Oriental Studies

Overview

Oriental Studies has a long history at the University of Oxford. The Bodleian and other libraries have acquired extensive collections. The Nizami Ganjavi Oriental Institute library, the KB Chen China Centre, and the Bodleian Japanese and Indian Institute libraries are all specialists in their respective fields. Around the corner from the Oriental Institute is the Ashmolean Museum, which houses superb collections, the Leopold Muller Memorial Library at the Clarendon Institute for Hebrew and Jewish Studies material, and the Sackler Library which contains the renowned Griffith Institute Archive, one of the finest libraries in the world for the study of ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East.

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 Turkish course a year in Turkey and the Hebrew course an optional year in Israel. The Chinese and Japanese courses also include a year in China and Japan respectively. For Persian, the faculty decides each year whether it is advisable for its students to spend their year abroad in Iran. In years when Iran is not possible, they study in Tajikistan instead.

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.’