performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). Of the research that it submitted, 87 per cent was ranked world-leading or internationally excellent, with particular success in law, anthropology and music.
It has relaunched the Soas Middle East Institute (formerly the London Middle East Institute) and opened the Centre for Pan-African Studies last year, to promote interdisciplinary research, policy dialogues and public engagement on issues related to the African continent and its diaspora. Soas anthropologists have been awarded nearly £8 million from Research England to help address inequalities in access to mental health care.
Two years ago Soas entered our top 30 and was shortlisted for our Specialist University of the Year title. However, a double-digit fall last year has been compounded by another ten-place decline in our new academic ranking, bringing Soas to 75th. Poor student satisfaction has contributed to its fall: it ranks in the bottom three for students’ evaluations of both teaching quality and the wider experience in our analysis of the latest National Student Survey (NSS), and in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) received only a bronze rating for student experience.
Soas has cut jobs in its international foundation courses and its English language studies, but the university is not among those that have reported financial deficits.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
Seven courses are being offered from 2025, all of which include a year in industry: Four are BA degrees – economics; creative arts and cultural industries; digital media, culture and creative arts; and digital media, culture and film studies — and three are BSc: economics; accounting and finance; and management.
No courses have been discontinued.
What are Soas University of London’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Its entry requirements go up to AAA, though contextual offers benefited one in eight applicants last year — undercutting the standard rate by up to two A-level grades. Soas attracted a record number of applications in 2024 (more than 6,400) and nearly a quarter of entrants in 2024 gained their places through clearing.
What are the graduate prospects?
The university has relationships with public sector organisations, charities, NGOs, law firms, consultancies and the cultural and creative industries, and its graduates have gone on to work in organisations such as PwC, Amnesty International, Sotheby’s and the BBC. It launched a paid internship programme in 2021.
Soas ranks 64= according to our analysis of the national Graduate Outcomes survey, based on 75.4 per cent of graduates working in high-skilled jobs or engaged in further study 15 months after finishing their degrees.
What is Soas University of London’s campus like?
The school is based in Senate House, the imposing headquarters of the University of London, in Russell Square. The campus has a refurbished students’ union common room and bar and is investing in an extensive upgrade of its IT facilities.
When can I visit?
soas.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about Soas University of London’s student life and wellbeing support
Societies supported by the students union reflect the university’s politically active community and include liberation caucuses, Desi, Pride and North African societies among others. Interests such as anime and Chinese percussion as well as sports clubs are on offer too. It does not have its own sports facilities, but it is well placed for University of London and public amenities, and the Ramla Ali Studio in the students’ union provides space for dance, martial arts and other physical activities. There is also a student-run radio station and newspaper.
Soas has a discrimination charter outlining its abhorrence of racism, antisemitism and all forms of cultural, ethnic and religious chauvinism. New students are required to take part in consent and active bystander training sessions.
Counselling is offered in person or online and in one-to-one, group or workshop settings, as well dedicated support for students who identify as black and/or trans/non-binary, and for international students. A multi-faith chaplaincy and a mentoring service also provide support.
What do the students say?
“Being at Soas offers a far more intimate and communal space compared to other institutions. The student body is passionate and politically engaged, with a firm culture of activism deeply embedded in campus life. There is a kind of richness — intellectual, cultural, and personal — that you would struggle to find elsewhere.”
Safia Aminah Shaikh, the co-president of activities and events at Soas University of London
What about student accommodation at Soas University of London?
First-years who apply during the main cycle are guaranteed accommodation. Prices range from £162 to £387 a week.
How diverse and inclusive is Soas University of London?
With students from ethnic minority backgrounds making up 81.2 per cent of its admissions, Soas has the third most ethnically diverse student body in the UK. It ranks 85th overall in our social inclusion index for England and Wales.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at Soas University of London
Just over half of undergraduates received some form of financial help in 2025. Awards based on financial need include the Soas bursary (£4,500 paid over the duration of a degree), as well as the University of London Scholars Programme, Soas Sanctuary Scholarships, and Rahim Lalji ’14 Development Studies Bursaries. The International Academic Excellence Scholarship provides £5,000 to ten overseas students.
