•  
  •  
 

Abstract

The School of Oriental and African Studies seemed a symbol of stability when it celebrated its centenary in 2016 by taking over and renovating the University of London’s imposing Senate House building in central London. It was a bold move to lure the best students. But just three years later its future has become much shakier, with its undergraduate intake down 40 percent and a £7m operating deficit. “The competition is brutal,” says Professor Stephen Hopgood, Soas’s international pro-director. “We are small and specialist, and if undergraduate fees are cut, it’s going to be very hard for an institution of our size to survive. It’s never been as tough as this.”

Share

COinS