Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Course options

• Arabic
• Assyriology
• Chinese
• Egyptology 
• Hebrew 
• Japanese
• Jewish Studies
• Persian
• Sanskrit
• Turkish

About the course

The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is unique for its focus on introducing students to civilisations that are different from the Western ones upon which the curriculum in most British schools and colleges is based.

The various courses offered by the Faculty present both the major traditions and cultural trends of the regions studied and, in most cases, their modern developments. All courses include a combination of linguistic, literary, historic and cultural studies. There is a wide range of options in fields such as art and archaeology, history, literature, philosophy, religion and modern social studies.

Asian and Middle Eastern Studies has a long history in Oxford. The Bodleian and other libraries possess extensive collections. These include the Nizami Ganjavi Library, the KB Chen China Centre Library and the Bodleian Japanese Library which contain significant collections in their respective fields. 

Around the corner from the Faculty building on Pusey Lane is the Ashmolean Museum, which houses superb collections relevant to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Nearby are also the Leopold Muller Memorial Library at the Clarendon Institute for Hebrew and Jewish Studies material, and the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library. The Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library contains the renowned Griffith Institute Archive, one of the finest collections in the world for the study of ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East.

Work placements/international opportunities

Most courses offer the opportunity to spend time in the region being studied. For example, students of Arabic spend a year in an Arabic-speaking country; students of Turkish in Turkey; students of Chinese in China or Taiwan; students of Japanese in Japan; students of Persian in Iran, Tajikistan and/or Armenia.  

For Persian, the Faculty decides each year whether it is advisable for its students to spend their year abroad in Iran. In years when Iran is not possible, they study in Tajikistan and/or Armenia instead.

'I chose Oxford because apart from just learning the language, the [BA Arabic] course gives a solid introduction to many different areas relating to the Middle East, before moving on to focus on particular areas in more depth and becoming really flexible, allowing me to explore my interests. I am looking forward to being able to read literature in Arabic rather than having to study it in translation.' Will	'Apart from Akkadian language classes and my history and civilisation lectures, which I love, the department in general is so lovely. It's a really close knit community and there's often events going on to get everyone together, lecturers and students alike.' Hannah	'Most people think of Egyptology and Assyriology as really hermetic subjects, but they involve everything from linguistics and scientific archaeology to literary theory and comparative religion. They just use ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia as contexts for applying and evaluating much broader streams of academic inquiry. And that's great because while you get to pursue your specific interests in the field, you also dip into a bit of everything else - it's not a subject one gets bored of!' Jordan

Unistats information

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Visit the Studying at Oxford section of this page for a more general insight into what studying here is likely to be like.

Please select 'see course data' on the following course options to view the full Unistats data for each.

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small. 

Academic requirements 

Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they have been achieved.

Read further information on how we use contextual data.

Subject requirements

Mastering the ability to handwrite in Japanese, Chinese and Korean has been identified as a competence standard for a mandatory core element of these courses. This means that students will be required to produce handwritten work for assessment and it will not be possible to complete the assessment in an alternative format.

If you are interested in this course and your personal circumstances mean that handwriting may present a challenge, please contact the undergraduate.administrator@ames.ox.ac.uk for further information.

Applying

All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown on our Applying to Oxford pages.

The following information gives specific details for students applying for this course.

Written work

If you have any further questions about what to submit, please contact the Tutor for Admissions at the college which is considering your application. Visit our college pages for contact details.

Read our further guidance on the submission of written work for more information, and to download a cover sheet.

What are tutors looking for?

The ability to learn difficult languages from scratch requires strong motivation and a capacity for sustained and well-organised hard work.

Asian and Middle Eastern Studies also requires you to develop skills of analysis, argument and essay writing across the fields of literature, history and religious thought.

Visit the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies website for more detail on the selection criteria for this course.

Fees

Additional Fees and Charges Information for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Students taking Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Persian or Turkish will take the second year abroad. Students of Hebrew can choose to take a year abroad, but it is not compulsory.

The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies covers the cost of language tuition abroad, but not living costs and flights. Students taking Arabic are able to choose between several institutions abroad. Depending on the choice of education provider, additional costs may be incurred. These will be confirmed in advance each year.

Some funding towards year abroad placements is currently available through the Turing scheme, which provides living costs grants and enhanced support for disadvantaged students. The University plans to bid for Turing scheme funding to support year abroad activity in future academic years.

UK students can continue to access government funding for living costs, and those from lower-income households who are means-tested will remain eligible for generous bursaries from Oxford. Travel grants and financial assistance for those with insufficient funds may also be available through your college and the University.