SOAS

What SOAS does

SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies) is a higher education institution founded in 1916 and part of the University of London federation, specialising in the study of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and their languages. The institution delivers undergraduate, postgraduate taught, and research degree programmes both on its Bloomsbury campus in London and via online learning (SOAS On Demand), with tuition fees ranging from approximately £10,320 for online postgraduate diplomas to £25,320 for international master's programmes. The core academic platform comprises the SOAS Moodle Virtual Learning Environment integrated with Panopto for lecture capture, Turnitin for assignment submission, and Microsoft Office 365; supporting infrastructure includes the SOAS Library (one of five UK National Research Libraries, housing over 1.8 million volumes) and the SOAS Language Centre offering short courses in more than 30 languages.

Revenue is generated through three primary streams: tuition fees (differentiated for Home/EU and international students), donations and philanthropy (including a £10m endowment, legacy gifts, and US-based donations via the Chapel & York US Foundation), and research grants from bodies such as the ESRC and the Alphawood Foundation. The customer base spans domestic and international students, lifelong learners taking short courses, and researchers/academics pursuing doctoral study. SOAS pursues a traditional sales-led go-to-market through its website, open days, global educational agent representatives, webinars, and study-abroad exchange partnerships. The institution holds strategic partnerships with the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Alphawood Foundation, and GSMA, and operates 20+ specialist research centres covering area studies, linguistics, development, religion, and human rights.

Strategic positioning centres on a deeply specialised niche: 5 subjects ranked in the global top 40 and 13 in the global top 100 (QS 2026), including 2nd in the world for Development Studies and joint 1st in the UK for International Faculty (QS 2027). Recent expansion has focused on extending specialist Asian Art and African language offerings through online delivery and on building research leadership in low-resource African language AI, rather than on broad-based scale growth.

Name

SOAS

Legal name

SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies)

Website

https://soas.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1916

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SOAS University of London is a specialist higher education institution and University of London constituent college, founded in 1916, delivering undergraduate, postgraduate, and research degrees focused on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East through on-campus and online programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Area studies
• Language teaching
• Academic research
• University degree programs

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and postgraduate tuition fees, with differentiated pricing for Home/EU students versus international students. Additional revenue from online learning programmes, short courses, and language courses.
2. Donations and Philanthropy: Gifts from alumni and supporters including scholarship fund donations, legacy gifts through wills, and US-based tax-efficient donations via Chapel & York US Foundation. Endowment grown to £10m.
3. Research Grants and Funding: Funding from research councils including ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) for specific programmes. Alphawood Foundation support for Southeast Asian art studies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SOAS University of London is a public research university delivering undergraduate, postgraduate taught, and research degree programmes with an exclusive focus on Asia, Africa, the Middle East and their languages. The institution supplements its academic programmes with online learning pathways, a language centre offering short courses in over 30 languages, a National Research Library, gallery and special collections, and specialist research centres.

