Modern South Asian Studies MSc

<strong>The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.</strong> <br/><br/><strong>MPhil</strong><br/>The MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies is a 21-month, taught masters course, offered jointly by the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. <br/><br/>You will study this important region, with its rich history and its complex present-day societies, via an intensive language route or a non-language route, culminating in a substantial thesis.<br/><br/>The MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies is an exciting degree bringing together Oxford’s wealth of expertise on South Asia in a single course. You will gain access to teaching and expert supervision across departments in the Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions. You will receive rigorous training in one of two tailored modules in research methods, and have the option to build in Hindi, Urdu, Classical Hindi/Hindavi, Persian or other language training.<br/><br/>You may choose to explore the social, economic and political achievements and challenges of the present-day states of South Asia, and the connections between the countries’ democratic and developmental successes and failures, or to range more broadly across the states and societies of the subcontinent over the past five hundred years.<br/><br/>Since the MPhil is taught jointly by staff within the Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions, students will be part of a larger community of teachers, researchers and students with interests in South Asia.<br/><br/>For students who already have a grounding in a South Asian language, there are opportunities to proceed to an advanced level, and to develop reading skills to attain a research proficiency.<br/><br/>You will also choose between the language track or the non-language track. Language track students may take one of the following intensive courses both at beginner and advanced level: Hindi, Hindi and Urdu, Classical Hindi/Hindavi, and, if the timetable permits, Sanskrit, Persian or Tibetan. Students who are interested in any of these three substitute core languages are asked to flag this interest in their personal statement.<br/><br/>Subject to timetabling, students with at least an intermediate or colloquial knowledge of any South Asian language also have the opportunity to take less intensive training in Hindi, Urdu, Classical Hindi/Hindavi or Persian either continuing at an advanced level or beginning a new language. Subject to both timetabling and demand, Bengali, Gujarati or Marathi may be studied either in their modern-day forms at elementary level or in their classical forms at a more advanced level. Again, if you are interested in taking Persian either at advanced or beginner level you are asked to flag this in your personal statement. <br/><br/><strong>MSc</strong><br/>The MSc in Modern South Asian Studies is a nine month, taught masters course, offered jointly by the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. <br/><br/>You will study this important region, with its rich history and its complex present-day societies, from a number of disciplinary and analytical perspectives, culminating in a thesis.<br/><br/>The MSc in Modern South Asian Studies is an exciting degree bringing together Oxford’s wealth of expertise on South Asia in a single course. You will receive rigorous training in one of two tailored modules in research methods, and subject to timetabling and demand, may have the opportunity to build in Hindi, Urdu, Classical Hindi/Hindavi, Persian, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi or other language training. You may pursue any combination of interests, including history, literature, language, religion, economy and interstate relations. <br/><br/><strong>For the full description, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas</strong>