SOAS University of London Accreditation?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by filippo, Sep 28, 2013.

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  1. filippo

    filippo New Member

  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    "...The School received its Royal Charter on 5 June 1916" - so yes, it is "accredited" as we generally use the word. It's been part of University of London since it opened its doors as the School of Oriental Studies 97 years ago. "African" was added to the name in 1938.

    I don't think a University of London degree should present any problems for the holder in the US -or anywhere else, for that matter. You might find this article useful: SOAS, University of London - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Johann
     
  3. filippo

    filippo New Member

    Thanks, Johann, that helps. :)

    Anyone already enrolled or finished the program? Any feedback?
     
  4. Meshi

    Meshi New Member

    Never select SOAS

    Never study at SOAS. It is full of administation erorrs and problems. They do not admit their mistake and blame you insade. They will fail you at exams and if you request for re-check , first they will tell you that they will charge you for re-check (each paper £85 some thing like that) and if you insist they will tell you that the examination board did check the paper but the answers were not critcally analyzed while the truth is that they never look at your paper. Please please save your time and money and dont select this university.
     
  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'm sorry that Meshi had an unhappy experience at the University of London. It seems that my own experience with them has been substantially better. We all know even the best school has some disgruntled students. SOAS, or the School Of Advanced Studies is one of the constituent colleges of the University of London and was formed in 1994. In general, it enjoys an excellent reputation. I'm sure that doesn't make Meshi feel any better but I can say with confidence that his experience is the exception, not the rule.

    Distance learning and flexible study | University of London International Programmes
     
  6. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member

     
  7. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    It's a British public university, part of the University of London. It's accredited by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), the British university accreditor.

    School of Oriental and African Studies

    http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/ReviewsAndReports/Documents/School%20of%20Oriental%20and%20African%20Studies/School-of-Oriental-and-African-Studies-University-of-London-IRENI-13.pdf

    Yes. It's considered high profile and prestigious at what it does (area studies).

    Not me, I don't have any personal experience with it.
     
  8. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Thanks guys, my mistake.
     
  9. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    This can depend somewhat. Will it be considered by US institutions of higher education as on-par with a similar credential/course from a US based institution? Most likely. There your typical limitations apply (e.g. Those courses in Agricultural Economics probably won't transfer into a divinity program).

    How will employers receive it? Million dollar question right there. Some employers would consider it a plus. Others would scratch their heads and wonder if this was a real school. The latter position is somewhat rare but it does, unfortunately, happen.

    I knew a hiring manager (software development) who refused any candidate with a foreign degree unless the person originated from that country (or at least it appeared reasonable that they were from that country). His opinion on U.S. citizens earning foreign degrees was that they couldn't get into a good U.S. school or they were simply lying about having a degree.

    One such candidate had an undergrad degree in CS from Cornell and a Masters (timed out on a PhD and had the dignity to not be a permanent ABD) from Aalborg. Hiring manager didn't even interview him.

    We are a big country. And so there is no universal rule as to what will be "recognized" when it comes to higher ed among employers. But another aspect to being so big is that there are large swatches of the country where folks have never encountered anyone from another country. It creates a sort of attitude of American exceptionalism that can color hiring decisions.
     
  10. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    This is also racism. Some people would never consider resumes with degrees from Latin America, Africa, India, etc mainly because they don't want to hire people from these countries.
     
  11. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    "...unless the person originated from that country (or at least it appeared reasonable that they were from that country)."
     
  12. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I know a white guy who is from South Africa and he says that every now and then he runs into someone who tells him that he can't be from Africa because he's white.

    I think decimon's comment is on point
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Mark Shuttleworth, a white South African dot com multi-millionaire, bought his way to space when the Russians were still offering that, and named his blog about it "First African In Space":

    the first african in space project
     
  14. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Somehow I think this was not the guy's only job lead.
     
  15. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    It's a fairly common occurrence. You get a rockstar job candidate and you're not sure why they are even considering your company. That rockstar then gets interviewed by someone who managed to wiggle into a management job by simply sitting around and waiting for enough talented colleagues to move on. Many of them feel threatened by individuals who have more prestigious credentials, experience with more reputable companies etc.

    Let me just address that racism claim real quick (switching over from Stanislav to decimon, Kizmet, RFValve and Steve)...

    Yes, that absolutely does happen. My first HR job I worked for a guy who said that Indian degrees weren't real. It didn't matter what they were in. It didn't matter how top notch the school was in India. If the candidate had a degree from India they were a no-go. He, generously in his opinion, was willing to flex only if they had a Masters from a really solid U.S. school. His opinion was absolutely dripping with a very thinly veiled racism.

    But the individual I was referring to in that earlier post wasn't, I don't believe anyway, acting out of racism. He had a diverse team. He had no problem hiring a person from Ethiopia with a degree from the University of Addis Ababa. But if, say, I walked in for an interview with a degree from a Chinese university, he'd assume shenanigans.

    That happens a lot. And there are a lot of folks who hold similar views without realizing it. If you go to a physician's office, the doctor is named "Martinez" and he speaks with an accent, you probably wouldn't give that Mexican medical degree a second glance. But when Seamus O'Reilly, with blazing red hair and a Boston accent sports the same degree it makes people wonder. One might even say it is "wicked shady."

    Racism is absolutely a problem in hiring. But I've found the jobs that require more technical, and therefore easily demonstrable, skills tend to be a bit more diverse and open to other cultures than those relying solely on the qualitative assessment of softer skills.
     
  16. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Many Canadians get Mexican MDs as it is not so cheap and easy to get accepted in Medical schools in Canada. If a Canadian named John Abbott gets a Mexican MD and a Canadian medical license, I am sure that nobody would question him in his practice in Canada but if Martinez is practicing in Canada with the same degree even with a Canadian license, few might not consider him.

    There is a bias towards degrees granted by schools from developing nations. Few studies in Canada have revealed that you have considerable less chances of finding employment if your degree is not from a Western European, Canadian, US or Australian school.

    I know some people get excited when they find very cheap options from India or other developing nations but you should factor in the bias factor.
     
  17. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    The idea that bias exists is not radical. After all, there are assholes everywhere. However, if you're going to reference "studies" then you should be prepared to provide citations.
     
  18. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Sure, 3 below:
    Li, P.S., 2001. The market worth of immigrants' educational credentials. Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de Politiques, pp.23-38.

    Guo, S., 2009. Difference, deficiency, and devaluation: Tracing the roots of non-recognition of foreign credentials for immigrant professionals in Canada. The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 22(1), p.37.

    Basran, G.S. and Li, Z., 1998. Devaluation of foreign credentials as perceived by visible minority professional immigrants. Canadian ethnic studies, 30(3), p.7.
     
  19. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    This thread reminds us how little is known about the acceptance of degrees from Place A in Place B. The only large body of data I know about f'sure, since I collected it, was during the 9/+ years I did marketing for Heriot-Watt University (Scotland) in the US. Not exactly a household word . . . but we had students from 72 of the Fortune 100 US companies, all approved by their employers, and when I inquired of 50 major US universities on acceptance, 47 said yes, 3 said maybe. Different school, different degree, but encouraging findings.
     
  20. warguns

    warguns Member

    This is an old thread but SOAS has been absorbed by University College London, the largest college in federal university. It's been 30 years since I used to stop at SOAS for coffee (it's right in the middle of the central London camp. At that time, the place was incredibly politicized, with the dominant group the Trots, or Trotskyists. If I were considering an external degree from SOAS, I would carefully inquire about the level of political correctness required.
     

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