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Admissions

UCAS Course Codes: see Course outline

Brief Course Outline

Duration of Course: 3 or 4 years (see individual subjects)
Degree awarded: BA in Oriental Studies

Course statistics for 2012 entry

Intake: 41
Applications shortlisted for interview: 89.9%
Successful applications: 32.7%

Open days

27 April and 26 and 27 June 2013

Booking is required by contacting undergraduate.admissions@orinst.ox.ac.uk

Contact details

Oriental Institute, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE
+44 (0) 1865 278312
Please email us at undergraduate.admissions@
orinst.ox.ac.uk

View Oriental Studies website


Institute for Chinese Studies,
Clarendon Institute Building,
Walton Street, Oxford OX1 2HG
+44 (0) 1865 280387
Please email us at enquiries@chinese.ox.ac.uk

 

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Oriental Studies

Courses tab icon About the course Course outline Entrance requirements How to apply

Work placements/international opportunities

Most courses offer the opportunity to spend time in the region being studied. The Arabic course includes a year in the Middle East, the Persian and Turkish courses a year in Iran or Turkey respectively, the Hebrew course an optional year in Israel. The Chinese and Japanese courses also include a year in China and Japan respectively.

Arabic and Islamic Studies (T601)
Arabic with subsidiary language (T6T9)
Persian with Islamic Art and Archaeology (QT46)
Persian with Islamic Studies/History (QT96)
Persian with subsidiary language (T6TX)
Turkish (T600)
Turkish with Islamic Art and Archaeology (TQP9)
Turkish with subsidiary language (T6TY)
1st year 2nd year 3rd and 4th years
Courses
  • Elementary language
  • Islamic history and culture

Courses

Year abroad: approved course of language instruction

Project

  • Core work on language and literature
  • History
  • Specialisation or subsidiary language
Assessment

First University examinations (preliminary)
After term 3:
Three written papers; an oral exam, in Arabic

Assessment

Qualifying examination at the end of the course

Assessment

Final University examinations
Oral exam and eight or nine written papers (one of which may be a thesis)

Chinese (T101)    
1st year 2nd year 3rd and 4th years

Courses

  • Elementary language in classical and modern Chinese
  • History and culture

 

Courses

  • Year abroad at Peking University

Courses

  • Extended language classes and historical study
  • Options: Ancient history; Literature; Modern society and politics; or subsidiary languages: Tibetan, Japanese, or Korean

Assessment

First University examinations

 

Assessment

Final University examinations
Oral examination; eight written papers; dissertation

Egyptology (Q400), Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Q401)
1st year 2nd year 3rd year

Courses

  • Broad survey of civilisations of Egypt and the Ancient Near East
  • Language teaching in Egyptian or Akkadian

 

Courses

  • Addition of second language, or Archaeology and Anthropology
  • Options: Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic and Syriac, Archaeology, Classical Greek, Coptic, Hebrew (Biblical and Mishnaic), Old Iranian, Sumerian or Hittite (if available)
  • Literary and historical topics through study of texts and essay writing
  • Intensive class work

Courses

  • Essay writing and dissertation work
  • Intensive classes in the first and second terms
  • Artefact classes
  • Field of concentration

Assessment

First University examinations
Four written papers

 

Assessment

Final University examinations
Ten units

Hebrew Studies: (primarily languages, literature, culture and history) (Q480)
1st year 2nd year 3rd and 4th years

Courses

  • Intensive study in Hebrew language in all periods
  • Introduction to ancient and modern Jewish history

 

Courses

  • Handling Hebrew texts and developing knowledge of historical and cultural background
  • Choice of options from Jewish Studies

3rd year can optionally be spent abroad

Courses

  • Texts
  • Historical and cultural background

Assessment

First University examinations
Four written papers

 

Assessment

Final University examinations
Seven written papers; dissertation
4-year course only: oral examination

Japanese (T201)
1st year 2nd year 3rd and 4th years

Courses

  • Elementary Japanese language
  • History and culture

 

Courses

  • Year abroad at Kobe University

Courses

  • Extended language classes
  • Options (five subjects to be chosen): Classical Literature; Modern Literature; Linguistics; History; Politics, Economics; additional language (counts as three subjects): either Chinese, Korean, or Tibetan

Assessment

First University examinations

Assessment

Test at end of course

Assessment

Final University examinations
Oral examination; eight written papers; dissertation

Jewish Studies: (primarily focused on the history, religion and culture of the Jews from biblical to modern times) (QV91)
1st year 2nd year 3rd year

Courses

  • Intensive study in Hebrew language in all periods
  • Introduction to ancient and modern Jewish history

 

Courses

  • Options (three subjects to be chosen)
  • One tutorial a week, with essay

Courses

  • Options (two subjects to be chosen)
  • One tutorial a week, with essay

Assessment

First University examinations
Four papers

 

Assessment

Final University examinations
Six written papers; dissertation

Sanskrit (Q450)
1st year 2nd year 3rd and 4th years

Courses

  • Intensive language teaching

 

Courses

  • Preparation for Final University examinations in final year
  • Study of Sanskrit grammar
  • Subsidiary language options: Old Iranian, Pali, Prakrit and Tibetan

Courses

  • Sanskrit literature
  • Special subject

Assessment

First University examinations

 

Assessment

Final University examinations
Nine papers: seven in Sanskrit and two in subsidiary languages

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