Overview and entry requirements

The MA African Studies and Intensive Swahili from SOAS provides students 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, history, cinema, politics, economics or law.

Students on this postgraduate degree programme will develop their ability to engage with and explore relationships between indigenous African aesthetics and contemporary literary theories.

See African Languages, Cultures and Literatures department

Why study African Studies and Intensive Swahili at SOAS

• SOAS ranks 1st in London in the Complete University Guide 2021 for Middle Eastern and African Studies, and 6th in UK
• Modern Languages and Linguistics at SOAS has been ranked 10th in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
• we've also been ranked 4th for research environment - with 100% of our research ranked as 'internationally excellent' and 85% as 'world-leading' - and 8th for research outputs in the REF 2021
• we are specialist in the studies of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia
• gain in-depth understanding of one these key world regions, grounded in the study of one or more languages of the region
• access SOAS’s comprehensive cross-regional expertise and gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of these regions in an increasingly globalised world
• solid methodological and interdisciplinary foundation
• students have an opportunity to develop a holistic and integrated approach to the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East through their languages and cultures

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Structure

Students must take 315 credits in total, comprised of 255 taught credits (45 of which are taught abroad as part of a Summer School) and a 60-credit dissertation as outlined below. 

Year 1: students on the two-year Intensive Language programmes take 60 credits of intensive language instruction and 60 credits in the discipline. During the summer, they participate in a Summer School abroad.

Year 2: students take another 30 language credits as well as 60 credits in the discipline; they also complete their dissertation in the discipline. 

The Swahili component can be taken either at beginner or at intermediate level. 

Please note that:

• a maximum of 60 credits can be taken in any one subject area
• a minimum of three subject areas must be covered.

Please see 'Programme specification' below to download the PDF pathways specifications of the four-year part-time version of the programme.

Programme

Programme Specification

• MA African Studies and Intensive Swahili BEGINNER Programme Specification 2018/19 (pdf; 190kb)
• MA African Studies and Intensive Swahili INTERMEDIATE Programme Specification 2018/19 (pdf; 74kb)
• MA African Studies and Intensive Swahili Programme Specification (pdf; 248kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

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 optional.

Contact hours

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework and revising for examinations. It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary. 

More information is on the page for each module.

Learning outcomes

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 of gaining 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 and from 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 of synthesizing materials from a variety of sources and presenting these in writing and orally in an academic context.
• Students will have the opportunity of researching topics which have been little commented on in the secondary literature and thus develop research skills by working on primary sources.

Subject-based practical skills

• Students will gain specific knowledge of aspects of African life, which will prepare 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 have a strong practical skill, which will help them in any context where the language is used and which will also be of benefit if they need to learn 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.

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.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2022/23 entrants, per academic year (Band 1 tuition fee) 

Fees go up each year, therefore, your tuition fee in your second and subsequent years of study will be higher.

Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.

For full details of postgraduate tuition fees see our postgraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

Employment

Graduates of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics leave SOAS not only with linguistic and cultural expertise, but also with skills in written and oral communication, analysis and problem solving.

Recent School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics graduates have been hired by:

• Africa Matters
• Amnesty International
• Arab British Chamber of Commerce
• BBC World Service
• British High Commission
• Council for British Research in the Levant
• Department for International Development
• Edelman
• Embassy of Jordan
• Ernst & Young
• Foreign & Commonwealth Office
• Google
• Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
• Middle East Eye
• Saïd Foundation
• TalkAbout Speech Therapy
• The Black Curriculum
• The Telegraph
• United Nations Development Programme
• UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
• Wall Street Journal

Find out about our Careers Service.

• How to Apply
• Online Application
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts