MA African Studies

Students take 180 credits in total:

• 60 credit dissertation
• 120 credits of taught modules

All students take the compulsory modules listed below ('Approaches to African Studies' and 'Remapping Area Studies') and select 120 credits from lists A, list B and list C.

Core

• Dissertation in African Studies
• Approaches to African Studies: Concepts, Methods and Theories
• Remapping Area Studies in Asia, Africa and the Middle East

Guided options List A

• Core Themes and Debates in African Philosophy
• Intersecting Worlds: Race and Gender in the Contemporary Postcolonial Novel
• Contemporary African Literature (PG)
• Language, Identity and Society in Africa (PG)
• African and Asian Diasporas: Culture, Politics, Identities
• Migration, Borders and Space: Decolonial Approaches
• Asia and Africa On Display
• Art and Politics in Africa
• Global Film Industries
• Postcolonial Critical Thought
• Decolonial Practices
• Race, Segregation, and Apartheid in Twentieth-century South Africa (PG)
• Debating Pasts
• Language, Society and Communication (Masters)
• Concepts and Practice of Subtitling

Guided options List B

• Gender and Development
• Problems of Development in the Middle East and North Africa
• Economic Development of Africa (PG)
• Queer Politics in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
• Law and Development in Africa
• Colonialism, Empire and International Law
• Law and Postcolonial Theory
• Government and Politics of Africa
• Violence, Justice and the Politics of Memory
• Political Life in African Cities

Guided options List C

• Zulu 1 A (PG)
• Zulu 1 B (PG)
• Amharic 1 A (PG)
• Amharic 1 B (PG)
• Swahili 1 A (PG)
• Swahili 1 B (PG)
• Swahili 2 A (PG)
• Swahili 2 B (PG)
• Swahili 3 (PG)
• Practical Translation: English into Other Languages
• Practical Translation: Other Languages into English

Knowledge

• Students will acquire knowledge and critical awareness of current issues and/or insights into Africa from the perspective of at least two social sciences and/or humanities disciplines
• The student will have the opportunity to gain knowledge or further knowledge of an African language
• The student will gain specialized and in-depth knowledge in one particular area of the study of Africa from a disciplinary perspective.

Intellectual (Thinking) Skills

• Students will develop a critical and analytical approach to issues relating to Africa in the disciplinary areas chosen
• Students will develop skills in synthesizing materials from a variety of sources and presenting these in writing and orally in an academic context
• Students will have the opportunity to research topics that have been little commented on in the secondary literature, thus developing research skills by working on primary sources.

Subject-Based Practical Skills

• Students will gain specific knowledge of aspects of African life, preparing them for working in Africa
• The specialist knowledge developed in the individual courses will allow students to add an academically grounded perspective to their particular subsequent work context
• If a student takes an African language, they will gain strong practical skills, beneficial in any context where the language is used and useful for learning another language in the future.

Transferable Skills

• Through managing their studies, students will develop the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility
• In researching and writing coursework and the dissertation, students will develop research and writing skills
• Students will develop the skills of independent learning required for continuing onto a research degree or for professional development.

A postgraduate degree in African studies from SOAS provides you with competency in language skills and intercultural awareness and understanding. Familiarity with the region will have been developed through a combination of the study of language, literature, history, cinema, politics, economics or law.

Recent graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• BBC News
• British Embassy
• Canon Collins Educational Trust for Southern Africa
• Goal Nigeria
• Government of Canada
• Hogan Lovells International LLP
• International Institute for Environment and Development
• Kenyan Government
• Mercy Corps
• Migrant Resource Centre
• Mo Ibrahim Foundation
• The London MENA Film Festival
• The University of Tokyo
• The World Bank
• Think Africa Press
• U.S. Embassy
• United Nations
• University of Namibia
• World Vision UK
• Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts

One-year Masters programmes consist of 180 credits. 120 credits are taught in modules of 30 credits (taught over 20 weeks) or 15 credits (taught over 10 weeks); the dissertation makes up the remaining 60 units. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which are optional.