Oriental Studies

Overview

All courses include a combination of linguistic, literary, historic and cultural studies and there is a wide range of options in fields such as art and archaeology, history, literature, philosophy, religion and modern social studies.

Work placements/international opportunities

Most courses offer the opportunity to spend time in the region being studied. The Oriental Studies course offered at the University of Oxford includes a year in the Middle East, the Persian and Turkish courses a year in Iran (due to visa restrictions some students are unable to travel to Iran, in which case separate individual arrangements are made) or Turkey respectively, and the Hebrew course an optional year in Israel. The Chinese and Japanese courses also include a year in China and Japan respectively.

Careers

The skills developed while studying for a degree in Oriental Studies are greatly appreciated by a wide range of employers. Career options include finance, the media, commerce, the Civil Service, the law, accountancy and the arts. Around 30% of Oriental Studies graduates go on to further study.

Andi, who graduated with a BA in Japanese, is Director of International Business Development at Ping Identity. He says: ‘My time at Oxford gave me a good foundation for the varied demands of both small and large companies, and the skills required to handle the constant change and learning required in the software industry. I’ve had the opportunity to do business in Japan on several occasions through my career.’