Programmespecification 2012/2013

SchoolofOrientalandAfricanStudies

Thefollowinginformationformstheprogrammespecification attheSchoolofOrientalandAfrican Studies,UniversityofLondon.Itgivesdefinitiveinformation relatingtoaprogramme ofstudyandis writtenforapublicaudience,particularlyprospectiveandcurrentstudents.Itisalsousedforother purposessuchasinitialprogramme approval,andisthereforeproducedatthestartoftheprogramme developmentprocess.Onceapproved,itformsthebase-lineinformationforallstatementsrelatingto theprogrammeandisupdatedasapprovedamendmentsaremade.

COREINFORMATION

Programmetitle / TraditionsofYogaandMeditation
Finalaward / MA
Intermediateawards / n/a
Modeofattendance / full-time,part-time
UCAScode / notyetavailable
Professionalbodyaccreditation / n/a
Datespecificationcreated/updated / October2011

WHYCHOOSETHISPROGRAMME?

WhystudyatSOAS? / SOASisuniqueastheonlyhighereducation institutionintheUKspecialisinginthestudyof
Africa,AsiaandtheMiddleEast.TheSchoolalso holdsthelargestconcentrationofspecialist
facultyconcernedwiththestudyoftheseareasat
anyuniversityintheworld.SOASisconsistently rankedamongthetophighereducation institutions intheUKandtheworldanditalso
offersafriendly,vibrantenvironmentforstudents inadiverseandclose-knitcommunity.
Whatisspecialaboutthisprogramme? / TheMA‘TraditionsofYogaandMeditation’
istheonlyprogrammeofitskindintheUK. Itisuniqueinitsthematicfocusand cross/inter-regionalscope.
Theprogramme’sthematic,butinter-
regional,focusprovidesstudentswithan advancedknowledgeofthetraditionsof yogaandmeditationinIndia,Tibet,China andJapan.Itpromotestheacademicstudy ofthedifferenttraditionsthroughthe deploymentofawiderangeofregional perspectives.Thecoreunitexploresthe methodologicalfoundationsattheheartof yoga/meditationpractice.
Itbringstogethertheexpertiseofthree membersofstaffonthreeboardregionsof Asia,andthusencouragesstudentsto evaluate religiousexperienceacrosscultures.
Itintegratesanalysisofboththeoryand practiceinthedomainofyogaand
meditation.
Itistaughtintheevening,allowingstudents withbusydaytimecommitmentstoattendthe
lectureswithoutdifficulty.
Whowoulditsuit? / TheMA‘TraditionsofYogaandMeditation’is designedbothasanendqualificationinitselfand
asaplatformpreparingstudentsformore advancedgraduatework.
Ittypicallysuitsstudentsfallingintooneofthe
followingcategories:
•Experiencedpractitionersofyogaand meditationwhowishtogainadeeper
understandingofthehistoricaland culturalcontextsthatshapedtheir
traditions.
•Studentswithabackgroundin psychologyseekingtogainknowledge
ofmeditationandmindfulnessfortheir
clinicalwork.
Studentsplanningtopursuefurther research,whichmayinvolveata subsequentstagetheacquisitionofa
doctoraldegreeandacareerinhigher
education.
Studentsseekingtopursueacareeror professionalactivityforwhichadvanced
knowledgeoftheyogaandmeditation traditionsofAsiaisrequired.
Studentswhowishtopursuethe
academicstudyofthesetraditionsasa complementtotheirpersonalexperience.
Programmestructure / Studentsarerequiredtofollowtaughtunitstothe equivalentofthreefullcoursesandtosubmita dissertationof10,000words.
Assessmentsummary / AllcoursesinthisMAareassessedthrougha combinationofshortandlongessays.Anoverall
percentagemarkisawardedforeachcourse,
basedonthemarksawardedforindividual assessmentitemswithinthecourse.TheMAmay beawardedatDistinction,MeritorPasslevelin accordancewiththecommonregulationsfor MA/MScatSOAS.

ENTRYREQUIREMENTS

SOAShasgeneralminimumentrancerequirementsforregistrationforapostgraduatetaughtdegree andthesecanbeviewedat

Theentrancerequirements fortheMA‘TraditionsofYogaandMeditation’areinlinewiththoseof SOAS.However,dueconsideration isgiventotheapplicants’individualprofiles,andtothefactthat greatpotentialforthesuccessful undertaking oftheacademicstudyofreligionsisnotnecessarily acknowledgedorcertifiedthroughtheapplicant’sacademicqualifications. Interviewscanbearranged forapplicantswhodonotmeettheminimumentrancerequirements, andearlycontactwithacademic membersofstaffisgenerallyencouraged.