Product overview

SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) is a higher education institution offering a unified platform of academic programmes and student services. The core educational offerings span undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes across Development, Anthropology, Politics, Law, Economics, and regional studies (Africa, Asia, Middle East). Supporting the academic mission are the SOAS-Alphawood Programme (Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art in-person and online, and MA programmes), SOAS Language Centre (short courses in over 30 languages including Hindi and Thai), SOAS Library (1.8+ million volumes, National Research Library), SOAS Gallery and Special Collections, SOAS Moodle VLE, and Doctoral School. Financial support is provided through scholarship funds including Sanctuary Scholarships, Alphawood Scholarships, and Dr Hettie Elgood Scholarship. Infrastructure services include IT support, eduroam WiFi, free Office 365, Panopto lecture capture, Turnitin assignment submission, Events Technical Support, and Learning and Teaching Enhancement services. Research is supported by over 20 specialist centres and institutes covering global regions and disciplines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate and Postgraduate Degree Programmes Degree programmes (BA, MA, MSc, PhD, MPhil) covering Development, Anthropology, Politics, Law, Economics, Linguistics, History, History of Art and Archaeology, Media, and regional studies (Africa, China/Inner Asia, Japan/Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Near and Middle East). Designed for prospective and current undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking specialist regional and language expertise.
• SOAS Online Learning Distance and online learning pathways that allow students worldwide to access SOAS education remotely, including fully online postgraduate courses and dedicated online fee structures.
• SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art (in-person) In-person postgraduate diploma in Asian art offered by the SOAS-Alphawood Programme, featuring object-based study in association with the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum. Requires 120 credit points completed full-time within one year. Priced at £17,430 for 2026/27.
• SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art (online) Fully online pathway of the SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma bringing object-based study of Asian art to remote learners worldwide, with bespoke professionally produced videos from partner museums and interactive online learning modules. Priced at £10,320 for 2026/27.
• SOAS Language Centre Short Courses Short courses in over 30 languages including African, Arabic, South Asian, Southeast Asian, East Asian, and European languages. Also provides bespoke corporate language training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) workshops for language teachers. Open to students, professionals, and the public.
• Thai Language Courses Part-time Thai language courses from beginners through elementary levels, taught through blended learning combining 15 hours of online structured lessons with 5 hours of guided independent learning per 10-week term.
• Hindi Language Courses Comprehensive Hindi language instruction from beginners through elementary levels using blended learning methodology covering four key skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
• SOAS Library One of only five UK National Research Libraries, housing over 1.8 million volumes, archives, manuscripts, rare books, and a growing Digital Library with electronic resources focused on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Library access is available to students, staff, visiting scholars, and researchers.
• SOAS Gallery and Special Collections Gallery hosting a changing programme of contemporary and historical exhibitions from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, housing the SOAS Collection of over 500 artworks and objects, and the Foyle Special Collections Gallery with permanent display of treasures from Asia and Africa.
• SOAS Doctoral School Research degree programmes (PhD, MPhil) with support for visiting research students, annual progression reviews, fieldwork permissions, and doctoral training and development. Supports advanced researchers in development studies, humanities, and social sciences.
• Research Centres and Institutes Specialist research centres covering global regions and disciplines, including Centre for Anthropology and Mental Health Research, Centre for Human Rights Law, Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, Centre for Iranian Studies, Centre for Jewish Studies, Centre of African Studies, Centre of Buddhist Studies, Centre of Islamic Studies, Centre of Jaina Studies, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Centre of Taiwan Studies, Centre of Korean Studies, Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS China Institute, and SOAS Middle East Institute.
• Short Courses and Summer Programmes Associate Student programme, customised short courses, specialist art short courses, and International Summer School for English language and cultural programmes, available to the public and visiting students.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• GSMAmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026Jointly organized workshop on African language models and AI with GSMA. Funded by SOAS TAFSIRI Research Culture Grant in collaboration with GSMA, SOAS Centre for African Studies and Department of Linguistics.
• British MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal association with the British Museum allowing SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma students exceptional access to collections and curatorial expertise. The museum provides exclusive contributions filmed in exhibitions, galleries, and reserve collections.
• Victoria and Albert MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal association with the Victoria and Albert Museum providing SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma students access to collections and curatorial expertise. Museum contributes filmed content for online learning modules.
• Chapel & York US FoundationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSOAS is a Named Fund member of the Chapel & York US Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization enabling US-based donors to make tax-efficient donations to SOAS.
• Global Educational Agent RepresentativesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of educational agent representatives worldwide supporting international student recruitment and providing local guidance to prospective students.
• Study Abroad and Exchange PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInbound students from partner institutions worldwide and outbound exchange arrangements for SOAS students to study at partner universities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• University of Cambridge: Top-tier UK public research university with global programmes in politics, development, anthropology and area studies. Comparable as a UK research university contributing to the country's national research ecosystem and competing for top global faculty and graduate applicants.
• University of Edinburgh: Major UK research university with strong humanities, social sciences and area-related offerings. Comparable as a UK public research university competing for international postgraduate students and research council funding, though broader in disciplinary scope.
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE): University of London federation college specializing in social sciences, politics and economics. Comparable as a London-based specialist research university attracting international students and faculty, with overlapping departments in politics, development, anthropology and area-related social sciences.
• King's College London: University of London federation college with significant research intensity and global student body. Comparable as a London-based public research university recruiting international students and sharing the same central London operating environment and regulatory context.
• University of Oxford: Top-tier UK public research university with strong offerings across humanities, social sciences and area studies. Comparable as a leading UK research university competing for international students, philanthropic donations (including Alphawood-tier gifts) and global subject rankings.
• Sciences Po: French grande école focused on social sciences, politics, international relations and area studies. Comparable as a specialist European institution with strong rankings in politics, development and international studies, attracting a globally diverse student and faculty body.
• University College London (UCL): Federation partner within the University of London and the UK's largest multi-faculty research university. Comparable as a London-based public research university in the same collegiate ecosystem, competing for international students, faculty and research grants, though much broader in disciplinary scope.

Direct peers

• Leiden University: Dutch research university with internationally recognized Asian, African and Middle Eastern studies programmes at Leiden University College and the Faculty of Humanities. Comparable in area-studies specialization, language teaching and humanities-led research reputation.
• INALCO (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales): French public higher education institution dedicated to languages and civilizations of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania. The closest international analogue to SOAS: comparable subject focus on non-Western languages, cultures and area studies, with a similar academic mission and global recruitment footprint.
• Australian National University (ANU) College of Asia and the Pacific: ANU's College of Asia and the Pacific is among the world's leading concentrations of area-studies and language expertise across Asia and the Pacific. Comparable subject focus on regional studies, languages and development research, with strong global rankings in similar disciplines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/soas
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/soasuniversity
• Facebookfacebook.com/soasunioflondon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soas-university-of-london
• Instagraminstagram.com/soasuni

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SOAS