Diploma in Asian Art

Flask decorated with 'famille rose' enamels, China, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century. © Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. Photograph courtesy of SOAS

This postgraduate programme offers a unique opportunity to study the arts of Asia and the Islamic world with lectures by leading scholars in the field.

The course will provide an object-based learning experience through direct access to the reserved collections of the V&A and the British Museum.

The lecture programme is supported by field trips to museums, galleries and private collections. The course is designed to train museum curators or serious collectors. It will also prepare students for work in a variety of professions in the art and the museum world and provides a pathway to the master’s degree for those with no background in the subject.

Museums and curators in Asia, and museums specialising in non-Western collections elsewhere, will find it an attractive, object-focused training opportunity for enhancing curatorial skills in the study, display and cataloguing of art objects in a fully-resourced academic environment.

Students successfully completing any three of the modules below will will be awarded a University of London accredited Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art.

Selection of modules:

Chinese Art
January - March

Japanese and Korean Art
April - July

Islamic Art
April - July

Indian Art
September - December

No prior specialist knowledge required.

Download application form

For further details, contact:

Dr Heather Elgood
School of Oriental and African Studies
University of London
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London WC1H OXG

Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4445
Email: he2@soas.ac.uk
Web: www.soas.ac.uk/art

Image: Flask decorated with 'famille rose' enamels, China, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century. Object no. PDF:824 © Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. Photograph courtesy of SOAS.