PROGRAMMEAIMS

Whatwillthisprogrammegivethestudentanopportunitytoachieve?

•AdvancedknowledgeandunderstandingofthetraditionsofYogaandMeditationasthey developedinancientIndia,TibetandEastAsia.

•Advancedskillsinresearchingandwritingabouttopicsinyoga/meditationstudies,alsoasa

platformforfurtherresearchatdoctorallevel.

•Advancedskillsinpresentationorcommunicationofknowledgeandunderstandingoftopics inyoga/meditationstudies.

PROGRAMMELEARNINGOUTCOMES

Whatwillthestudentlearn?

Knowledge

•Studentswilllearnhowtoassessdataandevidencecritically,locateandsynthesisesource materials,criticallyevaluateconflictinginterpretationsandsources,useresearchresources (librarycatalogues,journaldatabases,citationindices)andothertraditionalsources.

•Subjectspecificskills,forinstance,textanalysis,comparativeinvestigations,interpretationof art-historicalevidence,familiaritywiththestudyofthetraditionsofyogaandmeditationasa

fieldofcriticalenquiryinitsvariousregionalandhistoricalcontexts.

•Aspectsofliteratureinthestudyofyogaandmeditationwithitsmanifestationsinphilosophy, religion,iconographyandhistory,aswellastheimpactofthesetraditionsonreligious

societies.

Intellectual(thinking)skills

•Students should become precise and cautious in their assessment of evidence, and to understandthroughpracticewhatdocumentscanandcannottellus.

•Studentswilldevelopthecapacitytodiscusstheoreticalandepistemologicalissuesinan articulate,informed,andintellectualmanner.

•Studentswilllearntobecomepreciseandcriticalintheirassessmentofscholarlyarguments

and to question interpretations,however authoritative,in order to reassess evidence for themselves.

•Studentswilllearntopresentcomplextheoreticalargumentsclearlyandcreatively.

•Studentswillacquireboththeoreticalandregionalexpertiseinordertodevelopandapply self-reflexive approaches to the issues raised by the cross-cultural study of yoga and

meditationtraditions.

Subject-basedpracticalskills

Theprogrammeaimstohelpstudentswiththefollowingpracticalskills:

•Academicwriting

•IT-basedinformationretrievalandprocessing

•Presentationalskills

•Independentstudyskillsandresearchtechniques

•Reflexivelearning

Transferableskills

Theprogrammewillencouragestudentsto:

•Writeconciselyandwithclarity.

•Effectivelystructureandcommunicateideas(oralandwritten).

•Exploreandassessavarietyofsourcesforresearchpurposes.

•Worktodeadlinesandhighacademicstandards.

•Assessthevalidityandcogencyofarguments.

•Makejudgementsinvolvingcomplexfactors.

•Developself-reflexivity.

•Developanawarenessoftheethicalcomplexityofrepresentationalpractices.

•Questionthenatureofsocialandculturalconstructs.

PROGRAMMESTRUCTUREANDREQUIREMENTSFORGAININGANAWARD

Howwillthestudent’sstudybestructured?Howwilltheyachieveanaward?

Structure,durationandrequirementsforgaininganaward

SOAShasstandardrequirementsrelatingtothestructureanddurationoftaughtpostgraduate programmesandfortheawardandclassificationoftheseprogrammes.

Detailscanbefoundat

MATraditionsofYogaandMeditation:GeneralStructure

Studentsarerequiredtofollowtaughtunitstotheequivalentofthreefullandtosubmita

dissertationof10,000words.

StudentsmayonlytakecoursesapprovedforthisparticularMA.

ThefollowingcourseshavebeensubmittedforapprovaltobeavailablefortheMA‘Traditionsof

YogaandMeditation’

Level / Yearof study / Course
code / Coursetitle / Credit / Status / Notes
7 / 1 / TBA / YogaandMeditation: Perspectives,Contextand
Methodologies / 22.5 / Core
7 / any / TBA / OriginsandDevelopment ofYogainAncientIndia / 45 / Compulsory
7 / any / TBA / BuddhistMeditationin
IndiaandTibet / 45 / Compulsory
7 / any / TBA / EastAsiaTraditionsof
Meditation:FromTaoism toZen / 22.5 / Compulsory
7 / any / TBA / Dissertationinthe
TraditionsofYogaand
Meditation / 45 / Dissertation

The availability of optional/elective courses may vary in a given academic session due to factors such as staff absence and student numbers.For an up to date list of courses running in a given academic session please refer to the degree structures as listed on the SOAS website for the degree programmes taughtby each Department.

