BA Swahili and...
Programme Code: See May be Combined With Duration: Combined Honours - 4 years
Overview
2013 Entry Requirements
- A Levels: AAB
- A Level language preferred
- IB: 36 (6/6/6)
- BTEC: DDM
- Access to HE: Minimum of 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction
- Scottish Highers: AAABB
- Scottish Advanced Highers: AAB
- Irish LC: 340 points from 5 Higher level subjects at grade C1 or above
- Advanced Placement: 4 4 5 (Two semesters - UCAS Group A) plus US HSGD with GPA 3.0
- Euro Bacc: 80%
- French Bacc: 14/20
- German Abitur: 2.0
- Italy DES: 80/100
- Austria Mat: 2.0
- Polish Mat: 75%
Minimum Entry Requirements: No preliminary knowledge of the subject or the language is required, although we do look for ability to learn a language (e.g. language at A-level or equivalent). Applicants with non-standard qualifications may be invited for interview.
Subjects Preferred: A foreign language at A level, or equivalent, is preferred
Interview Policy: Candidates with ‘non-standard’ qualifications usually invited
Swahili, which belongs to the Bantu family of languages, is spoken as a mother-tongue on the east coast of Africa from the southern part of Somalia to the northern areas of Msumbiji (Mozambique) including the islands of Lamu, Pemba, Zanzibar, Mafia and the Comoros.
Spoken extensively in Tanzania, Kenya, some parts of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo, Swahili has a long literary tradition, expressed in earlier centuries in the Arabic script, and is rich in oral literature. It is the national language of Tanzania and an official language of Kenya.
This 4-year degree combines the study of the language of Swahili with another language or discipline. The range of expertise in SOAS with regard to languages and literatures of other regions is unique in UK institutions. Along with proven excellence in other disciplines, such as religious studies, anthropology, art and archaeology, and history, this offers students an unparalleled range of options in choosing their second subject of study.
Combinations
May be combined with
May be combined with:
- Development Studies,(LTY5 BA/SWDVS)
- Economics, (LTD5 BA/SWEC)
- French*,
- Geography**, (LTT5 BA/SWGE)
- History, (TVN1 BA/SWH)
- History of Art/Archaeology, (VT35 BA/HAASw)
- Law, (MTD5 BA/SWLW)
- Linguistics, (QTD5 BA/LGSW)
- Management***, (NTG5 BA/SWMG)
- Music,(TWN3 BA/SWMS)
- Politics, (LTG5 BA/SWPOL)
- Social Anthropology, (LTQ5 BA/SWSA)
- Study of Religions (TVN6 BA/SWSR)
* Taught at University College London (UCL); apply to UCL only
** Taught at King’s College London
*** Taught at Birkbeck College, London
Structure
Learn a language as part of this programme
Degree programmes at SOAS - including this one - can include language courses in more than forty African and Asian languages. It is SOAS students’ command of an African or Asian language which sets SOAS apart from other universities.
Students must take 4 course units each year. Over the four years students must pass at least 8 units in Swahili (this includes the course Language in Africa) and at least 5 units in the other subject.
Students must pass at least three course units in order to proceed to the following year. Students must pass Swahili I in order to proceed to year 2. Students must pass Swahili IIA in order to proceed to year 3.
Students may take open option units in a joint degree as long as the required number of units for each of the named subjects is passed at the end of the degree.
Students must take a course for the year for which it is intended. Occasionally exceptions can be made in consultation with the Undergraduate Tutor and the Associate Dean.
Year 1
Core Course
- Swahili 1 - 155900985 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Compulsory Course
- Language in Africa - 155900867 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Other Subject
Students take 2 units in the second subject.
Year 2
Core Course
- Swahili 2a intermediate - 155900986 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Compulsory Course
- Swahili 2b - introduction to Swahili literature - 155900987 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Other Subject
Students take 2 units in the second subject.
Year 3: Year abroad
Please see the Teaching & Learning tab for more details.
Year 4
Swahili Course
Take one Swahili course unit
Optional Course
Choose a course from the list of optional courses
Other Subject
Students take 2 units in the second subject.
List of Optional Courses
Before selecting a course, student's must first check that the course is at the correct level. They must also ensure that they meet any pre-requisites.
- Contemporary African literature - 155900839 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- History in African and Caribbean literature - 155901013 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- African language literatures (oral and written) - 155900677 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Representations and transformations: South African drama and film - 155901165 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- The structure of Bantu languages - 155901257 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Theory and practice of Swahili translation - 155901259 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Religion in Africa - 155901151 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Extended essay in African studies (a) - 155900762 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Extended essay in African studies (b) - 155901188 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Independent study project in African studies - 155900763 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Directed study of an African language - 155900934 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Black urban studies - 151230001 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Introduction to Pan-Africanism - 151230002 (0.5 Unit) - Term 1
- Amharic 1 - 155900832 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Amharic 2 - 155900378 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Hausa 1 - 155900834 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Hausa 2(a) intermediate - 155900324 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Hausa 2(b) survey of hausa literature - 155900818 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Hausa 3(a) advanced - 155900327 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Hausa 3 (b) selected texts - 155900603 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
- Somali 1 - 155900831 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Somali 2 - 155900811 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Advanced somali:formal usage - 155901291 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
- Advanced somali: literature and culture - 155901292 (1 Unit) - Full Year - Not Running 2013/2014
- Swahili 1 - 155900985 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Swahili 2a intermediate - 155900986 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Swahili 2b - introduction to Swahili literature - 155900987 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Swahili 3 - 155900635 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Swahili 4 - 155900636 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Theory and practice of Swahili translation - 155901259 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Yoruba 1 - 155900833 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Yoruba 2 - 155900935 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Zulu 1 - 155900840 (1 Unit) - Full Year
- Zulu 2 - 155900851 (1 Unit) - Full Year
Programme Specification
Teaching & Learning
Year abroad
Students normally spend two terms of their penultimate year in Zanzibar and at the University of Dar.Teaching & Learning
Language teaching is mostly in small tutorial groups; tapes and language laboratory facilities are available for formal teaching and self-study. Non-language units are taught by lecture and seminar. Students are assessed by a combination of written examination (and oral for language units) and coursework, including essays and translations.
SOAS Library
SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.
Destinations
Students who study Swahili at SOAS develop a wide range of transferable skills such as research, analysis, oral and written communication skills.
Choosing to study a joint degree programme will increase the breadth of your knowledge, and will develop additional skills with which to further your studies of the African continent, or to make comparative study with other areas. Swahili may be combined with a huge range of other disciplines. For more information on the extra skills you will gain from your second subject, please see the relevant departmental page.
Students from the Africa department have chosen non-governmental organisations such as Amnesty International, Save the Children, and Oxfam; others have found work in education, the media, or in publishing department.
For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website.
How to apply
How to apply
- How to Apply
- UCAS website
- Funding options
- English language requirements
- Tuition Fees
- Admissions Contacts
Scholarships
For further information visit the Scholarships section
Undergraduate Research Awards
Application Deadline: 2013-04-26 00:00
A Student's Perspective
Asia MohamudSOAS has helped me to understand the world through an academic lens. I originally began my course as a wide-eyed student who wanted to ‘save the world’ and through my subjects and the people I have met here, I received more solid ground work for my ‘plans’.
