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
Entry requirements
- We will consider all applications with 2:2 (or international equivalent) or higher. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application such as supporting statement. References are optional, but can help build a stronger application if you fall below the 2:2 requirement or have non-traditional qualifications.
Please see our 'postgraduate entry requirements' page for Overseas and EU qualifications and equivalencies.
- duration:
- Two calendar year (full-time);
Four years (part-time)
Fees 2022/23
- Home students fees:
- £11,980
- Overseas students fees:
- £23,400
Fees for 2022/23 entrants. This is a Band 1 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found on the Postgraduate tuition fees page
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
Two Year - Language Beginner
Year 1
2 years full-time
In year 1 beginner students take the following modules below and select modules to the value of 30 credits from 'List A' and another 15 credits from 'List B'
Summer Abroad
At the end of year 1 before the begining of year 2 students participate in a summer school at one of our partner institutions equivalent to the value of 45 credits.
Year 2 - Beginner
In year 2 beginner students select 60 cedits from List A, B or C and 30 credits in the selected language, plus the dissertation
Year 1 - Intermediate
In year 1 of the intermediate structure, students will take the following 2 modules and select modules to the value of 30 credits from 'List A' plus another 15 credits from 'List B'
Summer Abroad
At the end of year 1 before the begining of year 2 students participate in a summer school at one of our partner institutions equivalent to the value of 45 credits.
Year 2 - Intermediate
In year 2 of the intermediate structure students select modules to the value of 60 credits from 'List A, B or C' plus 30 credits in a selected language, plus the following modules below
Guided Options - List A
School of Languages Cultures & Lingistics
Anthropology & Sociology
School of Arts
History, Religion & Philosophy
Guided Options - List B
Politics
Economics
School of Law
Centre for Gender Studies
Development Studies
Guided Options - List C
Languages
Programme Specification
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.
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)
Full-time |
Part-time 2 Years |
Part-time 3 Years |
Home Students |
Overseas Students |
Home Students |
Overseas Students |
Home Students |
Overseas Students |
£11,980 |
£23,400 |
£5,990 |
£11,700 |
£3,955 |
£7,725 |
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
Application Deadline: 2022-01-28 15:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
Application Deadline: 2022-05-31 00:00
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.
A Student's Perspective
Being at SOAS is a privilege I have greatly appreciated academically as well as socially. It really is a gem that surfaces unheard voices and unseen faces
Nuren Sherali Parpia