Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)

A fascinating mix of language, history and society, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Cambridge provides a deep understanding of civilisations from Japan in the East to Morocco in the West, and from classical times to the modern day. Language choices range from Japanese, Chinese and Korean to Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit and Persian. With a year spent abroad perfecting your skill and the option to combine with a modern European language, AMES builds intellectual rigour and highly desirable skills.

Overview

Ucas code

TT46

Campus code

X

Typical offers made per year

4

Typical Undergraduate cohort

8

Minimum offer level

A Levels: A* AA

IB: 42 points, with 776 at Higher Level.

Other qualifications: check what other international qualifications are accepted at Cambridge

STEP (SIXTH TERM EXAMINATION PAPER)

COURSE DURATION

BA (Hons) 4 years full-time, including a year abroad

Essential subjects

No prior knowledge of your chosen AMES subject language(s) is required unless you are combining with a modern European language, in which case an A-level/IB Higher Level (or equivalent) in the relevant European language is required.

Desirable subjects

For AMES, a foreign language at A-level/IB Higher Level (or equivalent) is particularly desirable, if only to demonstrate your ability to learn a different language. Other useful A-levels/IB Higher Levels (or equivalent) are History, Mathematics and Sciences, though applicants have been accepted from a wide variety of academic backgrounds.

ADMISSIONS ASSESSMENT

Interview candidates for AMES with a modern European language must take the Medieval and Modern Language (MML) assessment, lasting 60 minutes. The assessment comprises discursive response in both a foreign language and English. More information can be found here.

Applicants are required to submit two pieces of written work. This should be in essay format with a word limit of up to 1500 words. The work can be extracted from an EPQ.

Why Choose St John's for Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)?

St John’s is one of the larger colleges for AMES, with several academics including a Director of Studies. This offers an incredibly rich seam of scholarly expertise to support your learning.

Each year's AMES cohort has 6-8 undergraduates, together with MPhil and PhD candidates. This creates a thriving and diverse student community to share your enthusiasms and discoveries.

There’s lots of practical support on offer in AMES: Year Abroad talks, discussion groups and alumni networking.

AMES students join St John’s lively Modern & Medieval Languages Society, which organises fun socials and a memorable end-of-year candlelit dinner.

We offer annual prize awards to students achieving particular distinction in their AMES studies.

Watch this video to find out more about the AMES course at Cambridge.

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Our academics

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Professor Andrew Arsan

Fellow

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Professor Adam Yuet Chau

Fellow

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Professor Nathan MacDonald

Fellow

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Professor David McMullen

Fellow

Director of Studies

Sub-Director of Studies

Professor Stefan C Reif

Fellow

Course structure and information

You gain a strong grounding in languages before spending your third year abroad, immersed in your chosen culture(s) and languages. A final year of advanced study then enables you to speak fluently and read confidently.

Find out more about the course structure and what to expect when studying at St John's College.

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Supporting your studies

University language courses

We offer students full financial support for taking one of the University's language courses, where this is different from a language that you have selected as part of your course.

This gives AMES, MML and History & MML students the opportunity to add another language to their collection, or students in other subjects to take up a language alongside their main discipline.

Film, music and language collections

As well as providing access to more books than you could ever read, the College Library houses an extensive collection of films, music and language materials to support and supplement your studies. The DVD collection includes a wide range of western European cinema, a smaller selection of Russian and Japanese titles, and an assortment of film versions of literary works.

The CD collection consists mainly of classical music plus numerous recordings of the College Choir. There are also multimedia language-learning materials available in more than 20 languages. All items can be used in the Library's AV Room or borrowed. Headphones and external CD/DVD drives can also be borrowed from the Library.

Every year, applications from students of St John's are invited to apply for Travel Exhibitions and Grants, for the promotion of travel.

Travel Grants

There are currently more than 20 travel grants available to students of St John's, made possible by generous donor funding. These funds are available to help students extend and develop their subject knowledge by, for example, travelling to archaeological sites abroad, further international understanding, undertake adventurous travel and much more.

Discover student life

meet our students

I went to Taiwan on my year abroad and I had an amazing time. I went to a language school and did a volunteering internship at a small art gallery, which was a great experience

Hannah, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies), undergraduate

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I went to Taiwan on my year abroad and I had an amazing time. I went to a language school and did a volunteering internship at a small art gallery, which was a great experience

Hannah, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies), undergraduate

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I was initially torn between studying literature and languages and I discovered the Cambridge AMES degree combines them in a novel way.

The Faculty is quite small and St John’s is on the larger side and our Director of Studies specialises in Chinese Studies so that combined with being part of a community of people doing my subject is why I chose St John’s. The College has been supportive of everything I’ve done, whether it’s trips in the long vacations, or things that crop up during term time; there’s always someone to talk to, and to point you in the right direction, I really love that about St John’s.

St John's has everything - an amazing location, lovely staff, great rooms, great facilities. Nothing’s missing.

Applying

Competitive applicants show us evidence of their ability to learn languages, such as excellent A-Levels in a different (eg European) language or top grades in language GCSEs.

We value demonstrations of independent work, outside your main school curriculum, for example essay competitions or an EPQ that shows how you have explored your interests more widely.

Strong applications often include evidence of a developed interest in the new language and culture you wish to study. This might come from reading translated texts, watching films with subtitles or displaying an interest in art from the region.

If you are invited to interview, you will be interviewed by our Director of Studies and a member of the Faculty who specialises in your chosen language area. If you wish to combine AMES with a modern European language, you will also have a 60-minute language test and an additional interview with the MML Director of Studies and a language specialist.

The questions we ask at interview are designed to help us find out more about your suitability for the chosen course and aptitude for university-level intellectual pursuit. We will usually ask you about your application material and personal statement. You will be given a passage to read immediately before the interview and we will also discuss this with you. We’ll be looking for strong comprehension, your thoughts extending from it and some analytical points in relation to language and culture.

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Life after St John's

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Our societies

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Notable alumni

Louis Cha

2005

Writer

Nobel Laureate

Royal Medal winner

Academy Award winner

Pulitzer Prize winner

Olympic Medal winner

Poet Laureate

Better known by his pen name Jin Yong, Cha was a Hong Kong novelist and co-founder of Ming Pao, a Chinese-language newspaper. He authored 15 novels and became one of the most popular Chinese writers of all time, with over 100 million copies sold globally. Cha’s novels are esteemed for their literary quality and universal appeal and have been adapted into numerous TV dramas, films and video games. Cha received his DPhil at St John's at age 86 and the Cha Stone stands as a memorial to him in the College gardens.