Creative Arts and Cultural Industries

Creative arts and cultural industries at the School of Oriental and African Studies is a degree with a distinctive character rooted in SOAS's particular strengths and perspective. Creative arts here means engaging with artistic practices and traditions from across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East alongside the Euro-American canon, broadening considerably the frame within which you think about what art is, what it does, and who makes it. The cultural industries dimension addresses the economic, organisational, and political structures through which creative work is produced, distributed, and consumed in today's globalised media landscape.

Together, they offer an education that is both critically rigorous and genuinely international in its scope.

The programme at SOAS includes a foundation year for students who need additional preparation before degree-level study, making it accessible to a wider range of applicants. The main degree takes you through critical and cultural theory, the sociology of art and media, and the analysis of creative practices in their specific cultural contexts. You will engage with film, music, literature, visual art, and performance from traditions that are often underrepresented in arts education in the UK, developing a genuinely global critical vocabulary.

The cultural industries strand examines how the creative economy functions, how intellectual property, funding structures, and digital platforms shape what gets made and seen, and what the implications are for cultural diversity and access.

Graduates from this programme are well equipped for careers in the arts, media, and cultural sectors both in the UK and internationally. Museum and gallery roles, curatorial work with a focus on non-Western collections, arts administration and programming, and cultural policy are natural destinations. The media and digital content industries draw on graduates with both creative and critical analytical skills.

International development organisations, NGOs, and cultural diplomacy roles are further options that reflect SOAS's distinctive international orientation. Publishing, journalism, and communications are also open to graduates with strong writing and critical thinking skills. Postgraduate study in cultural studies, art history, museum studies, or media is an option for those who want to develop their expertise further.