TEACHING,LEARNINGANDASSESSMENT

Whatmethodswillbeusedtoachievethelearningoutcomes?

Knowledge

•Acquisitionthroughlecturesandoccasionalseminars.Studentsarerequiredtoattendall classes,studyextensivelyontheirownandpreparenon-assessedworkregularly.

•Acquisitionthroughpreparationofessaysanddissertations.

•ASSESSMENT:Studentswillbeassessedthroughacombinationoflongandshortessays. (ThedissertationisarequiredmethodofassessmentfortheMA).

Intellectual(thinking)skills

•Acquisitionofallskillswillbefostereddirectlythroughtheprogramme’scoreoptionand indirectlythroughboththeadditionaloptions,andsupervisionofthestudents’dissertations.

•Thedevelopmentofintellectualskillswillbefacilitatedthroughlectures(andseminars),and students’progresswillbemonitoredthroughcloseassessmentandsupervisionofcoursework

aswellasthroughnon-assessedseminarpresentations.Allcourseswillintroduceinformation

thatwillneedtobeassessedcriticallyandwilldemonstratehowconflictinginterpretations arisefromthesameinformation.

•ASSESSMENT:Theemphasisonassessedwrittenworkbyessayisinordertoensure advancedleveltraininginskilledcognitiveargumentationasacorecontributionto preparationforfurtherpostgraduatestudyattheMPhil/PhDlevel.

Subject-basedpracticalskills

•Acquisitionofacademicwritingskillsthroughthepreparationoflongessaysandthe dissertation.

•Acquisitionofinformationretrievalskillsthroughcourseteachingandtrainingsessions offeredbytheLibraryandInformationServicesstaff.

•Acquisitionofpresentationalskillsthroughseminarandtutorialpresentations.

•AcquisitionofessayswritingtechniquesthroughskillworkshopsofferedbytheLearningand

TeachingUnit.

•Acquisitionofindependentstudyskillsandresearchtechniquesthroughsupervisedindividual researchandwriting(dissertationandlongessays).

•Acquisitionofreflexivelearningthroughdiscussionandsupervisedcoursework.

•ASSESSMENT:Combinationofshortandlongessays.

Transferableskills

Acquisitionoftransferableskillsthrough

Lectures

Regularmonitoringandfeedbackonstudentprogressduringeachstageoftheprogramme’s courses.

Substantialelementsofindependentlearning,withfeedback

Occasionalseminardiscussionandindividualsupervision

ASSESSMENT:Combinationofshortandlongessays,dissertationandcoursework.

REFERENCEPOINTS

Whathasbeenthebasisforthedesignofthisprogramme?

1.SchoolLearningandTeachingStrategy

2.FacultyLearningandTeachingStrategy

3.Staffresearch

4.QAAframeworkforhighereducationqualifications

5.Relevantsubjectbenchmark

QUALITYASSURANCEANDENHANCEMENT

SOAShasinternalprocedurestoassurethequalityofprovisiontobeofferedtostudentsandto enhance thequalityinthelightofexperiencefollowingdelivery,takingintoaccounttheinputof externalexpertsandstudents.TheproceduresaresetoutintheSchool’sQualityAssuranceHandbook andcanbeviewedat

SOASisalsosubjecttoperiodicexternalreviewfrombodiessuchastheQualityAssuranceAgency forHigherEducationandrelevantprofessionalandstatutoryregulatorybodies.

TheproceduresdescribedintheQualityAssuranceHandbookareinplacetoprovideahighquality studentexperienceforthosechoosingtostudyatSOAS,andstudentinputandevaluationoftheir experiencesisgreatlyvalued.Studentsmake aninput totheongoingdevelopmentoftheir programmes, andtheenvironmentinwhichtheyoperate,inanumberofways,including:

•formalstudentevaluationaspartoftheannualprogrammereview;

•studentrepresentationonSchoolcommitteesatvariouslevels(throughtheStudents’Union)

wheremanyrelevantissuesarediscussed;

FURTHERINFORMATION

Addinlinkstootherrelevantinformation,bothinternalandexternal,including:

•SOASVisionandStrategyStatement;

•UndergraduateandPostgraduateHandbooks;

•QualityAssuranceHandbook;

•UCASwebsite;

•QAAwebsite;